Hi. I'm Bruce Holland Rogers. I'm a fiction writer, especially of very short stories. I am in Kyoto for three months on a U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission fellowship, doing research for a collection of stories and a series of essays about aesthetics.
I joined this forum because two things are holding back one aspect of my research. That is, I can read books in English about Japanese culture, I can attend cultural events, I can wander the city and watch people. All of those things are valuable to me. But I have a hard time gaining an insight into what people's lives are really like at home, at work, in their private thoughts.
So the two barriers to THAT part of my research: (1) my Japanese is extremely limited, and (2) Japan is a rather closed social system.
I joined the forum hoping to ask some questions, but also hoping that existing conversations would reveal some of the sort of information that I don't have access to. And the great thing about the forum is that it will still be available after my three short months in Kyoto are over.
In addition to my "real" writing, I am also blogging about my experiences. If you're interested, the blog is here. And my fiction, if you want a taste of that, is there.
I joined this forum because two things are holding back one aspect of my research. That is, I can read books in English about Japanese culture, I can attend cultural events, I can wander the city and watch people. All of those things are valuable to me. But I have a hard time gaining an insight into what people's lives are really like at home, at work, in their private thoughts.
So the two barriers to THAT part of my research: (1) my Japanese is extremely limited, and (2) Japan is a rather closed social system.
I joined the forum hoping to ask some questions, but also hoping that existing conversations would reveal some of the sort of information that I don't have access to. And the great thing about the forum is that it will still be available after my three short months in Kyoto are over.
In addition to my "real" writing, I am also blogging about my experiences. If you're interested, the blog is here. And my fiction, if you want a taste of that, is there.
