CLAIR: Japan400—from the high seas to the high street

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JLGC Blog

Friday, 11 January 2013

[The Japan Local Government Centre is the London office of CLAIR—the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations. CLAIR was established in 1988 as a joint organization made up of local governments. We provide a wide array of support to the international activities of local governments to strengthen international collaboration that will stimulate communities, enrich peoples’ lives and ultimately contribute to deeper mutual understanding and benefit.]

Japan400 marks the 400th anniversary of the first contacts between Britain and Japan, recalling the voyage of the East India Company to Japan in 1613 which led to a successful and stable relationship between our two island nations, which endures and prospers to this day. What began with an exchange of gifts between the British King and Japanese Shogun continues as an enduring partnership felt in homes and high streets, the cultural, industrial and commercial worlds.

2013 will see special events exploring the adventurous spirit behind those first exchanges and building on the two countries’ flourishing present-day relationship in art, science, trade, enterprise, high technology and lifestyle. Highlights of the year will include Anjin, a modern play at Sadler’s Wells Theatre about the real-life “English samurai”, William Adams, opening in late January, and a major autumn exhibition of Japanese prints, known as Shunga, at the British Museum.

Four cities in Japan connected by William Adams himself will host events to honour his contribution to bilateral relations between the two countries, 400 years after the founding of the first English Trading Post in Japan at Hirado in northern Nagasaki. The four cities are:

  1. Usuki, Oita Prefecture—where Adams arrived by Dutch ship in 1600
  2. Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture – where he constructed the first western-style ships in Japan
  3. Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture – where he was granted a fiefdom for his work as an adviser to Shogun Ieyasu
  4. Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture – the first Dutch and English trading posts in Japan in 1613 and Adams’ final resting place in 1620

    5. The Japan400 Press Launch showcased the eye-opening events to be held to mark, celebrate and explore this special relationship, which is supported by the Japan Local Government Centre in London. You can read more at the Japan400 website.

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