Upcoming Society Events
Summer Trip to Yorkshire
Saturday 16 August 2008 From about 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.
This is the Society’s summer trip to give our Japanese members an opportunity to enjoy a British picnic midst some lovely English countryside. Everyone should enjoy this open-air Yorkshire Sculpture Park and its indoor galleries featuring, at the time of our visit, the Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi.
We’ll meet up at the coffee bar between 11.00 and 11.30 for refreshment before a 1 – 1½ hour stroll around the lovely estate to get to see a selection of Hepworth’s, Frink’s and Moore’s in their outdoor settings. Lunch can be a traditional picnic in the grounds (or there is a self-service restaurant as well as the coffee/snack bar).
Then it’s a 20-minute drive to Tansu in Batley with plenty of time to enjoy the ‘entertainment’ as well as the extensive range of Japanese furniture, clothing and paraphernalia. At Tansu planned activities include:-
Jill Clay - recognized as an authority in the Uk on vintage/antique kimono - will display and present some of her collection. Jill is also an authority on dolls and will demonstrate them.
Sumie Kent will be playing her koto and shamisen.
There are 3 tearooms for a top-up, before heading homewards at about 4.00 pm.
Venue: Tansu, Redbrick Mill, 218 Bradford Road, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 6JF
Building a Japanese Garden
Sunday 31 August 2008 10:30 am to 3:30 pm
Would you like to learn about traditional Japanese Gardens and how to create your own? Then this full day workshop at Calderstones Park is a must for you.
We are fortunate to have the world famous Professor Masao Fukuhara who will talk about how different styles of Japanese gardens are designed during the morning session and then look at the Japanese Garden in the park and talk about how to create your own garden in the afternoon. Details
Cost: £20 for JSNW members and Friends of Harthill and Calderstones Park, and £30 for non-members. If you would like to attend this event then please contact our Events Co-ordinator by 22 August.
Venue: The Barn, The Coach House, Calderstones Park, Liverpool 18
Old Japan and its Transformation into a Modern State
Thursday 18 September 2008
A lecture by Glyn Parry . This is a Grosvenor Museum Society event.
The Grosvenor Museum opened in 1886, co-founded by the Architectural, Archaeological and Historic Society of Chester, and the Chester Society of Natural Science, Literature and Art, supported by the 1st Duke of Westminster and a major public appeal.
Venue: Grosvenor Museum, 27 Grosvenor Street, Chester CH1 2DD
Etsu
October 2008
A visit to Etsu, an authentic Japanese Restaurant in Liverpool.
Venue: Etsu, 25 The Strand (off Brunswick Street), Liverpool L2 0XJ
Calligraphy
November 2008
We are hoping to get a demonstration of Calligraphy by Umon Tachibana.
Umon Tachibana writes in a style known as Yosemoji, one of the Edomoji (江戸文字 ) lettering styles which were invented for advertising in the Edo period. Yosemoji is commonly seen advertising the performers in Rakugo.
Details to be confirmed.
Bonenkai
Saturday 13 December 2008
Come join us for our end of year celebration! Last year we had a Koto Player, Sushi, a quiz, Sake and more.
Venue: Padgate Community Centre, Station Road, Padgate, Warrington WA2 0QS
Recent Events
Japan Day
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Building on the success of our Japan Day in Manchester in 2006, our next Japan Day promises to be even better. This time it will be held in Liverpool, and its venue at the Guild of Students is over twice the size of the Manchester Town Hall venue we used in 2006. There will be over 50 groups taking part.
Headlining the entertainment on the main stage will be taiko drumming group Tamashii Daiko. There will also be displays of aikido, bo-jutsu, iaido and kendo.
In the quieter Courtyard area you can listen to traditional Japanese music played on the koto. There will also be demonstrations of kyudo, kimono-dressing and sushi-making. You could learn to do origami, play go, use the soroban, or attend a haiku workshop.
Don't forget to visit the JSNW stand where you can enter our raffle for a chance to win two tickets to Japan. This fantastic prize is made possible by JAL. Tickets are £1 each and are only available on the day. See our Terms and Conditions.
For more details, see our poster. Read about Japan Day in the Liverpool Echo and in the Liverpool Daily Post.
Venue: Liverpool Guild of Students, Mount Pleasant, Liverpool
Japan Day is supported by:
Haiku in the Garden
Saturday 28 June 2008, 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.
