Welcome
Are you interested in Japan? Its people? Its culture? Its language?
If so, come and join us!
Japan Society North West holds regular Japan-related events in the Manchester / Liverpool / Cheshire / Lancashire region. For full details see events.
Next JSNW Event
All You Want to Know about Koi Carp
Sunday 5 July 2009 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
A presentation by Paul Edgar, Chairman of the Liverpool & District Koi Club, and Tim Waddington from UK Nishikigoi, a state of the art koi dealership in St Helens. You will get to view some of the finest koi ever to come into this country from Japan.
Paul and Tim will give an insight into the history of koi in Japan. The talk starts at the turn of the century when carp fry were first introduced into the rice growing fields.
If you would like to attend this event please contact our Events Co-ordinator. This event is free to JSNW members, and £5 to non-members.
Venue: UKNishikigoi, Sutton Road Farm, Bell Lane, St. Helens, Merseyside WA9 4BE
What's On
Japanese Art Festival
Saturday 11th July - Sunday 12th July 2009
A two-day Manga & Anime Art Exhibition. There will be many craft and sales tables from Manga shops, toys and dolls and all sorts of Japanese art and culture related goods, as well as cosplay and traditional Japanese dance. Details
Venue: Richmond Adult Community College, Parkshot, Richmond TW9 2RE
Nana Shiomi 'One Hundred Views of Mitate'
15 May to 13 June 2009 Mon - Fri 9:30 - 5:30, Sat 11:00 - 4:00
Exhibition of Japanese Woodblocks by Nana Shiomi. MITATE is a key Japanese concept of analogy between disparate objects, and Shiomi uses it here to allow the viewer a wide choice of possible meanings and free associations.
The One Hundred Views of MITATE Series now reached on No.78, and the series will finish its full complement of 100 prints in 2009. This series contains 100 icons which are profoundly relevant to Japanese Culture. All the symbols are juxtaposed equally.
Venue: Editions, 16 Cook Street, Liverpool L2 9RF
Japanese Woodblock Prints Exhibition
Tuesday 19 May to Sunday 28 June 1pm - 5pm (last entry 4pm).
Amongst the treasures in the Tatton Park Library collection is a set of 4 volumes of Japanese woodblock prints dating from the 19th century, which were probably bought back from Japan by Wilbraham, Earl Egerton, who visited Japan in the 1850’s. These beautiful albums show vivid images of the Japanese culture, including prints of Samurai, wrestlers, battle scenes and Japanese “beauties”.
These prints have now been digitally photographed, and a selection of these vibrant images have been reproduced to give an exciting glimpse of Japanese culture in the 19th century.
Venue: Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Taiko Drumming Performances by Tantara
Upcoming performances by Rochdale's taiko drumming group Tantara:
Norden Carnival 20th June 2009 - Norden Community Primary School
Hebden Bridge Arts Festival 27th June 2009
Rochdale Feelgood Festival 4th July, 2009 - Broadfield Park Bandstand
A full list of performances can be found on their web site.
Study Tours to Japan
27th July - 9th Aug 2009
Manga & Anime Art (Japan Festival) Visit World Cosplay Summit & Nebuta Festival
26th Oct - 6th Nov 2009
Momiji gari, Autumn Leaf Cultural Visit / Study Tour
Visit Akemi's web site for more information.
Japanese Food in Lymm
Japanese Food Specialists TK Trading set up shop in Lymm High School every other Saturday - see their web site for the schedule.
Venue: Lymm High School, Oughtrington Lane, Lymm, Cheshire WA13 0RB
Amazing Anime Association
The Amazing Anime Association meets on the 3rd Friday of each month at 7 pm to watch and talk about anime. For more information contact Angela Robinson.
Venue: Blackburn Central Library
Japan Photos
Explore JapanPhotos.org.uk for a high resolution tour of Japan.
Books
The Japanese Way – Garden Designs by Maureen Busby
The standard approach of the various authors of books
on Japanese gardens is to describe the historical development of gardens in Japan, then to illustrate the different styles and elements of traditional Japanese gardens. In more recent times, some have also featured designs of a few Japanese style gardens outside of Japan.
This publication is different: it contains no references to historical gardens but instead demonstrates by example how the elusive principles of the Japanese tradition can be employed in a western setting. It is simply a selection of designs by Maureen Busby, an acclaimed designer of Japanese style gardens, which were created for her clients, covering a broad range of locations and styles.
Published by and obtainable from: The Japanese Garden Society
"John Milne: the man who mapped the shaking earth" by Paul Kabrna
John Milne made his name and reputation in Japan where he is better remembered than in his home country. He was appointed as Professor of Geology and Mining at the newly formed Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo in 1875 when still only 25, whereupon he began an epic overland journey described in fascinating detail by Kabrna.
Once in Japan Milne was ideally placed to initiate study of such geological phenomena as volcanoes and earthquakes and it was his development of an effective instrument, the seismograph, which allowed him to make substantial contributions to our understanding of earthquakes. Not least of these was the realization that major earthquakes are not related to volcanic activity. Using his seismographs, which he continued to develop and improve throughout his life, Milne measured thousands of Japanese earthquakes. He was one of the first to realize that large earthquakes can be measured anywhere in the world. Review Amazon.co.uk
‘Pro Bono’ – a new translation by Andrew Clare
Matsumoto Seicho (1909 – 1992) was Japan’s most successful (and certainly most prolific) writer of detective fiction. His novels are characterised by their psychological complexity (of both plot and characters), his high quality literary style, extensive research of his subject matter and, perhaps most significantly, his emphasis on social realism.
In the latest translation of a Matsumoto Seicho mystery, written in 1961, ‘Pro Bono’ (Japanese title: Kiri no hata), the story revolves around the failings of the judicial system in Japan and the efforts of the sister of the wrongly-indicted defendant in a murder trial to secure legal representation by an eminent defence attorney in Tokyo. A classic tale of murder and revenge, Matsumoto wrote the book in the wake of several prominent miscarriages of justice and the story can be said to represent his critical views of the ineptitude and injustice he perceived to be inherent in the Japanese judicial system of the time.
Publication date: 13 November 2007
"JAPAN IN ANALYSIS: Cultures of the Unconscious" by Ian Parker
Ian Parker addresses three key questions: ‘Why is there psychoanalysis in Japan?’, ‘What do we learn about Japan from its own forms of analysis?’, and ‘What do we learn about ourselves from Japan?’ The book is about the development of psychoanalysis and modern subjectivity in Japan. It shows how forms of individual selfhood amenable to therapeutic intervention emerged as Japanese culture has opened up to the West. It is also about how approaches to analysing the self have encountered Japan and how analysts tried to make sense of a culture that once seemed at odds with the aims of psychotherapy.
IAN PARKER is Professor of Psychology in the Discourse Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University.
