ARCHIVED The Double Twelfth Conference: The First Period of Japan-British Partnership 1600-1623
Date
Tuesday 12 December 2023
Time
2.30 - 8.00pm
Venue
The Ballroom
Embassy of Japan
104 Piccadilly
London SW1
The Japan Society is delighted to be associated with this special event, organised by Japan400, which commemorated the start of diplomatic, trading, scientific and cultural relations between Britain and Japan in 1613. Through a host of exciting events during 2013, it celebrated the spirit of discovery and mutual regard that has inspired many successful collaborations and a remarkable friendship between two societies on opposite sides of the world.
Japan400's 12.12 Conference reviews the first period of partnership between Britain and Japan, 400 years to the month since the British "temporarily" closed the East India Company's presence in Japan. The conference covers the little-known arrival of the first Japanese in Britain and in 1600 the arrival of the first Englishman in Japan, William Adams from Gillingham in Kent, known as Miura Anjin. Thirteen years later King James's Official Mission to Japan formally opened diplomatic and trade relations with the gift of one of Europe's most advanced scientific instruments.Timing
2.30pm Registration
3.00pm Opening of First Half
5.05pm End of First Half
5.05pm Tea/Coffee Break
5.30pm Opening of Second Half
7.00pm End of Second Half
7.00pm - 8.00pm Reception
Chair
Leslie Downer, Author, Broadcaster and former JET
Speakers - First Half
| 3.00 - 3.05pm | Opening Remarks by HE Mr Hajime Hayashi, Japanese Ambassador |
| 3.10 - 3.20pm | Sir Tim Hitchens, KCVO CMG, former British Ambassador in Japan and now President of Wolfson College, Oxford: “The Japan400 commemoration as seen from Tokyo” |
| 3.20 - 3.40pm | Professor Timon Screech: “Overview of the Period” |
| 3.40 - 3.55pm | Associate Professor Thomas Kinoshita Lockley: “The first Japanese to visit Britain: 1588” |
| 3.55 - 4.10pm | Professor Richard Irving: “William Adams, Man and Myth” |
| 4.10 - 4.30pm | Dr Margaret Makepeace, East Asian Specialist, British Library: “Key Documents from the Period” |
| 4.30 - 4.40pm | Professor Nandini Das, Oxford University, and author of “Courting India”: “The Anglo-Japanese initiative set into a global context” |
| 4.40 - 5.05pm | Discussion, including Ms Hiromi Rogers, author of “Anjin-The Life and Times of Samurai William Adams, 1564-1620 as seen through Japanese Eyes” |
| 5.05 - 5.30pm | Tea/Coffee Break |
Speakers - Second Half
| 5.30 - 5.40pm | Sir David Warren KCMG, former British Ambassador to Japan and later Chairman, The Japan Society: “The Legacy of the First Period of Partnership for Subsequent Years, including Today” |
| 5.40 - 5.50pm | William Horsley, ex BBC Correspondent in Tokyo: “A Journalist’s Assessment” |
| 5.50 - 6.00pm | Lord Trenchard, Trade Adviser on Japan to HM British Government and Vice-Chairman, Japan-British Parliamentary Group: “Lessons for Trade Relations today from the First Period of Partnership” |
| 6.00 - 6.10pm | Right Hon Greg Clark MP, Chairman, House of Commons Select Committee on Science & Technology, and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Japan: “Japan-British Scientific and Technological Collaboration, the follow-through to King James’s gift of a Silver Telescope” |
| 6.10 - 6.20pm | Bill Emmott, Chairman, The Japan Society, Chairman, The International Institute for Strategic Studies, former Editor "The Economist": "Maritime, defence and diplomatic cooperation today, in the footsteps of William Adams: its relevance in the Indo-Pacific today." |
| 6.20 - 6.30pm | Susan Haydock, former Mayor of Medway and Honorary Mayor of Yokosuka “Sister City links based on the First Period of Partnership: Gillingham/Medway-Yokosuka/Ito” |
| 6.30 - 6.55pm | Discussion |
| 6.55 - 7.00pm | Nicolas Maclean CMG, Joint Chairman, Japan400, “Envoi and Thanks” |
| 7.00 - 8.00pm | Sake & Sushi Reception |
If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email us at: events@japansociety.org.uk.
The video recordings of the presentations and discussions are now available on the Embassy of Japan YouTube channel.
Supported by the Japanese Embassy, the Great-Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Sake Samurai and Nagayama Osamu
Booking Info
-
You should receive an automated email from The Japan Society to let you know that your details have been registered. Please note that your booking is pending while we check your details and you will receive a further email once your booking is confirmed.
- If you don't receive any confirmation emails or links, please check your spam folder or email events@japansociety.org.uk.