King River Press

King River Press Established in 2018, King River Press is a hobby publisher named after the King River in Tasmania.

Virtual ExhibitionOften playful, sometimes comical, and always profound, Zen paintings represent one of the world’s most...
29/06/2024

Virtual Exhibition
Often playful, sometimes comical, and always profound, Zen paintings represent one of the world’s most fascinating religious and artistic traditions. None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection explores the origins of Zen Buddhism through over four centuries of ink paintings and calligraphies by painter-monks, who expressed Zen Buddhist teachings through their art, including the celebrated Buddhist master Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768). The exhibition advances Japan Society Gallery’s history of presenting important Buddhist artworks and concepts, including from the 2007 exhibition, Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan, and the 2010 exhibition, The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin. Visitors will also be invited to engage with Zen Buddhist practices through wide-ranging public programming, from in-gallery meditation sessions to calligraphy workshops and tea ceremony demonstrations.

The exhibition takes its title from a legendary encounter between a Buddhist monk and a Chinese emperor. According to 8th-century Chinese sources, itinerant monk Bodhidharma, patriarch of Zen Buddhism, visited the court of Emperor Wu Liang. When the emperor asked how much goodwill his generous deeds had earned in the eyes of the Buddha, the monk’s curt reply, “None Whatsoever,” shocked the ruler. This exchange—seemingly casual and dismissive, yet also uncompromising, profound, and revolutionary—has come to embody the relationship in Zen Buddhism between student and teacher.

None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection explores the origins of Zen Buddhism through over four centuries of ink paintings and calligraphies by painter-monks, including the celebrated Buddhist master Hakuin Ekaku.

民句 folk ku Issue 3: a journal in honour of Masaoka Shiki is now live. Thank you so much to all contributors for your swe...
09/06/2024

民句 folk ku Issue 3: a journal in honour of Masaoka Shiki is now live. Thank you so much to all contributors for your sweet folk ku, patience and ongoing support 🙏🫂🥰 Thank you to our readers as well. The journal wouldn't be here without y'all.
https://kingriverpress.com/folk-ku-journal-free-pdf/

FREE download of coast to hinterland - eurobodalla. A collection of haiku from Australia's NSW south coast shire of Euro...
03/01/2024

FREE download of coast to hinterland - eurobodalla. A collection of haiku from Australia's NSW south coast shire of Eurobodalla. This collection follows a similar format to timeless shoreline - a haiku journey through Bali. It fits into the genres of poetry and travel and has a map at the end.

If anybody else has a collection of haiku that they have written about one place or are planning to write one, then we'd be happy to help you self publish them in this PDF format. They are a lovely introduction to a place that somebody is already familiar with or hasn't visited before but would like to.
https://kingriverpress.com/coast-to-hinterland-eurobodalla/

This lovely little collection of poems were captured on the New South Wales South Coast shire of Eurobodalla. You can download a free copy HERE. Enjoy! Cover – Eucalyptus stenostoma aka Jilla…

I wrote this piece last year. I suppose because it was leading into a new year and it's that time of year we start refle...
21/12/2023

I wrote this piece last year. I suppose because it was leading into a new year and it's that time of year we start reflecting on the year gone and the upcoming one. Anyway, hope it resonates with some. Every positive move or vibe counts, no matter the size; all ripples ripple. 😊

So many books have been written on the idea of 生き甲斐 or ikigai, which in Japanese roughly translates as reason for being or purpose of your…

Great video of the final residence of Shiki - Shikian in Taito, Tokyo and information on visiting the museum. Shiki move...
01/12/2023

Great video of the final residence of Shiki - Shikian in Taito, Tokyo and information on visiting the museum. Shiki moved to this house in 1894, and lived in it until he died of illness on September 19, 1902.

Shikian is his former residence where he lived with Yae, his mother, and Ritsu, his sister, and died at the age of 34 and 11 months. Although a rented house (a secondary dwelling of the Maeda family in the former Kaga domain) which he moved in February 1894 was destroyed by an air raid during the Second World War, it was reconstructed and brought back to its almost original state in 1950 through efforts of Sokotsu Samukawa and others. (2-5-11 Negishi, Taito City)

Taito City in Tokyo, Japan is a rich cultural area, attracting craftsmen and merchants through the ages. It has Ueno Park and Asakusa.

Check out this amazing old photo of Shiki, his haijin and creative friends on the anniversary of Buson's passing. He's i...
01/12/2023

Check out this amazing old photo of Shiki, his haijin and creative friends on the anniversary of Buson's passing. He's in the centre at the front. I believe the photo was taken at Shikian - the former residence of Masaoka Shiki in Taito, Tokyo. You can read more about Shikian here: https://shikian.or.jp/shikian-english-page/

与謝蕪村(よさ ぶそん)をこよなく愛した 正岡子規は、毎年蕪村忌(12月25日)を子規庵で おこなっていた。 当時仲間達も子規を励まそうと集ったため、 明るく滑稽な句が並んだという。 与謝 蕪村は松尾芭蕉、小林一茶と.....

