On July 8th 1853 four warships appear at the mouth of Edo Bay, threatening Edo, the shogun’s capital, today known as Tokyo. Their leader is the American Commodore Matthew Perry, on a mission to open Japan, which has been closed to foreigners for 250 years. Their arrival sparks civil war between north and south … … Read more
Ibusuki was a beautiful place, a land of gold and sunshine where the sky and ocean were perpetually blue. Cranes swooped, birds twittered, monkeys roamed the flower-clad hills, palm trees swayed and the purple cone of Mount Kaimon, more perfect than Mount Fuji, rose misty on the horizon … The Shogun’s Queen For me researching … Read more
When Atsu was a child her father had many geisha concubines and there were always geisha around the house. She called them all indiscriminately ‘Auntie.’ Her favourite was Wife Number Two, an earthy woman with a loud laugh and big personality, competent and unshakeable, very different from Atsu’s refined mother, Wife Number One. Wife Number … Read more
Atsu saw looming faces and felt cobwebby fingers brushing against her skin. She felt the wind of spirits rushing by and heard a roar like the crashing of waves on the beach. It was the cries and moans of all the babies who’d died here, not just babies but women, the maids who’d thrown themselves … Read more
“He turned away into the darkness and she heard his voice above the ripple and roar of the waves. ‘Okatsu-san, Okatsu-san. Don’t forget me.’She gave a sob and closed her fingers around the hilt of the dagger and said softly, ‘I won’t, I swear it. I won’t.’” The Shogun’s Queen How do you fall in … Read more
2018: 150th Anniversary of the Meiji Restoration ‘When East and West Collided’ Past Lectures: Tuesday November 6th 1.00 – 4.10 pm ANAシンポジウム: 世界から見た明治維新 ANA Symposium: The Meiji Restoration as seen by the World Public lecture and seminar in Kagoshima, Japan 2.30 pm 東と西がぶつかったとき: 明治維新 に 向かって の できごと WHEN EAST AND WEST COLLIDED: STEPPING STONES … Read more
Thursday 9 November at 6.00pm Daiwa Foundation Japan House 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle London NW1 4QP MAP Nearest station: Baker Street Admission free, booking essential Turning Point: The Momentous Events that Created Modern Japan To Japan, the arrival of Commodore Perry and his Black Ships in 1853 was almost as shocking as if Martians had landed. One of … Read more
Dark alleys wound between wooden houses with lanterns hanging outside, no doubt tea houses where geiko, the famous geisha of Miyako, entertained. Women in exquisite kimonos clattered by on high clogs, long sleeves swinging. Atsu listened for the tinkle of a shamisen plucking out a plaintive melody. She caught the scent of incense on the … Read more
To her Edo was a magical place, a city of dreams where brilliant men and beautiful women lived. She gazed transfixed at the map with the perfect cone of Mount Fuji, mystical and beautiful, etched above the network of streets. Together they traced the maze of canals that wound round and round like a snail’s … Read more
Edo Castle was like Louis XIV’s Versailles, a place of fabulous riches, of unimaginable beauty and luxury. Its mammoth granite battlements and gleaming roofs towered above the great city of Edo, the largest city in the world – which we now call Tokyo.