The Japan Society Year in Review 2014
Heidi Potter
In looking back over the year, it is always helpful to remember the missionof the Japan Society as set out in its Memorandum of Association:-- To promote learning and advance education in thesubject of and with regard to Japan-- To promote the study of Japan and its people in all theiraspects, traditional and modern, and to make the resultsof such study more accessible to the general public-- To promote the study of Britain and its culture by
Japanese people and to further educational exchanges
between Britain and JapanThe Society welcomes as members any who support these aims andwho wish to join a community of people with an active interest in UKJapan relations and in learning more about each other’s life and culture.
This mission informs all areas of the Society’s programme, whether
direct school-focused education initiatives, lectures and seminars forthe general public and business leaders, events introducing aspects ofthe culture of both countries, opportunities for people to meet in more
informal settings, the provision of research facilities through the library,
the publication of books relating to Japan, or the programme of small
grants made in support of Japan-related projects throughout the UK.
In 2014, the Society organized over ninety different events acrossall areas of its outreach, including Arts & Culture, Lifestyle, Lectures,
Education and Business Events, as well as special annual fixtures. The
general events programme included: the Christmas party; ten business
related events; thirteen conversation group events; twenty-two events
aimed at younger members or families; six chairman’s events; thirteen
lectures and nine arts and culture events.
The Business Network
During the year, the programme of business events addressed issuesof mutual concern to Japanese and non-Japanese members, providing
Japan Society Proceedings7briefings by senior experts and opportunities to engage in discussion.
The chairman held a series of small lunches in which key figures basedin both the UK and Japan were invited to meet senior members of theSociety. Subjects in 2014 included finance and economics (Amari Akira,Minister of State of Economic & Fiscal Policy; Kuroda Haruhiko, Governorof the Bank of Japan; Andrew Smithers, Chairman, Smithers & Co Ltd),
areas of UK-Japan cooperation including Africa (The Rt Hon Andrew
Mitchell MP) and the Olympics (Masuzoe Yōichi, Governor of Tokyo),as well as contemporary Japan (Inada Tomomi, Minister of State forRegulatory Reform).
Larger business lectures and seminars were again generously
hosted by JETRO and corporate members of the Society. These included
a discussion on Abenomics by David Pilling, Asia Editor for the Financial
Times; insights from the London 2012 Games by Lord Deighton, former
CEO of LOCOG; an overview of European Energy Policy by Philip Lowe,former Director-General for Energy at the European Commission; anda report on the Macroprudential Policy and Initiatives of the Bank ofJapan by Satō Takehiro, Policy Board Member at the Bank. Seminars on

Business briefing with Minister Amari

8

The Japan Society Year in Review 2014

Maritime Security and Investment in Africa were organised in response
to suggestions from members and were very well attended.
The Society continued to arrange joint lunches in conjunction with
the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the UK, which
provided opportunities for Japanese and non-Japanese to meet andto hear from guest speakers, who were during the year: Satō Takafumi,
President, Tokyo Stock Exchange Regulation; The Rt Hon Danny
Alexander MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury; and Sir William Patey,
former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Sudan.
The Japan Society values its partnerships with other organisations
with similar aims and concerns in developing a programme which isof interest and benefit to the membership. In the current economic
climate, the sharing of up to date information and best practice isparticularly important and the Society cooperated with UKTI, JETRO,
Chatham House, the Japan Security Dealers’ Association and Asia-PacificTechnology Network to provide opportunities for members to build
networks and hear from experts.
These events are important in ensuring that Japan Society members
have access to the most up-to-date information about the bilateralrelationship, about domestic issues which have a global impact andabout ways in which Japan and Britain cooperate in international affairs.
Although they are of particular relevance to staff of corporate members,
they are also of interest to and attended by many individual members.
Participation by both Japanese and non-Japanese allows members tohear a range of views and understand issues in a wider perspective.
A Wide-Ranging Programme
As always, the Society’s general programme in 2014 included events
designed to reflect the diverse interests and enthusiasms of its
members. An annual highlight is the address given by the serving British
Ambassador to Japan, which was given in March by Tim Hitchens,
reflecting on his first year in post. This was heavily over-subscribed, witha capacity audience filling the auditorium at Nomura International forthe talk and lively question and answer session. (The transcript of thislecture was printed in Proceedings 150).

