(Past event) My Families and Other Samurai

PAST EVENT

13th May 2025. The Japan Society of Scotland working with the Asia Scotland Institute.

We recently collaborated with the Asia Scotland Institute (ASI), who organized a superb lecture by Haruko Fukuda OBE. She is a former Chair of the Japan Society and a major figure on finance in London and internationally, who has made a major contribution to UK-Japan relations through decades based in London.

JSoS members were delighted to attend this book talk at The New Club, which was about her fascinating memoir My Families and ther Samurai. This was not a lecture on high level financial matters, nor a direct telling of her own story and her own achievements, Roddy Gow founder of ASI paid tribute to her own achievements in his excellent introduction. It was instead a warm, fascinating story of an incredible family over generations set against a background of the story of modern Japan.

It was a story with elegance and candour of the achievements of her family shaped by samurai heritage, diplomatic duty and international ambition. Whilst her book is aimed at a popular audience it should also be recommend to all serious students of modern Japan. Fukuda Sama presented her talk in excellent fashion and took a considerable number of questions, which if anything, whetted our appetite for the book, now on sale and sure to be a best seller.

Website of the Asia Scotland Institute: https://asiascot.com/

JAMES ALBON: SOUTHERN BARBARIAN

This exhibition is not held by JSOS

When: 28th & 29th of June 2025

Location: Coburg House Art Studios15 Coburg StreetEdinburgh, Scotland, EH6 6ETUnited Kingdom (map)

JSOS members can join the private viewing on the 27th of June (6.30-9.00pm)

James Albon is an award-winning artist, writer, and illustrator from Scotland. His artwork is inspired by stories of people, places, and human connection, with a strong foundation in observational drawing and painting. 

Returning from a three month artist residency at AiRK in Kobe, Japan, Albon uses this new body of work to explore themes of language-learning, cross-cultural connection, and the bewildering experience of being only semi-conversant in a foreign language. Inspired by the 17th century Japanese Namban Byobu (南蛮屛風), folding screens which depict the earliest European merchants and missionaries arriving in Japan, Albon’s work plays on the contemporary experience of travel in the chaotic 21st century. With a series of observational drawings and large-scale studio works developed from the residency, the exhibition tells stories from the no-man’s land between tradition and technology, enjoyment and anxiety, clear communication and utter confusion. 

Albon has written and illustrated several graphic novels, including Love Languages (2025) and The Delicacy (2021), and illustrated for clients around the world including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Guardian and the Folio Society. His work has been exhibited in London, New York, Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Kobe. He has received awards from The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, The V&A Award, The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, and the Rene Carcan Award. 

Click here to read more on the Coburg House website…

JSOS awarded James Albon a grant of £500 to support the residency he undertook in Kobe Japan during September of 2024.

Cross-party Group on Japan Meeting May 2025

On 28th May, a number of JSoS members attended the meeting of the Cross-Party Group on Japan, at the Scottish Parliament, chaired by Colin Smyth MSP, who welcomed special guests:  the new Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki, and the new Consul General in Edinburgh Katsutoshi Takeda.  Also attending was Ms Kayo Ono from the fiddle band BRUACH (five band members), who have been invited to perform at the Osaka Expo 2025 on 5th July.  Kayo, dressed in a Kimono, played two lovely Scottish melodies. JSoS has provided a small grant to support their trip.  https://bruach.info/event/bruach-osaka-expo-celtic-rock-revolution/

https://www.facebook.com/BruachBand

During the meeting, Karen Adam, member of the Scottish Parliament for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, reported that she would be putting forward a motion for debate at the Scottish Parliament on 5th June entitled, Thomas Blake Glover:  Fraserburgh’s International Legacy.  She also mentioned that a Glover Garden at the place where Glover was born in Fraserburgh, would be the centre of a Thomas Blake Glover Festival, to be held on 8th June 2025, hoping that this would become an annual celebration.

On 5th June, I had the pleasure of visiting the Scottish Parliament with another JSoS member. We were kindly given a tour of the building and workings of Parliament by Richard Cook, followed by a seat in the public gallery to witness First Minister’s Questions. Following straight on from FMQs was Karen Adam’s motion.  She was joined by a further six members supporting the debate.  To see the debate, click on the link below.  