A joint British Haiku Society, Japanese Garden Society and JSNW event.
Programme
10:30 - 11:00 Arrival, tea and coffee, maybe even biscuits!
11:00 Discussion – haiku on gardens and landscape (Martin Lucas).
12:00 Introduction to gardens and landscape (Graham Hardman).
12:30 A very tasty Japanese buffet lunch (provided by Taka).
1:30 Stroll in the garden with time for Haiku composition.
2:30 Assemble and collect haiku (in groups with BHS facilitator).
2:30 Review of haiku composed and comments from all.
3:15 Concluding Readings.
Cost: £12:50 (per person payable in advance), Non Members £14. If you would like to attend this event please contact our Events Co-ordinator.
Venue: Walkden Gardens, Derbyshire Road, Sale, Cheshire (at the junction with Marsland Road)
John Milne: Volcanoes and Earthquakes of Meiji Japan
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Paul Kabrna of the Craven and Pendle Geological Society will give a talk entitled "John Milne: Volcanoes and Earthquakes of Meiji Japan". In Japan Milne worked on Japan’s Volcanoes, their formation and geological distribution. Milne founded the Seismological Society of Japan. The Mino-Owari earthquake of 28th October, 1891, with its spectacular faulting, helped convince Milne that faulting caused earthquakes by the release of strain energy which had been stored in rock through the slow deformation of the Earth's crust. On leaving Japan in 1895 with his wife Tone, Milne was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun from the Meiji Emperor - an honour rarely accorded to any foreigner.
After the talk there will be time for questions and then some tea, coffee and chocolate cake.
Followed by the Society's Annual General Meeting.
Venue: Padgate Community Centre, Station Road, Padgate, Warrington WA2 0QS
Ukiyo-e
Saturday, 26 April 2008 2:00 pm
Hokusai's woodblock print, 'The Waves at Kanagawa', is just one of a thousand Japanese prints in Blackburn's collection. These Ukiyo-e prints (literally images of the floating world) include portraits of actors, landscapes, pictures of famous courtesans, scenes of everyday life, and illustrations of myth and legend. As well as Hokusai, all the masters of the Ukiyo-e school are represented. There are fashionable women by Utamaro, landscapes by Hiroshige, actor prints by Shunsho, and erotica by Harunobu.
Venue: Blackburn with Darwen Museum and Art Gallery, Museum Street, Blackburn BB1 7A
Taiko Drummers Kodo
Monday, 11 February 2008 7.30pm
This amazing group of drummers, based on Sado Island Japan, enthralls audiences worldwide with their unique combination of high-octane drumming, instrumental music and dance.
They preserve and re-interpret traditional Japanese arts in a spectacular show which encompasses everything from physically-charged ensemble drumming to authentic percussion instruments as well as flute, shamisen and dance.
If you would like to attend, please email our events co-ordinator.
Venue: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Midori
Thursday 24 January 2008 7.30pm
Sir Charles Mackerras and Midori on violin.
Mendelssohn’s own elegant Violin Concerto (in E minor) is played by the stunning Japanese-born Midori, still only in her mid-thirties.
'Midori displays not the slightest tremor. Everything is impeccable, even in the pianissimo. Just perfect or perhaps more than perfect, sublime. Midori may be physically small but proved herself again as Midori the Great.' Berliner Morgenpost
Venue: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Bonenkai
Saturday 15 December 2007 7:30 to 10:00 pm
Come join us for our end of year celebration! After the success of last year's bonenkai, we've once again asked JSNW member Takayasu Takemoto to prepare the feast for us:
Miso mustard new potato salad (V)
Tofu zyoza dumpling in sweat chilli sauce(V)
Yakitori chicken skewer
Pork & onion kushi katsu (breaded skewer fry)
Shiitake mushroom & broccoli kushi katsu (V)
Mix vegetable Yakisoba noodle stir fry (Hot meal) (V)
Vegetarian o-konomiyaki (V)
King tiger prawn and vegetable sticks in vinegar miso mustard dip
Sushi platter: Boiled prawn nigiri - Smoked salmon nigiri - Tekka maki (Maguro thin roll) - California rolls - Avocado & watercress rolls (V)
Fruit salad Crème caramel
As a special treat this year, JSNW member Judy Kendall will be demonstrating her Koto.