Japan Society Proceedings

9

We were delighted to partner with the Canadian High Commission
to bring Katsura Sunshine to London for a rare performance of rakugo
in English, kindly hosted by Clifford Chance. Building on the success ofthat event, Sunshine has returned to London for further shows as wellas performing, with Japan Society support, at a Japan Day organised by
Japan Society North West in Manchester, giving opportunities for nonJapanese speaking audiences to appreciate this popular comic tradition.
By contrast, a special guest lecture by Tsumura Reijirō focussed on theworld of noh theatre, and gave participants an actor’s perspective as
they tried on masks and attempted a noh chant.
A Society visit to Cambridge took members behind the scenes at
the Fitzwilliam Museum, where print curator, Craig Hartley, spoke about
the Museum’s collection and allowed participants to examine prints at
close quarters. The group then went on to meet Koyama Noboru, headof the Japanese department at Cambridge University Library, for a tourof the archive and to examine some of its treasures. The British Museum’s
superb collection of netsuke was the focus of a talk by Tsuchiya Norikoand Max Rutherston who gave
insights into these ‘miniature
masterpieces’, their history andvarying styles, and how they
have been collected in the West.
The lifestyle calendar in2014 was as busy as ever, with arange of regular events including
theJapanese
Conversation
Group’s monthly meetings for
those wishing to maintain andimprove their language skills.
Those interested in learning
other skills were also cateredfor, with cookery classes at Sozai
Cooking School and a day ofcultural workshops with the
Furusato group from Japan.
Cookery class at Sozai Cooking School
Sake and beer tastings featured
10

The Japan Society Year in Review 2014

A Thousand Cranes theatre company’s Kuroda Haruka performs the story of Tanabata,at Tanabata Festival, Southbank Centre - photo: Alice Caffyn

alongside golf matches, but were not to blame for the Society’s defeat
by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in the annual Collar Cup.
The Society brought Japan to a family audience in July, collaboratingwith Southbank Centre and the Embassy of Japan on a Tanabata Festival.
A day of workshops in June brought young and old together to help
make fukinagashi streamers which created a vibrant splash of Japanesecolour at the Festival Hall until September. This was followed by a packed
day of performances and craft activities on Sunday 13 July. Taiko, singing
and story-telling performances featured alongside dance, manga androbot workshops, which with a tanabata origami treasure trail kept
visitors engaged for several hours. Over forty members and friends of theJapan Society volunteered their time to make this event a great success.
The Japan Society book club settled into its new regular meeting
place at Daiwa Foundation Japan House, which provided a relaxedenvironment conducive to informal discussions. A core of regularattendees is joined on an ad hoc basis by others for whom a particularbook has special appeal. February’s meeting was held at the Embassy ofJapan Society Proceedings

11

Japan to visit the Natsume Sōseki exhibition and to discuss the author
with Damian Flanagan, whose translation of Tower of London was thatmonth’s book. In July, Stephen Dodd hosted a special event to discuss
his book The Youth of Things: Life and Death in the Age of Kajii Motojiro
including the translated short stories of Kajii Motojirō.
An essay competition run in partnership with Dalkey Archive Press
invited essays on the importance of the translation of Japanese literature.
Entries discussed the role of literature in understanding the present andconnecting with the past, while winner Leda Roodbaraky described
the curse of the English-speaking world, where translated work was indanger of being assigned to the realm of academics and intellectuals.
Her prize was a mini library, including novels from the Dalkey Archive
Press back catalogue and selected Japan Society publications.
The Japan Society again partnered the Japan Association,
Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Nippon Club tostage Japan Matsuri on 27 September in Trafalgar Square. Japanesemascot characters, featured for the first time, proved a popular hit with
Sanomaru and Kumamon being particular favourites of the crowd. A
moving performance of noh with contemporary ballet told the storyof the regeneration of the Hakurakusei sake brewery after the 2011