Thomas Blake Glover:  Fraserburgh’s International Legacy.

https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/members-business-s6m-17428-karen-adam-thomas-blake-glover-fraserburghs-international-legacy-june-5-2025

The Inaugural Glover Festival took place on 8th June.  The Consul General, Mr Katsutoshi Takeda planted a cherry tree.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1195284515627048/?active_tab=discussion

An Introduction to Japanese Metalwork

Event by JSOS.

Guest Speaker – Prof. Emerita Sandra Wilson,

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, part of the University of Dundee

Date – Monday 9th of June 2025

NEW Venue – G43, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh

Also available online via Zoom

Japanese artisans over the years have created a whole class of
coloured metal alloys called irogane that are involved in the creation of functional and decorative objects. Gold in Japan was never abundant, and Japan’s frequent sumptuary laws also meant that gold was always a metal to be used sparingly. This has contemporary relevance for working with precious metals that are increasingly endangered, and specifically for working with metal recovered from electronic waste.


The talk will be based on Sandra’s research working with third and fifth-generation metalsmiths in Tokyo in 2023. This research was supported by the Daiwa Foundation.

Following her talk she will demonstrate the damascening technique nunome zogan which translates as ‘fabric inlay’, and uses chisels to create a cross- hatched effect into which thin gold foils are secured with a chopstick!

(Past Event) The Ayrshire Bonsai Open Exhibition

Event supported by JSOS

THE AYRSHIRE BONSAI OPEN EXHIBITION and JAPANESE VILLAGE was staged in Troon on Sunday 11th May 2025 A gloriously sunny day attracted a large audience of families and bonsai enthusiasts, together with others keen on learning more about Japanese culture.

HUGE THANKS to Jeff Banning and the host club for a wonderful event full of beautiful bonsai trees and a village celebrating Japanese traditions and culture. Thank you too to all those who came along to showcase their arts and crafts. It was inspiring to see so many Japanese traditions being practised in Scotland.

A Man of Resolve: Richard Henry Brunton

Event by JSOS.

Guest Speaker – Dr Geoff Goolnik

Date – Monday 19th of May 2025 at 7pm

Venue – ONLINE ZOOM TALK ONLY

Brunton was born in Muchalls, Aberdeenshire and initially worked on railway line development. He then came to prominence as Chief Engineer to the Japanese Government when the country was forced to “open up”. As well as eventually supervising the building of 26 Western-style tower lighthouses along with various other navigational initiatives, he additionally established a groundbreaking staff training and technical complex for this move. Furthermore, he also took a lead in town planning of the chief trading settlement of Yokohama, and in other matters too.

About the speaker:

Dr Geoff Goolnik

Dr Geoff Goolnik, the author of this work, is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin (and where, incidentally, he was also President of the influential University Philosophical Society (“The Phil”); as well as a postgraduate both of California State University (East Bay) and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Having lived/ worked for a time in London, he has, most latterly until retiring, been on the academic staff of Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University. In addition, he is an elected Fellow both of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Royal Asiatic Society. Finally, he is currently a resident of Aberdeenshire and situated very close to the settlement where Richard Henry Brunton was born.

Click here to sign up for the Zoom event through Eventbrite…

(PAST EVENT) A Winter Tour Through Southern Japan

Guest Speaker: Jackie Reid

Held on: Monday 28th of April 2025 at 7pm

APRIL TALK: we were treated to another wonderful cycle tour around southern Japan on Monday night (28th) when Jackie Reid concluded her talk from last year.

We also welcomed the new Consul for Cultural Affairs, Mr Masataka Abe, who joined us for the whirlwind tour.

Her journey in Part II took us to southern Kyushu, through warm Nagasaki following the coastal route towards Saga and then across to Shikoku, the Nakasendo, and finally ending her trip in snow drenched countryside. Travelling through small villages, towns, sampling the local cuisine and enjoying the wonderful traditions and hospitality.

Travelling light was Jackie’s byword and once again, she brought along her trusty ‘bestie’ bike. Thank you Jackie, a wonderful talk with superb photos.

Click here to see the original event notice…

PAST EVENT – The Henry Dyer Collection: Members Only Private Viewing – Mar 2025

Fifteen members enjoyed a wonderful day out today (25th March 2025) at The Mitchell Library Glasgow, for a private viewing of The Henry Dyer collection. Most of us gathered for lunch in the Mitchell café and had the opportunity to chat, before heading upstairs to see the selection of artefacts, which the special collections team had prepared for us.

