Rebecca’s Reflections
Beyond the Vanishing Point: Traveling the Map of Memory
I stood on the bridge feeling perplexed. Nothing was right. There should have been a small lane here next to a beauty salon. It was gone. Not just the beauty salon, but the lane, too. Perhaps I was on the wrong bridge. I looked up and down the river and saw bridges in...
Tracing a Kimono’s Story: A Transnational Journey
“I have a kimono that my Uncle brought back from Japan at the end of World War II, as a gift to my mother. I’m wondering if you might be interested in it?” I received an email with this message shortly after my university’s online magazine ran an article on my kimono...
The Baseball Widow: A Book Review
One of the perks of associating with the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club is that it has put me in touch with so many other writers and their amazing works. Suzanne Kamata’s The Baseball Widow is the Official 2022 Pick of the International...
On Missing the Aoi Matsuri
In The Kimono Tattoo, main character Ruth Bennett keeps an eye on the Japanese seasons. She knows when it’s appropriate to wear unlined kimonos or to dispense with long sleeves. Knowing of her fastidiousness, I was surprised when she forgot to celebrate the Aoi...
Kyoto Thrills: A New Review of The Kimono Tattoo
I'm so happy to have this new review of The Kimono Tattoo in the Kyoto Journal. Many thanks to David Cozy, Kyoto Journal's Reviews editor, for writing it! —Rebecca David Cozy is a writer and critic who has lived in Japan for several decades. His fiction and essays...
Going LIVE: Boy’s Day and Self-Promotion
Writing a book is hard work! Promoting it may be even harder! I thought when I finished my novel, all I had to do was ship it off to my publisher and then get started on my second. Wishful thinking. Once the book was in the pipeline, I needed to work on the marketing....