Venue: Padgate Community Centre, Station Road, Padgate, Warrington WA2 0QS
Chadō: The Tea Ceremony
Saturday 17 November 2007 2:30 to 4:00 pm
Akemi Solloway demonstrates the tea ceremony: "While leading my audience through this most Japanese of pastimes, I explain how chadõ (the way of tea) has inspired many of the arts we associate with Japan, as well as the language and character of the Japanese people. It has been called a cult, philosophy, etiquette, a ruse for diplomacy in the age of warriors, an accomplishment for young ladies and stress relief for today's business executives. Oh, yes ... and it is a refreshing drink, too. An understanding of the tea ceremony leads to an understanding of the Japanese mind and view of the world. Therefore, it is a useful accomplishment for many people."
Akemi will also talk about and demonstrate kimono wearing.
Venue: Padgate Community Centre, Station Road, Padgate, Warrington WA2 0QS
Nihongo: The Japanese Language
Sunday 14 October 2007 3:00 to 4:00 pm
Do you believe Japanese is a difficult language to learn?
Do you think Japanese and Chinese appear to be the same?
Did you know that the Portuguese used to call Japanese ‘the Devil’s Tongue’?
Have you ever wondered how the Japanese writing system came to use 3 sets of characters? Would you like to be able to draw some of the interesting characters or learn some of the letters that make up the hiragana and katakana alphabets? Would you like to learn a few useful phrases?
Come along to Lymm on October 14th when JSNW Chairman Angela Davies will give a light-hearted insight into these and other questions about the Japanese language.
Venue: Lymm Village Hall, Pepper Street, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0J
Building a Japanese Garden
Sunday 2 September 2007 10:30 am to 3:30 pm
Would you like to plan and create your own traditional Japanese Garden? Then this full day workshop at Ness is a must for you. We are fortunate to have the world famous Professor Masao Fukuhara who will talk about how different styles of Japanese gardens are designed during the morning session and then do a ‘hands-on’ practical demonstration in the afternoon. Details
Venue: The Lecture Room, Ness Botanic Gardens, Ness, Neston, South Wirral CH64 4A
Damian Flanagan talks about Natsume Soseki
Saturday 14 July 2007 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Damian Flanagan, literary authority and prize-winning translator, will give a talk about the books of Natsume Soseki, which he considers some of the greatest works in world literature.
Damian has himself produced four books on Soseki, starting with Nihonjin ga Shiranai Natsume Soseki (The Natsume Soseki the Japanese Don’t Know) in 2003, followed by his award-winning collection of translations from Soseki’s early years spent in Britain entitled The Tower of London: Tales of Victorian London in 2005. He has also written definitive critical introductions to such classics as Kokoro and The Gate. Details
Venue: Manchester Art Gallery, Mosely Street, Manchester M2 3J
Haiku in the Garden
Saturday 30 June 2007 10:30 am - 3:30 pm
A joint British Haiku Society, Japanese Garden Society and JSNW event. Walkden Gardens are public gardens managed by Trafford MBC, and which contain the Japanese garden built by members of the JGS over the last three years. The gardens are unusual in that they are laid out as a series of interconnecting garden rooms, each screened from the other by tall hedges.
Includes an introduction to Haiku, an introduction to Japanese gardens, a guided tour of the Japanese garden and other points of interest in the gardens, and a lunch prepared by Taka. Details
Venue: Walkden Gardens, Derbyshire Road, Sale, Cheshire (at the junction with Marsland Road
Tsuji Giri - Cutting at the Crossroads
Saturday 2 June 2007 3:00 pm
The real background to the illegal (and highly anti-social) practice of testing the efficiency of swords on passers-by in Japan of the 17th century and later. And a factual explanation of the entirely legal variation on this theme known as Tameshigiri - official Cutting tests carried out by Government authorised testers on the execution grounds of Edo during the Tokugawa Shogunate. A talk by Steve Smith of the Northern Token Society.
Followed by our AGM. JSNW Members only. Details
Venue: Padgate Community Centre Extension, Station Road, Padgate, Warrington WA2 0QS
Ohanami Bluebell Walk
In Japan April 29th is Greenery Day, a designated Bank Holiday. It is also the month when Japanese people enjoy cherry blossom viewing, or ‘ohanami’ (お花見 ). So what better way of celebrating this occasion than with a day to view our own most popular wild flower, the bluebell. Details
Venue: Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire. CW9 6NA
Indigo
Saturday 14 April 2007 11:00 am
Join us on a Curator Tour of the Indigo Exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery, including an in-depth look at the Japanese section. Details
Venue: The Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6E
Introduction to Kendo
Thursday 1 March 2007 8:00 pm
One of the more impressive performances on Japan Day was by the KNMS Kendo Dojo. This is an ideal opportunity for JSNW members to learn more about the Japanese art of fencing.
