Mainichi Shimbun 毎日新聞: 日英交流400年:音楽家ら演奏と朗読 英でイベント

毎日新聞 2013年06月12日  【ロンドン坂井隆之】日英の政府間の交流が始まってから今年で400年を迎えるのを記念して11日夜、ロンドン市内の教会で両国の音楽家らによる演奏と朗読のイベントが行われた。 日英の企業・団体で作る民間グループが主催した。この日は最初の英国側の特使が日本に到着した記念日。イベントでは、1613年に江戸幕府初代将軍・徳川家康に宛てた英国王の親書を携えてロンドンを出港した「クローブ号」の航海の様子を、当時の歌や航海記の朗読などで再現。「クローブ号」が到着した長崎県・平戸の民謡や踊りを、英国の小学校の児童らが浴衣姿で披露。詰め掛けた約500人の市民らが日英双方の伝統文化を楽しんだ。 交流400年を記念するイベントは2014年まで日英双方で開かれる。 This Japan400 related article originally appeared in the Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper in Japan on 12 June 2013. Link to original article here (A translation will follow shortly). Link to more event information including Japanese translations here

Ports, profit and pornography Geoff Tudor

1613: The first British ship sails into Hirado’s harbour…   It’s a little known fact that the first recorded direct shipment of Japanese goods to England included a collection of erotic pictures, or shunga. Carrying the lascivious library, together with … Continued

Talk: The Fascination of Traditional Japanese Books

NEW!  Tuesday 30 April 2013 The Fascination of Traditional Japanese Books A special lecture (in Japanese) by Prof. Masayoshi Ohashi, Vice President of Tenri University Room G3, SOAS from 4:00pm – 5:30pm . All welcome This Lecture is in association with the Exhibition … Continued

UK-Japan Global Seminar: Fostering Strategic Partnerships

Registration is now open for UK-Japan Global Seminar 20-21 June – interested parties can register their interest in attending the event by visiting http://www.chathamhouse.org/events/view/190373.  Please see the Asia Programme on the Chatham House website for more information

Japan’s Sakoku Period BBC Radio 4

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

Lord Mayor of the City of London visits Japan

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