Storied Magazine – Volume 01: The Kyoto Issue

STORIED is inspired by the people, places, crafts, and traditions of Japan - sharing stories unearthed across an archipelago of alluring culture. STORIED is made for people seeking a connection to unknown characters and hideaways that are longing to be visited.

As an independent magazine-cum-journal and online platform, STORIED celebrates the notion of slow and sustainable journalism, touching personal narratives, and considered recommendations for the conscientious explorer. So, whether your interest is travel, design, or cultural heritage, let the pages of STORIED take you on a journey into the true heart of Japan.

The Kyoto Issue takes readers on a journey across unknown Kyoto — a setting of significance as the cultural heart of Japan and the place that we at STORIED call home.

We eschew the temples in favour of a photographic essay into daily life in the city, celebrating the beauty in the otherwise mundane through friend and photographer, Joe Keating’s, emotive images. We traverse the forests and coasts of rural Kyoto, and we talk tea with the women in Wazuka that are pushing boundaries within the centuries old industry. We also visit the world of traditional tattooing, an art form overtly discouraged in Japan yet one steeped in spiritual history, discussing what it means to perform the technique in present-day Kyoto, a city known for its strict adherence to cultural rules.

And this is just the beginning. The Kyoto Issue is full of emotive experiences, inspirational stories, and stunning design.