Wilf Swindells sensei of KNMS has agreed to talk to us about Kendo, and give us a demonstration and a chance to see a regular practice session.
KNMS is a Kendo Dojo (school) based in Bramall and serves the South Manchester and Cheshire area. KNMS was founded in 1973 by Wilf Swindells sensei.
Venue: KNMS Kendo Dojo, Bramhall Recreation Centre, Seal Road, Bramhall, Stockport SK7 2JR.
Yusen Dyer and Kimonos
Thursday 8 February 2007 7:00 pm
Nasu Sachio is a respected yuzen dyer who has spent all of his life decorating kimono using a traditional technique dating back 300 years. He is one of the fast dwindling Japanese craftsman who went through the traditional process of learning through the deshi (apprentice) system much favoured by Japanese craft culture. Nasu san will be talking about his experiences as an apprentice and highlighting some aspects of life as a Japanese artist/craftsman. The event will include many slides of Nasu san’s work and a short video of him in his studio working on a kimono design.
Sheila Cliffe is a kimono collector who has lived in Japan for 25 years. She is a great enthusiast for all aspects of Japanese culture and qualified as a kimono dresser in a renowned kimono dressing school in Japan. She will talk about kimono in Japan, and then do a kimono dressing. Poster
Venue: Cavendish Lecture Theatre, Cavendish South Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester M15 6BG (All Saints Campus of Manchester Metropolitan University.
Bonenkai
Saturday 9 December 2006 7:30 to 10:30 pm
Get the details in your diaries now of the Society's Christmas event and anticipation for a happy and successful New Year; the Bonenkai. It's to be held at Lymm Village Hall. We'll have some welcome drinks from 7.30 onwards and then look forward to the excellent food being prepared for us by Society member Takayasu Takemoto, whose dishes we've enjoyed on a number of occasions..
Venue: Lymm Village Hall, Pepper Street, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0JB
Return to Liverpool World Museum
Friday 17 November 2006
Those members who joined us last year for a visit to the Liverpool World Museums' 'back room store' will know immediately that a repeat visit is not to be missed. We get to see and handle items that are normally tucked away safely and not on public display. This year we'll be following up on the recent JSNW talk on swords and armour - a full set of Samurai warrior armour is going to be brought out for us, and we'll also get to see more of the Museum's stock of Netsuke and related objects (which aroused so much awe and enthusiasm last time).
As an added bonus the curator, Emma Martin, will be telling us about the highlights of her trip to a world conference on Japanese textiles, from which she will have returned only days before our visit. For those members who are interested and have the time, we're going to meet up at 12.00 for a lunch-time Japanese meal at the Sapporo Teppanyaki Restaurant. Sapporo have recently become Corporate members of JSNW; in addition to receiving a 10% discount on the bill, hopefully we'll enjoy a special treat as this will be the first formal visit by the Society to a Sapporo restaurant (they also have one in Manchester).
Venue: World Museum Liverpool, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EN.
Japan Day
Saturday 21 October 2006
In September last year the Society invited the public to Dip into Japan in Lymm. The success of the event, with between 150 and 200 people attending, has encouraged your Society to be more ambitious by organising a Japan Day in the Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall. The Society is delighted that its patron, the Japanese Ambassador, has accepted our invitation to attend.
The first of the performances on Japan Day will be given by Tamashii Daiko, a group of Taiko drummers from the Tamashii School of Taiko.
There will also be demonstrations of Japanese martial arts, including aikido, kendo, kyudo and iaido.
Japanese music will be provided by the Royal Northern College of Music.
There'll be something for everyone at Japan Day. Other attractions will include Japanese swords and armour, origami, shodo (calligraphy), ikebana, haiku (poetry), kimonos and textiles, sushi, manga, ningyo (Japanese dolls) and Japanese Gardens. See the programme and poster.
WIN TWO TICKETS TO JAPAN!
Yes, that's right, enter our raffle for a chance to win two tickets to Japan! This fantastic prize is made possible by JAL. Tickets are only available on the day. See our Terms and Conditions.
Put the date in your diary now: Saturday 21st October is Japan Day.
