Text of a lecture given by Professor Derek Massarella at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 15 March 2013 as part of Japan400 In the autumn of 1602, Japan’s new hegemon, and soon-to-be shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, wrote to … Continued
First Broadcast Thursday 4 April 2013 at 9am Duration:43 minutes Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Japan’s Sakoku period, two centuries when the country deliberately isolated itself from the outside world. Sakoku began with a series of edicts in the … Continued
The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Roger Gifford, is leading a senior City business delegation to Tokyo next month (4-9 April) to deepen ties between Japan and the UK as the two nations celebrate the 400th anniversary … Continued
One of the most viewed video items on the BBC News Website this month is an interview with Japanese superstar guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, best known in the West for his instrumental Battle Without Honour Or Humanity, which has appeared in many … Continued
Japan400, a celebration of four hundred years of Japan-British Relations, is launched with a reception in the stunning 17th century Livery Hall of the Worshipful Company of Skinners in London. Supported by the East India Company, which met at the … Continued
Londoners Diary, Friday 8 February 2013 Earlier this week I mentioned that the Duke of Gloucester, formerly Prince Richard, is involved in plans to re-inter King Richard III in Leicester, York or Westminster. The Duke is patron of the Richard … Continued
Japan400, a celebration of four hundred years of Japan-British Relations, is launched with a reception in the stunning 17th century Livery Hall of the Worshipful Company of Skinners in London. Supported by the East India Company, which met at the Skinners Company over … Continued
Japan400 gets underway at the opening night of Anjin: The Shogun & the English Samurai at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 31 January 2013. [Click each thumbnail to enlarge. Use the “NEXT”/”PREVIOUS” links to step through the gallery.]
Today’s Featured Article at Wikipedia is about Lady Saigō: Lady Saigō (西郷の局 or 西郷局, Saigō-no-Tsubone?) (1552 – 1 July 1589), also known as Oai, was the first consort and trusted confidante of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the samurai lord who unified Japan at the … Continued
The British Museum, Rooms 90-91 3 October 2013–5 January 2014 Admission charge, over-18s only (tbc) In early modern Japan, 1600-1900, thousands of sexually explicit paintings, prints, and illustrated books with texts were produced, known as ‘spring pictures’ (shunga). Official life … Continued
