Keiji Minato

Keiji Minato writes... I wrote the article below before the big disaster hit the northern part of Japan. I guess you might find it strange to read about something very small with a tremendous incident on the background, but I will post it anyway. It must be very important for us to calm ourselves before rushing toward unnecessary … [Read more...] about “TÔTEKIKO” by Javant Biarujia

Here’s this month’s poetry column from our friend Keiji Minato… Ryojin-hisho (『梁塵秘抄』), compiled by Go-Shirakawa-Joko (後白河上皇; the ex-emperor Go-Shirakawa) in the late 12th century, is an anthology of popular songs called “Imayo Kayo” (今様歌謡; directly translated it means “contemporary-style popular songs”) at that time. They were mainly performed by itinerant female dancers and … [Read more...] about Ryojin-hisho, Popular Songs in the Twelfth Century

Here's another post on Kyoto poets and poetry by our guest contributor, Keiji Minato. Keiji writes... Last time I took up Yosa Buson, a great poet-cum-painter in the 18th century. The topic this time is a man who also both wrote poetry and left great paintings, but in a totally different era. MURAYAMA Kaita (村山槐太; 1896-1919) was born in Yokohama but grew up in … [Read more...] about “A Lively Evening” by Murayama Kaita