Local film-makers Ted Taylor and Roger Walch have put together a series of short movies showing scenes from our book - Deep Kyoto: Walks. Here is the first video which features autumnal scenes from Kyoto's Path of Philosophy and Robert Yellin reading from his piece, "Not Sure Which Way to Go". Deep Kyoto: Walks is now available as a print on demand paperback and Kindle … [Read more...]
Deep Kyoto: Walks Paperback Edition Now Available
This is a delightful collection of essays written by a diverse group of writers who share an obvious and contagious affection for Kyoto. – Matthew Stavros (Author: “Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital ”) I am delighted to annouce the release of Deep Kyoto: Walks as a paperback edition. This is a print on demand (POD) edition and has been independently … [Read more...]
Three Arcades – The Bad, the Good, and the Bubbly
This is the final guest post from Edward J. Taylor and marks the end of a series of articles in which he explored Kyoto’s streets. Many thanks to Edward for his long-term commitment to this project which he actually set out on two years ago. To read more of Edward's wanderings and ramblings both in Kyoto and further afield, please visit his blog: Notes from the 'Nog. This month … [Read more...]
Revisiting Shinmachi
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. Back in my piece about the Gion Festival, I mentioned that I was intending to revisit Shinmachi, due to its old-timey shopping arcade that I often patronized during the three years when I lived close-by. Had I reread my own words, I would have forgone starting the walk at its … [Read more...]
Autumn Hiking & Rubbish Collection with PTO Conservation Group Dec. 1st 2019
This Sunday (December 1st) local conservation group, People Together for Mt. Ogura (PTO) will be holding a hiking and rubbish clearance event on Mount Ogura in Kyoto's Sagano district. This from their website: In the vicinity of Mt. Ogura’s northern flank, especially at Rokucho Pass, we are working to remove large quantities of illegally dumped rubbish that has built up over … [Read more...]
Strolling in Reel Time along Fuyamachi
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. A funny thing, serendipity. It’s as if life is springing a pop quiz, to see how well you’re paying attention. I was watching a new box set containing Akio Jissoji’s controversial Buddhist Trilogy, which included as a bonus his beautiful period film, It was a Faint Dream. The … [Read more...]
Walking with the Dead Along Matsubara-dori
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. The Okuribi fires have cooled, the ancestors have departed, the aubergine and the cucumbers have been eaten. August is the month of ghosts, and Kyoto in particular feels thick with them, due both to the city’s long and oft-violent history and its heavy, muggy summer air. It … [Read more...]
Brocade & Octopi: From Nishikikoji to Takoyakushi
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. The air rings with the chimey clang of the ubiquitous ‘theme song’ for the Gion festival, supplanting the rains that had taken center stage for the previous six weeks. At least, that’s how it usually works. Rainy season this year continues to linger, and a peek at the weather … [Read more...]
A Rainy Season Stroll on Kyoto’s Gokomachi
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. Rainy season and the living is claggy. It usually arrives in June, and while it doesn't rain all day every day, the humidity tends to build and build so that when the rain does fall it brings with it great relief. The clouds do tend to linger, which can create a feeling of … [Read more...]
Walking into the Light on Manjuji-dōri
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. The weather over the weekend had proven a surprise, with the blemish-free bluebird skies of May bringing with it temperatures of 29°C. (It’s going to be a hot summer.) So I decided to set off early, which isn't terribly ideal as things in Kyoto don't begin to open until 10 am. … [Read more...]
Finding Old Magic on Kyoto’s Tominokōji
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto’s streets. History is written by the victors. A well-known expression of course, but I’d go one step further and say that history is also rewritten by the victors. (Quotes too are attributed to victors, but nowhere is there evidence that Winston Churchill actually said this.) Likewise, … [Read more...]
A Detour Through the Quiet Life on Kuromon & Koromonodana Streets
Here is the latest installment from Edward J. Taylor's ongoing exploration of Kyoto's streets. Prior to setting off on these walks, I sit awhile with a Kyoto map before me, reading the street names and choosing those that are most familiar, or ones that resonate somehow. For today I chose a street that will take me from the heart of the city nearly to my doorstep. It … [Read more...]
From Bike Pound to Buddha on Rokkaku-dō Dōri
Here's this month's walk with Edward J. Taylor on the historic street of Rokkaku-dō Dōri. Though I’d already decided on Rokkaku-dō Dōri for this month’s walk, my actual starting point was unexpectedly predetermined. A few days before, I’d gone to see a special performance by local dancer Heidi S. Durning. The nearby bicycle parking lot was full, and an alternative too … [Read more...]
Looking for the Lost on Kyoto’s Higashi-no-toin
In his first Kyoto walk of the new year, Edward J. Taylor takes us from Kyoto Station to the Imperial Palace on the old route of Higashi-no-toin. Outside circumstances dictated the day’s walk, in the form of a lunch meeting at Kyoto Station. Having thus decided on a walk that starts nearby, I pass to the north side of the lumbering building, one much unloved when it was … [Read more...]