Another Kyoto

Another Kyoto

Summary

Another Kyoto is an insider's meditation on the hidden wonders of Japan's most enigmatic city. Drawing on decades living in Kyoto, and on lore gleaned from artists, Zen monks and Shinto priests, Alex Kerr illuminates the simplest things - a temple gate, a wall, a sliding door - in a new way.

'A rich book of intimate proportions ... In Kyoto, facts and meaning are often hidden in plain sight. Kerr's gift is to make us stop and cast our eyes upward to a temple plaque, or to squint into the gloom of an abbot's chamber' Japan Times

'Kerr and Sokol have performed a minor miracle by presenting that which is present in Kyoto as that which we have yet to see. I know that I will never pass a wall, or tread a floor, or sit on tatami the same way again' Kyoto Journal

Reviews

  • By exposing the convenient demarcations which define Kyoto, Alex Kerr and Kathy Sokol have deconstructed Kyoto cliche´s and in the process have produced a surprising and refreshing addition to Kyoto lore.
    ... Kerr and Sokol have performed a minor miracle by presenting that which is present in Kyoto as that which we have yet to see. I know that I will never pass a wall, or tread a floor, or sit on tatami the same way again.
    ... Another Kyoto is a kind of rapturous rupture which explodes the field of cultural, social, and poetic possibilities.
    Kyoto Journal

About the authors

Alex Kerr

Alex Kerr is an American writer and Japanologist whose previous books include Lost Japan and Another Kyoto (with Kathy Arlyn Sokol). He was the first foreigner to be awarded the Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for the best work of non-fiction published in Japan.
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Kathy Arlyn Sokol

Kathy Arlyn Sokol is a non-fiction author, interviewer and Emmy award-winning narrator who has spent over 30 years in Kyoto. Her book RasTa Time on Bob Marley's life & legacy will soon be released in English. Kathy Arlyn Sokol currently lives in Udaipur, Rajasthan working on her next book on India's social and cultural pioneers.
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