Japanese Plus | Learn About Wakamiya-Maru: The Edo Ship that Sailed the World

Learn the fascinating story of the Wakamiya-maru…and discuss it with the children of Ishinomaki in Japanese!

During the Edo period when Japan was closed to the outside world, a group of Japanese sailors accidently took a trip around the world after being blown off course by a terrible storm. The ship they travelled in was called the Wakamiya-maru. The survivors visited Falmouth in 1803 on their journey back to Japan. If you would like to read more about their incredible journey in English, please see the third link on this webpage.

As the Wakamiya-maru departed from Ishinomaki, (Miyagi prefecture in the North East of Japan) the Children of the Ishinomaki Children’s newspaper have decided to make a kamishibai story about these historical adventures. The children plan to give a kamishibai performance at many of the locations around the world visited by the Wakamiya-maru’s crew, and London will be the second destination after a few similar events in Russia. This event will include a kamishibai performance of their story via skype. In the workshop you will learn how to discuss historical topics, ask thoughtful questions, and practice reading in Japanese. After the performance you will also have the chance to use your Japanese to interact with the children of Ishinomaki.

This event will be in two parts. The Japanese workshop will be on Wednesday and the performance on Sunday morning.

Workshop:
We will read through the kamishibai script to make sure attendees understand it, and also prepare information about what the UK was like back in 1803. It will be a fantastic opportunity to learn about Japanese history and talk about British history in Japanese. The items prepared in the workshop will be shared with the children on the internet. 

Performance:
On the day of the performance you will be able to take part in a question and answer session with the children. We hope you’ll be able to tell them about the UK and have a deep cultural exchange. Lastly we will finish with a discussion about the event.

(Please note that you can attend the Workshop without the Performance)

Participation fee:  £5.00 (includes the Japanese language workshop and all course handouts.)
There is no participation fee for the performance, but workshop attendees will be prioritised.

Course Level:  This course will be held in Japanese. It is for non-native Japanese language learners with an upper-intermdiate -advanced level of Japanese (B2 level of the JF Standard or JLPT N2/level 2 and upwards). 

When:
Workshop: Wednesday 8^th June 18:30 – 20:30
(Please note that you can attend the Workshop without the Performance)
Performance: Sunday 12^th June 8:45am – 11:30am (Live from Japan)

To sign up: Please fill in an application here.