Venue: Great Hall, Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester
Members of the British Haiku Society have written a renga inspired by Japan Day.
Discovering Japan through Textiles and Kimono, a Personal Journey
Friday 6 October 2006 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
JSNW member Graham Worth, an academic and expert on Japanese textile crafts from Manchester Metropolitan University, has agreed to give a talk to JSNW members in early October.
This talk will appeal to all those who are interested in Japanese art and culture. Graham was fortunate enough to be introduced to a Japanese craftsman, a yuzen dyer, Nasu Sachio in 2003. Nasu san introduced him to a deep understanding of kimono design and a Japanese way of being not often available to Western eyes. The blend of a traditional craft and an introduction to a way of life little understood in the West is a fascinating journey. The talk will include images of kimono, Tokyo life and the art of a master craftsman practising his art on a daily basis.
Venue: Cavendish Lecture Theatre, Cavendish South Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester M15 6BG (All Saints Campus of Manchester Metropolitan University)
The History of Japanese Gardens by Professor Fukuhara
Wednesday 13 September 2006 6:45 for 7:00 pm
The Lecture is a must for all those interested in Japanese Gardens and will include: A Brief History of Japanese gardens (from the Asuka (593-710 A.D.) to the Meiji (1868~1912) Periods), Japanese Garden Styles (Pond and Stream; Dry Stone; Tea Garden) as well as many of the elements making up a Japanese Garden such as Stone Arrangements, Plants and Trees, and Artefacts (lanterns, water basins, bamboo fences and so on). Details
Venue: The Lecture Room, Ness Botanic Gardens, Ness, Neston, South Wirral CH64 4A
Samurai and Swords
Saturday 15 July 2006, 10:00 am
An introduction to the landmark participants and events in the development of Samurai power in the 16th and 17th centuries, illustrated with actual arms and armour of the time and a slide show of significant objects representing the period. The objects and slides will be explained by Steve Smith, Secretary of the Northern To-Ken Society, member of the International Netsuke Society and former volunteer curator of the Japanese Collections in Liverpool Museum.
Venue: World Museum Liverpool
Annual General Meeting
Sunday 11 June 2006, 3 pm
The Society's AGM will be a bit different this year. It will be held at our Membership Secretary’s home in Crosby. After the business of the General Meeting is concluded we will adjourn for a social afternoon of some eats and some drinks, weather permitting, in the garden. Full details will be sent in late May with the papers for the AGM. Please put the date in your diaries now as the Society needs your support at this important meeting.
Tatton’s Japanese Gardens
20 May 2006
A private visit under the guidance of Tatton’s famous Head Gardener, and Society Member, Sam Youd. This time we're going into the garden, so wear sensible shoes! Our visit will be timed for the best of the spring colours.
This event is restricted to a maximum of 15 persons, with preference given to Society members, and is for people who do not require assistance walking, as the route is difficult. The Society is making no charge and parking will also be free, on production of a membership card. However there will be a charge for admission unless you are NT or RHS members.
Venue: Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
'The Peacock Fan Revisited'
Wednesday 26 April 2006
We have been offered a concession to Adrian Sumner's profusely illustrated lecture based on the influence of Japanese art on western culture from the nineteenth century, entitled 'The Peacock Fan revisited', on Wednesday 26 April at 1.30pm in the Lecture Theatre at the Museum. The entrance fee, on production of your JSNW membership card, will be reduced to £2.00, which includes tea and biscuits. No need to book, just pay at the door.
Venue: Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Preview: 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road
Wednesday 12 April 2006
JSNW members are invited to a preview of the Hiroshige woodcut print exhibition at the Grosvenor museum in Chester. There will be a talk about the exhibition, and refreshments will be served. This event is by invitation only.
Venue: Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Haiku in Lymm
Saturday 25 March 2006 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Find out about a traditional form of Japanese poetry that is still very much part of 21st Century Japanese culture.
A Saturday afternoon joint event is planned for March 2006, when British Haiku Society members will join JSNW members to present and explain a variety of Japanese Haiku. Traditional Haiku are short poems with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern and contain a seasonal reference word. We will talk about the history of Japanese poetry and the development of the haiku in Japan, and subsequently its influence on the West and in its English form. During the workshop some Japanese speakers will read some particular poems and talk through some of the typical images and features linked to Japanese aesthetic and cultural concepts. We will set up a bento style supper for anyone who would like to stay on to eat afterwards.
