Kyoto Journal is an award-winning,
quarterly magazine founded in Kyoto, Japan,
presenting cultural and historical insights from
all of Asia since 1987.

Newsletter signup
ALL
  • ALL
  • Fiction, Poetry & Reviews
  • Hidden Japan
  • In Translation
  • Insights From Asia
  • Our Kyoto
  • Tokonoma
*contenment.feature

On Contentment

Nothing like gazing upon your own well-stacked cord of firewood turning golden in the evening sun to get you feeling contented…

yiyunlifeature

An Interview with Yiyun Li

“My characters are always very stubborn.  One thing all my characters want is connection with the world.  With other people.  But that connection, often times, is either disrupted or not provided or somehow messed up by the world…”

dogs

Dogs Barking at the Full Moon

Comrade John is a mild-mannered person. I didn’t feel threatened or scared at all. In fact, I welcomed this encounter. It had been over a decade since I last spoke to them…

barber.feature

The Barber

My goatee and shaved head perplex many Vietnamese because in their country beards are for venerable old men like Uncle Ho and bald heads for monks, and I am neither.

*Honenin.feature

The Path to Honen-in

For a man who wears so many caps, the shaven-headed priest exudes a genial calm. He talks openly and from the heart; here is none of the closed manner for which Kyoto is famous.

kalchakrafeature

Beingness Seeking To Be

The Kalachakra Empowerment Ritual was over…with between 100,000 to 150,000 people exiting the Kalachakra at once, and with trains in all directions sold out through the end of the month, here was my liberation from suffering.

Bringing the delights of hojicha tea to the West

Torontoites and hojicha lovers Danielle Geva and Francois Mathieu wanted to make freshest, most authentic roasted Japanese green tea available outside Japan.

Take a Gourmet Journey through Japan with Kokoro Care Packages

We filmed our unboxing of the monthly themed box of quality Japanese ingredients and treats from Kokoro Care Packages. Find out more and subscribe to receive next month's package straight from Japan!