by Rebecca Copeland | Mar 29, 2023 | Mystery Fiction
“And isn’t it better really to leave things only hinted at?” This is a well-cited line from Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s 1929 novel Tade kuu mushi (translated by Edward Seidensticker, Some Prefer Nettles). The protagonist’s father-in-law utters the line midway through the... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Jun 24, 2020 | Japanese Culture
Kimonos exist in both tangible and intangible forms. Having worked on modern Japanese women’s writing for several decades now, I am constantly aware of the attention to the detail of dress—more often than not to kimono. And the references are there not just to provide... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Jun 17, 2020 | Japanese Culture
A kimono is more than just a garment. It’s a container of memory. For many it’s a living entity. By that, I don’t mean kimonos get up and walk on their own. No, they are animated by the body that wears them. But in some sense, the kimono also absorbs the energy that...
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