Kodo
Sunday 12 February 2006
Kodo return to the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, on Sunday 12th February. World-renowned for their breathtaking physical performances, Kodo are the masters of Japan’s traditional and contemporary taiko drumming.
Your Society has booked a block of £22 seats in the Side Circle. Members enjoy a £2 reduction on the seat price; accompanying non-members must pay the full price. The evening can begin at 5.30 pm when, if you wish, you can join other members at Tampopo in Albert Square and enjoy various Japanese and other Eastern cuisines before moving on to the Bridgewater hall for Kodo at 7.30pm.
Japan in Focus
Wednesday, 25 January 2006 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Japan is one of the most photographically rewarding countries – as keen amateur photographers and Society members, Martin Byrne and David Woolf, will prove on Wednesday 25th January.
Martin Byrne is an engineer who made more than 50 visits to Japan over a 20-year period, visiting Japanese nuclear power stations throughout the country. He usually travelled alone or with an interpreter and, as most of the power stations are in remote areas, he had the opportunity to see "the real Japan" (one hotel receptionist said she had “seen westerners on TV but you are the first one I've met") as well as cosmopolitan cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.
David Woolf photographed Japan over an 11-year period, living there for 4 of those years. He is a member of the Manchester Geographical Society, travels widely, gives talks and shows slides, from a collection that now numbers over 15,000 and is still growing, to audiences in the North West.
Bonenkai
Saturday, 10 December 2005
For several years JSNW (and its predecessor Society) has met at Manchester’s Samsi restaurant for a Christmas get-together and to celebrate the coming New Year ‘Japanese-style’ with a Bonenkai party.
This year’s social event will hopefully be no less enjoyable than last but will be slightly different. We’re going to move from the ground-floor restaurant to the basement, where they have now installed a ‘Shabu-Shabu’ eating area. Shabu Shabu means "swish-swish," referring to the swishing action when you cook a very thin slice of beef in hot water. Actually we’ll be having several meat types, together with a range of vegetables and (especially) mushrooms, dipping sauces and hot steamed rice. We’re being offered the chance to ‘cook your own’ or the chefs will prepare for us. Also there’ll be a dessert course – all for the sum of £15. JSNW will be adding a free drink for members (and there’s usually a drop of sake to toast the New Year!).
Venue: New Samsi, 36-38 Whitworth St., Manchester
Nihon at Tatton
Sunday 30 October 2005
“Discover Japan” is a series of exhibitions and events being held at Tatton Park from 19th to 30th October. The final day is the most eventful: “Tatton’s Japanese Treasures in Print” (1pm-4pm), “Exploring the Principles of Japanese Gardens” (11am-5pm), “Japanese Style Flower Arrangements” (1pm-4pm) and “Japanese Archery” (12 noon hourly to 3pm at extra charge).
Your Society’s visit on this day will revolve around a private o-bento lunch at 12.30 pm in the Rostherne Room in the Barn, prepared by Taka, our Japanese chef, and a talk about the close connection between Japan and Tatton Park by General Manager, Brendan Flanagan. Tea and coffee will also be served.
The cost to Members will be £9, and to non-members £11.50 per person. In addition, and subject to availability, the Society will make arrangements for your participation in the Kyudo (Japanese Archery) demonstration for a further £3 per person.
All cars that enter the Park normally pay £4.00, but on production of your Membership Card entry is free!
Venue: Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN
Dip into Japan
Sunday 18 September 2005 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm  NEW.jpg)
Attractions include: Iaido (the way of the sword), Ningyo (Japanese dolls), Sushi demonstrations and tasting, Bonsai display, Haiku (Japanese short poems), Try your hand at Origami, Japanese textiles and artefacts for sale, play GO, Shodo (the way of writing) and Ikebana (minimalist flower arranging by a master of the Ohara school). Sponsored by Japan Airlines. Full details
Admission: Adults £1, Children 50p, Members FREE
Venue: Lymm Village Hall, Pepper Street, Lymm.
Shogun – the Life of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu
Sunday 21 August 2005
Our August event is a visit to a major exhibition in Leeds. “Shogun: The Life of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu” completes its 3-month display at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds (opened in 1996 as the new home for the national collection of arms and armour). This exhibition explores the life of Japan’s great statesman and Shogun, Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu. We’ll get to view some eighty of the breathtaking objects – screens, weapons, armour, art, scrolls, furniture – from the Shogun’s treasures which have left their sacred shrines for the first time in history.