Librarian Clare Thompson introduced the session by outlining the importance of Henry Dyer and the collection which had been bequeathed to the Library by the Dyer family. Dr Saeko Yazaki was also on hand to explain some of the detail of the items, including three hanging scrolls, sketches of views of Imperial Tombs, books, and an album of woodblock prints relating to kabuki theatre. Also on display were Lecture Notes on Theology and Church History as well as higher mathematical natural philosophy.

All in all, a feast for the eyes. We were honoured to have Deputy Consul General Minori Ishii join us, along with Lesley Hart, the great grand niece of Henry Dyer. We saw only a small selection of the items held by the library and so we hope to repeat this event with a different set of artefacts on another occasion.

Thank you to Fraser for organising this, the Mitchell Library staff for arranging it, Dr Yazaki for her expertise, and all who attended for making this a most memorable occasion.

Click here for more information on the Henry Dyer Collection…

The Right of Publicity in Japan

This is not a JSOS event.

The University of Aberdeen will be hosting a seminar on the legal implications of developments in AI for Japan.

Click here for more info on the University of Aberdeen’s website…

Below is information from the University of Aberdeen website:

“The recent rapid development of AI technology has led to problems of unauthorized use of human voice and portrait, such as AI cover and deepfakes. The legal mechanism for the protection of human voice and portrait varies widely among jurisdictions, such as the state right of publicity in the US, the passing off mechanism in the UK, the right of publicity without an explicit provision in Japan, the unfair competition prevention system in South Korea, and the explicit provision in the Civil Code in China. This lecture will cover the current situation and future prospects in Japan, introducing the recent campaign by Japanese voice actors.

Professor Tatsuhiro Ueno

After starting his academic career as a lecturer at Seijo University and as an Associate Professor at Rikkyo University, Professor Ueno was appointed as a Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Waseda University in 2013. He is considered as a leading copyright law specialist in Japan and beyond and is the author of the Japan part of the multi-volume sets Copyright Throughout the World (edited by Silke von Lewinski, Thomson/West) and International Copyright Law and Practice (edited by Lionel Bently, Matthew Bender). Professor Ueno has been a Visiting Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law in Munich from 2010 to 2011 and a Visiting Scholar at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 2019 to 2020.”

SAKURA @ Lauriston Castle & JET AA Scotland’s Hanami Picnic 2025

This is not a JSOS event


When – Weekend 26th-27th April 11AM-4PM
Venue – Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh EH4 6AD

“Cherry blossoms and friendly faces will welcome you. Why not try something anew together?”
“Have fun and enjoy sharing experience, learning something new and discovering something in common. making the most of what we have got!”
Enjoy tea-time at Mimi’s Bakehouse, book a tour of the castle while you are there!
planning fun activities for all ages…
. Bonsai exhibition: The Scottish Bonsai Association
. Hands-on activities: Origami, Learning some Japanese words
. Trying on Yukata: Casual and fun to try it on!
. Spring trail: Find and learn about things to do in spring
. Photo gallery: Nature, towns, culture and traditions
. Displays: Hina Dolls, etc
Event volunteers needed! Email the organisers at: sakuraeventsip@gmail.com

Click here to see more on the Museums & Galleries Edinburgh website…

Sakura @ Lauriston CastleDownload

This is not a JSOS event.

JET AA Scotland will also be holding their 2025 Hanami Picnic on the same day at Lauriston Castle. See below for more information:

  • JETAA UK – Scotland Chapter’s annual Hanami Picnic (Cherry blossom viewing) taking place at the Edinburgh-Kyoto Friendship Garden, Lauriston Castle Grounds, Edinburgh on Saturday April 26th from 2 to 4 PM (weather permitting)
  • Former, current and future JET participants are welcome to join along with their friends, families, Japan interest groups or anyone who is curious to learn more about Japan.
  • You are welcome to bring your own food and drinks – tea, coffee and snacks are also available at the nearby cafe.
  • This is event is free to attend – if you have any questions contact :scotlandchair@jetaa.org.uk
  • The Japan Sakura Scotland will also be running their own family friendly event on the same day from 11 AM so why not come along early to join in with their fun activities?
  • Or even offer to volunteer to help out with their event first by contacting sakuraeventsip@gmail.com and then join the JET AA Scotland picnic from 2 PM
  • For directions, please see the Lauriston Castle website. Please note that parking is limited and travelling by public transport is encouraged where possible.

Click here to see more about JET AA Scotland…