In this issue

When politicians seem intent on stirring up conflict, how do ordinary people build peace?

Culturally, the nations of East Asia are more or less extended family, but their relationships have long been fraught with political rivalries, territorial disputes and high-octane conflagrations fueled by short-sighted nationalism—among neighbors who should by now have simply learned to get along, for the common good.

In KJ 80 we observe today’s fractious East Asian neighborhood from the point of view of cultural commonalities, especially among younger people with a healthily borderless world vision. In particular, we celebrate efforts to create what might be called “Mindspace”—deliberate creation of shared physical and mental space for meeting, exchanging ideas, re-examining attitudes and beliefs.

We look at young communities in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, the Kyoto-based Peace Mask Project, a Japanese art museum dedicated to young artists whose lives were cut short by World War II, a college dream group based on a deeper interpretation of education, an international volunteer-based post-disaster project in the Philippines, and even the shared emotive space of enka fandom. Interviews include a photographer juxtaposing Korea’s past and present, internationally-minded typographers, and a world-famous former musical prodigy on music as transformative harmonization with the cosmos. And, as always, much more…

A magazine, too, is mindspace.

Kyoto Journal Magazine Description:

KJ is in many ways a unique publication. Firstly, it is not only non-profit, but also completely volunteer-based, over a very wide-reaching network. None of the editors – or contributors – are paid. We believe that KJ’s uniqueness extends to its editorial approach, its content – the range of topics covered – and to our approach to design.

A journal, whether public or private, is an ongoing means of looking afresh at the inhabited world, both social and natural. In selecting material for KJ we look for intelligent work that comes also from the heart. We are curious about society, beliefs, traditions and new developments — how people live, and live well — through the lens of Asian experience. Our generous contributors share valuable Asian insights through special features, interviews and profiles, fiction, poetry, photo-essays and reviews, in both omnibus and specially themed issues.

The unique aspect of KJ’s award-winning visual presentation is that our designers shape each story according to its individual content, without relying on templates. Each article is a separate exploration and finds its own form, while often existing in a deliberate interplay with other pieces, meaning that each issue adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

Our name, “Kyoto Journal,” also reflects more than a physical location. Kyoto is a place of deep spiritual and cultural heritage, and has been the measure of such things here in Japan for more than a millennium. Kyoto culture has looked deeply inwards (think Zen, and a host of related experiential paths) and has also drawn richly from outside, especially in relatively recent years since the Meiji modernization. Essentially, KJ is a community that transcends place, while respecting and celebrating regional and local identity.

We aim to make the best use of the media at hand in continuing to seek the essence of Asia. Care to join us?