Articles by Alex (E)

Selected Articles by Alex Kerr (English)

Nuclear reactors in Japan from Dogs and Demons by Alex Kerr
Chapter 4 Information from DOGS AND DEMONS, explores the Japanese bureaucracy and it's systemic hiding of accidents and unpleasant information. Examples of regulatory negligence and subsequent cover-ups include financial book-cooking, and nuclear power plant accidents (pp. 117-122).

"Machiya Town Houses: Life in the Old City", Lonely Planet's Kyoto City Guide, 4th edition, 2008 September
Article about the machiya (old town houses) in Kyoto contributed to Lonely Planet's Kyoto City Guide.

Obituary for John Toler, Japan Times, 2006 Nov 28
John Toler, 75, unlikely Zen abbot bridging East, West, dies at temple
Obituary for old friend John Toler, Abbot of Seisen-An Temple in Ouda, Nara, who died on Nov 14, 2006. Included here are some photographs of John Toler, plus the AERA feature article about him published March 2001.

Damage Control, Newsweek, 2006 April 10
"Despite Their Bad Reputation, Tourists Can Also One of the World's Greatest Forces for Preservation"
Published in April 2006, this article argued the positive effects of tourism in Newsweek's Travel issue titled: "The 7 Most Endangered Wonders of the World."

Preface to Very Thai, 2005 Jan
Preface to Philip Cornwel-Smith's book "Very Thai"
Preface for Philip Cornwel-Smith's book on Thai popular culture, Very Thai.

Retreat to the Past, Time Magazine, 2004 Jul 26
Chiiori, thatched house in Iya Valley
Published in Time Magazine, July 26, 2004, this tells the story of Chiiori, a thatched-roof cottage in Iya Valley, on the island of Shikoku

Masks made for Mystery, Katei Gaho International, 2003 Nov
Noh masks by Hashioka Kazumichi
Published in Katei Gaho International, Nov 2003, it discusses the work of master Noh mask carver Hashioka Kazumichi.

People Power, Time Asia, 2002 Sep 16
As Koizumi falters, Japan's "weirdo" governors have their day
An article published in Time Asia, Sep 16, 2002, on Japan's reformist provincial governors.

Obituary for Faubion Bowers, Japan Times, 1999 Dec 18
An era passes on with the foreigner who saved kabuki
Published in Japan Times, Dec 18, 1999, this obituary tells of the life of Faubion Bowers, the man credited with "saving Kabuki" after World War II

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai — At Home in Trang, Sawasdee, 1999 April
A man of principle returns to his hometown
Published in Sawasdee magazine, April 1999, this article describes a New Year's visit with Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai at his home in the southern town of Trang

Trammell Crow — 'A Portrait of the Heart', Orientations Magazine, 1999 Feb
The Trammell and Margaret Crow Museum of Asian Art
Published in Orientations magazine, Feb 1999, this article explains how Trammell Crow built his collection of Asian Art, now housed in the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, in Dallas, Texas.

Yakaku Teikisho Translation, Monumenta Nipponica, Autumn 1994
Secret Teachings of the Sesonji School of Calligraphy
Trans by Gary deCoker and Alex Kerr
Published in Monumenta Nipponica, Vol 49, No 3, Autumn 1994, this is a translation, done jointly with Gary deCoker, of a brief but important medieval Japanese essay on calligraphy.

The Poet, The Aesthete, and the Sage, Kansai Time Out, 1992 Feb
David Kidd, William Gilkey, Harold Stewart
Published in Kansai Time Out, Feb 1992, this is my tribute to three interesting long-time residents Kyoto.

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