Japan Matsuri 2014 – photo: Paul Jones

12

The Japan Society Year in Review 2014

earthquake and tsunami, in which Living National Treasure, Tsumura
Reijirō, was joined by UK-based dancers, Ishibashi Kyōmi and Tsuruga
Kazuhito. Super J Fashion Show saw four Japanese-themed worlds
come to life through contemporary music with kimono co-ordinationand dynamic dance and ninja performances. Although these exciting
acts from Japan are warmly welcomed, the heart of Matsuri is the Japanrelated community in London and the organisers were delighted toshowcase local performers, including schools. Japanese festival food,stalls introducing a range of products and services, and activities for all
the family are essential to complete this annual event.
London Lectures
The lectures programme in 2014 ranged from architecture to surrealism,
from international politics to music. As always, the monthly academic
lecture held every third Monday at Swedenborg Hall formed the mainstay
of Japan Society lectures. In addition to those featured in this volume,
lectures in 2014 included a talk on Canadians of Japanese descent inpostwar Canada by Jonathan Mackintosh, Lecturer in World History at
Plymouth University; a view of relations between Japan and the Koreas
by John Swenson-Wright, Senior University Lecturer in Modern JapaneseStudies and fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge; Music and Nature in
the Transnational Shakuhachi Scene by Joe Browning, performer andacademic; University of Cambridge Senior Lecturer in Modern JapaneseStudies, Brigitte Steger’s study of sleep in tsunami evacuation shelters in
Yamada, Iwate Prefecture; and The Siege of Tsingtao by Jonathan Fenby,
former editor of the Observer and South China Morning Post. The 2014
Carmen Blacker Lecture, in partnership with the Sainsbury Institute for
the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, was given by Professor Peter
Kornicki and is reprinted in this volume.
Japan Society Small Grants
An annual sum of up to £30,000 is set aside for grants in support ofsmall-scale projects and events related to Japan. These grants provide
opportunities for people throughout the UK to participate in educationand exchange relating to Japan and thus contribute to raising awarenessand understanding of the country and its culture in places where theJapan Society Proceedings

13

Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta with Treehouse, part of Kids Company,
in Camden – © Eloise Campbell

Japan Society has no regular activity. Priority is given to applications
for grassroots projects and for activities involving schools and othereducational establishments. In 2014, twenty-seven grants were madeaveraging some £700 each. Of these sixteen were organised in schools orprovided opportunities for school students to participate in Japan-related
activities. These ranged from Japan Days to complement ongoing studyof Japan or Japanese language, to primary school workshops exploringsound and music and activities in partnership with link schools in Japan.
Japan Society support helped exchange activities between
Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta and youth organisations in London
including Kids Company and Keys of Change. Grants were also
awarded to organisations wishing to extend the reach of exhibitions
and performance projects, including: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum,
whose furoshiki exhibition was accompanied by an extensive education
programme; Rochester Guildhall Museum, where a series of Japanesethemed activities for family groups celebrated Medway’s historicalconnection with Japan; A Thousand Cranes for workshops in tandemwith their stage adaptation of Kitamura Satoshi’s children’s book Me and
My Cat?; Southwark Playhouse; Tate St Ives; Llandudno Museum and
14