There may also be the opportunity to take part in armour design, origami workshops or watch Japanese horseback archery and other special demonstrations taking place in the Museum during the Shogun exhibition (during the Exhibition, admission to the permanent galleries of the Royal Armouries is free). Royal Armouries, Leeds.
World Culture Gallery
Friday 29 July 2005
Members who came along to our ‘Netsuke’ event will know that, because the kimono, the traditional costume of Japan, had no pockets, Japanese men carried a small box, often made of lacquered wood called an inro. It was used to hold everyday items, like small coins. We’ll be able to see more of these objects as well as Tabako-ire (tobacco pouches, tobacco boxes and pipe cases) when we visit Liverpool Museum’s World Cultures Gallery.
For most members perhaps the highlight will be the collection of styles of armour worn by Samurai, from two different periods in Japanese history, as well as the sword collection. These are all displayed in the Asia Gallery, which shows how Japan has traded with the West for over 2000 years. We will see artefacts that were bought and sold, and ideas and beliefs that were shared along a network of roads collectively called the Silk Route.
We’re also going to be taken around the museum’s stores – an area normally closed to the public, where we’ll be able to get up close to many objects normally ‘hidden form view’. We’ll be having a one hour tour of the gallery - the Japan section is only a small part of the larger gallery – and may also be able to sample some of the activities in the hands-on centre and a session on samurai armour.
Annual General Meeting
Saturday 18 June 2005
Venue: Friends' Meeting House, Manchester.
Followed by a meal at the Tampopo restaurant.
Impressions of Japan
Saturday 4 June 2005
Following his recent visits to Japan, an illustrated talk by Award Winning Lymm based Artist Scott Baron about his impressions of Japan, including some unexpected surprises and unusual observations. Also in support is a small exhibition of work by UK and Japanese participants in the Joining Hands Across the Water project. This event will appeal to those who have already visited Japan together with those who are interested in knowing more about the current problems and wonderful opportunities they might find exist. If you are planning a visit or just interested in all things Japan, you should not miss this event. Venue: Lymm Village Hall. Full details
Behaving Yourself in a Japanese Home
Sunday 10 April 2005
Loss of face is not something that Japanese people ever want to suffer, and they go to great lengths to avoid it themselves and not to inflict it on others. But that’s not so easy because a minefield of customs and etiquette awaits the visitor to Japan – and it begins as soon as you meet someone: to bow or not to bow? How deeply? To exchange or not to exchange name cards? How formally do you address someone? You go to a restaurant – Who sits where? How do you use your chopsticks (hashii in Japanese)? What should you and should you not do with them? You visit their home – how do you enter? When do you remove your shoes? Don’t have holes in your socks! You take a bath – what are the niceties of public bathing? You want to blow you nose – should you? The list is endless but Society Member Cathy Peel, onetime resident of Japan, will help you through it with a fair dose of humour en route.
Netsuke – the Art of Japanese Ornament
Wednesday 23 March 2005
We’re very fortunate to have one of the leading experts on Netsuke to talk to us in March and show a selection of slides as well as, hopefully, a selection of the real thing. For the uninitiated, Netsuke are the decoratively carved toggles of natural material used to suspend the inro from the obi (waist sash). Inro are usually small compartmentalised boxes used to carry herbal medicines, coins or a personal seal. Steve Smith was Curator of the Japanese collection at Liverpool Museum from 1989 and he’ll also tell us a little about the new gallery of Japanese armoury and laquerware that we’ll be visiting later in the year. Steve is also an expert on Japanese swords, being secretary of the northern branch of the Token Society, so the evening should be an exceptionally interesting one.
The Art of Japanese Gardens
Wednesday 23 February 2005
‘Calming’, ‘serene’, peaceful’, and ‘tranquil’, are often ways that people describe Japanese gardens. This talk by Graham Hardman, Chairman of the Japanese Garden Society, will attempt to explain why. Illustrated with many slides of gardens in Japan, he will show how Japanese gardens have developed into an art form, evolving over a thousand years. Comparisons with western style gardens will be discussed, raising questions about what a garden is, and how taking ideas from Japanese garden design can contribute to our own gardens and our experience of them.
Ukiyo-e: Japanese Woodblock Prints
29 January 2005
Private visit to Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery with the keeper of Art to view the remarkable collection of Japanese prints and artefacts.