29/11/2023

Journal of Philosophy and Ethics in Health Care and Medicine, No. 13, December 2019

Masaoka Shiki’s Last Days and His Creations: Notes on a Poet Who Suffered from Tuberculosis and Spinal Caries
Ren INO, Waseda University

Abstract
Once, tuberculosis was said to be a disease that made us acknowledge death, as cancer might today. Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), a pseudonym for Masaoka Tsunenori, died of tuberculosis at 35, with complications from spinal caries. One of the most famous and important poets in modern Japanese literature, Shiki expressed, through his last poems and thoughts, the poignancy and challenges of his debilitated state, offering us a rare glimpse into a highly active and poetic mind at the edge of death, still able to find beauty, even within severe restrictions of illness. The continual and thoughtful care he received from family and friends offers us insight and chances for reflection on how best to support a
dying person.

As literary historian Reginald Horace Blyth wrote of Shiki, “By the end of his short life, he had found some humanity, but no religion, no pantheism, or mysticism, or Zen.” This article asserts that Shiki’s self-discovery of a sense of ‘humanity’ is deeply related to the poet’s epiphanies of objective self-awareness, satori [enlightenment], and kaigyaku [humor], all of which represent fundamental qualities of his writing, especially his later writing. This article focuses on the philosophical concepts of Shiki’s thinking, but also serves as a brief introduction to the life and literary work of the artist, who is not so well known outside of Japan.

Keywords: thanatology, Masaoka Shiki, haiku, tanka, satori, kaigyaku, objective self-awareness,
pulmonary tuberculosis, spinal caries, end-of-life care

We’re very excited to announce that Issue 2 of 民句 folk ku: a journal in honour of Masaoka Shiki was released to contribu...
27/11/2023

We’re very excited to announce that Issue 2 of 民句 folk ku: a journal in honour of Masaoka Shiki was released to contributors on 26 November. The public can now access the PDF. Cover and internal art by Mili Zhao.

https://kingriverpress.com/folk-ku-journal-free-pdf/

01/11/2023

The November 2023 selection of the English Speaking Union of Japan - Haiku (ESUJ-H) has been published!

Many thanks to Emiko Miyash*ta and Tetsuya Kotaki (the editors)

Congratulations to our selected fellow Pondies and haiku friends Barbara Anna Gaiardoni, Ana Drobot, Daniela Misso, and Giuliana Ravaglia! 🐸 👏

Note: The deadline for the December ESUJ-H edition is November 25th.

https://www.esuj.gr.jp/event/5_index_detail.php

01/11/2023
01/11/2023

The October 2023 Issue of cattails is now online!

Many thanks to Sonam Chhoki, Mike Montreuil, and their editorial staff.

Congratulations to all our featured fellow Pondies and haiku friends! (names in the comment below)

http://www.cattailsjournal.com/issues/cattails232.pdf

From TasWriters the Tasmanian Writers Centre We are absolutely thrilled about Hobart becoming a UNESCO City of Literatur...
01/11/2023

From TasWriters the Tasmanian Writers Centre

We are absolutely thrilled about Hobart becoming a UNESCO City of Literature! Congratulations to the incredible team who helped us make it happen - Libraries Tasmania, Brand Tasmania, University of Tasmania, Fullers Bookshop and City of Hobart
https://www.unesco.org/.../55-new-cities-join-unesco...
Exciting times ahead!

Well done to all Hobartians and Tasmanian readers and writers.

On World Cities Day, 55 cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), following their designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. New cities were acknowledged for their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying....

01/11/2023

We were watching this live. It is so worth a watch. Bingata was influenced by other Asian fabric design and production practices from countries such as India and China. Another excellent talk by Japan House London I'll be heading in this week so will get some photos to share with you all!

01/11/2023

In Okinawan culture, 'shisā' are regarded as guardians or wards against evil with an animal form that resembles a cross between a dog and a lion. 'Shisā' can be found on rooftops or guarding the gates to people's houses, and are typically placed in pairs. According to tradition, one 'shisā' has its mouth open to scare away evil spirits and ward off bad fortune, while the other has its mouth closed to keep in the good spirits and good fortune.

These mini 'shisā' ornaments have been crafted by ceramicist Yonahara Masamori at the Kitagama (‘northern kiln’) in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture. Available now in-store and online, explore more here: https://bit.ly/40gq1Pt

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