The Japan Society Year in Review 2014

University of the Creative Arts. Support was also given to community
Japan Days in London, Manchester and Plymouth, where Japan400
celebrations continued on 27 September, the 400th anniversary of the
return of the Clove from Japan.
Schools Education
The schools education programme has been developed out of a belief
in the value to young people in the UK of growing up with an awarenessand understanding of Japan and its culture. In addition to historical andbusiness reasons for learning about a key international partner, there are
more general benefits of broadening horizons and raising aspirations.
Through its activities for schools, the Society supports teachers, who
may have limited experience of Japan themselves, in providing theseopportunities for their students.
Throughout the year, the Society’s education team provides advice
and resources to schools engaged in teaching and learning activities
relating to Japan. As well as working in partnership with local authorities,
it offers materials directly to schools throughout the country, including
loan resources supplied to approximately seventy schools each year.
The Japan Conference for Schools, organised with the JapanFoundation at the Embassy of Japan in March, involved over fifty schools.
The day encompassed a series of primary and secondary language andschool linking and cultural workshops, along with a key note speech by
Crispin Chambers of Tavistock College, Teacher of the Year in 2013. On
a smaller scale, a Discover Japan course was held in Great Malvern inWorcestershire, incorporating cultural workshops for Key Stage 2 pupils
alongside training for teachers in the local authority.
120 sixth form students of Japanese and their teachers attended
a one-day conference on 6 November which aimed to provide insights
into life in Japan and less familiar aspects of Japanese culture. Lecturers
included Tom Burn, Deputy Head of the East Asia Pacific Department,
FCO and Dr Angus Lockyer, Lecturer in Japanese History, SOAS.
Representatives of British and Japanese universities and a former British
student, who had spent time at university in Japan, provided information
on opportunities to continue to develop their interest in Japan andJapanese after leaving school.
Japan Society Proceedings

15

During the year visits were made by the Society’s Japan in YourClassroom volunteers in Greater London, Brighton, Derby, Manchester
and South Wales to some fifty schools. For most students a Japan in YourClassroom visit is their first opportunity to meet a Japanese person andto hear about Japan first-hand. The visits have a lasting impact. A special
visit was arranged for three NHK Radio Taisō presenters, who spent amorning running sessions with children in Years 3 to 6 at Westbourne
Primary School, and then went on to work with elderly users and local
primary school children at the Third Age Centre.
Support for school links has continued to be an important elementof the Society’s work. During 2014, new partnerships were establishedand existing links strengthened through exchange trips. Kobe University
Fuzoku Junior High School brought 150 students to visit their new
partner school, Cirencester Deer Park School, and Cropwell Primary
School in Nottingham had another successful visit from their partner,
Komaki Elementary School in Nagano. During Takamatsu Daiichi SeniorHigh School’s annual visit to County Upper School in Bury St. Edmunds,
students continued their joint science studies with a Science Day ofdesigning and building exercises and a study trip to Sizewell B Power
Station. In the virtual world, some sixty school partnerships are now
using Japan UK LIVE! and related services to develop their links.
In October the Society facilitated a trip by the Head and Deputy
Head of Maryland Primary School in Newham, to visit schools in Osaka
in order to research methods of teaching critical thinking skills. This is a
topic of interest in both countries and so in addition to feeding back tocolleagues in London, the teachers will continue to meet and discusswith researchers from Japan.
The Society again worked with Japan Airlines on its biennial haiku
contest. The 13th World Children’s Haiku Contest had as its theme‘Dreams’, which elicited a varied and imaginative response from schools.
With a record eight hundred entries from thirty seven schools throughout
the UK, the judges had much to discuss. First prize winners were Frya
Hannay (12) from Mid Yell Junior High School, Shetland, Joshua Jones (8)from St. Cedd’s School, Essex and Millie Severn (11) from Toothill School,
Nottinghamshire.

16

The Japan Society Year in Review 2014

Japan Society Publications
2014 was a busy year for publications. The Art lover’s guide to Japanesemuseums was launched at the start of the year and soon proved to bemeeting a need for an easily accessible introduction to art museums
and their collections. This selection of some well- and less well-known
museums is a useful starting point for those keen to learn more about
Japan through its art treasures and encourages the visitor to venture
beyond the main urban centres. The autumn saw the publication of
two books with an historical focus. The first, The Growing Power ofJapan, 1967-1972: Analysis and Assessments from John Pilcher and theBritish Embassy, Tokyo, provides a valuable record of Japan’s progressat this turning point in her post-war history, as well as insights into thehopes and expectations of the British government in its dealings withJapan. Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits Vol. IX was launched in
December; containing fifty-seven ‘portraits’, it brings the Japan Society’s
collection of individual memoirs to a cumulative total of nearly five
hundred. Members may purchase copies of the Art lover’s guide at a
discount price, and can obtain a free copy of each of the two historicalvolumes while stocks last.

Japan Society Proceedings

17