Plymouth University prepares to host celebration of Japanese culture and commerce

A spectacular showcase of Japanese culture and trade gets underway in Plymouth this week as the city celebrates its place in the 400-year story of British-Japanese relations.

Japan400 Plymouth – running from Friday 26 September to Wednesday 01 October – will mark the anniversary of the first UK trade mission to Japan, which concluded when John Saris and his ship The Clove arrived in Plymouth on September 27 1614.

Four centuries to the day later, an historical tall ship will sail into the city where it will be greeted by senior dignitaries, including ministerial representatives from the UK and Japan. Artist Makiko Yamamoto, from the tsunami-affected city of Mito on Japan’s east coast, will also give gifts on behalf of the children of Mito to the children of the South West.

There will also be a weekend of Japan-inspired events at Sutton Harbour and the Barbican, a business fair for local firms and events to help local schools and colleges learn more about Plymouth’s prominent role in the story.

Japan400 Plymouth is being organised by the History department at Plymouth University, and lecturer Dr Jonathan Mackintosh said: “The journey of John Saris 400 years ago is a little known tale, but an epic one.  It exemplifies a vintage age of globalisation, when tall ships set sail from and returned to Plymouth, Britain’s gateway to the world. Japan400 Plymouth reaffirms our historical links to the country and opens new opportunities for exchange, collaboration and discovery. It also aims to show that while Japan might be geographically distant, its influences are all around us.”

Japan400 Plymouth is part of the Ocean City Festival, and is running alongside the Plymouth Seafood Festival, and will feature a host of events based around the themes of food, culture, history, learning and business. These include:

• The Japan Fair, on September 27-28, including cookery demonstrations by local celebrity chef Peter Gorton and the UK’s top Japanese chef Yoshinori Ishii, as well as a stall sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that will include sake tasting;
• A Global Japan Culture Showcase, on September 28 in Plymouth Guildhall, with taiko drumming, martial arts, origami sessions, illustration workshops, hand-dyed fabrics demonstrations, kimono fashion show, calligraphy and writing table, poetry reading, traditional music, a manga exhibition, food, and various stalls;
• Doing Business with Japan, on September 26, a fair designed for South West companies who wish to look at expanding their international exports;
• Maritime Synergies International Symposium, on September 29, a half-day event hosted by Plymouth University and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, that brings together world-leading scholars and top-level specialists as they discuss Anglo-Japanese relations;
• The Japan400 Plymouth Keynote Lecture on September 30 – Japan400 and Plymouth: Why 1614 matters in 2014 – by Professor Timon Screech, from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.