With the cooperation of the Japan Branch of the Royal Horticultural Society, the JBS will hold a series of English garden lectures by Prof. Yutaka Akagawa (Professor Emeritus at Meiji Gakuin University) who has studied English garden history. Please see the outline below for the details of the lectures. To book, please register your full name and phone number with the JBS Secretariat by telephone or e-mail and make full payment to the bank account shown below. The closing dates are a week before each lecture. The talk will be in Japanese with Q&A in English and Japanese.

The speaker Yutaka Akagawa, Ph.D. is a professor Emeritus of English at Meiji Gakuin University. He has held teaching posts at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Aoyama Gakuin University, Asahi Culture Centre and NHK Culture Centre. His publications include Igirisu teien Sansaku (Iwanami), Eikoku Teien wo Tabisuru (Bunka Publication Bureau), Eikoku Garden Monogatari (Kenkyusha), A Brief History of the English Garden (Nan’un –do publishing) and so on.

11th March
The position of the English garden in the garden history of the world, and its character
Why do English gardens have their distinctive character? Prof. Akagawa will explain the historical and social background of English gardens, and the changes of English garden style in chronological order. Also he will focus on the landscape garden, and talk on its technical and social historical background. Prof. Akagawa thinks that the design of gardens is not an expression of technique, but an expression of thought and philosophy.

25th March
How were landscape gardens seen and evaluated?
The “Picturesque theory” encouraged the reshaping of English gardens. For instance, country cottages, which were removed from the English garden scenery, re-appeared in landscape gardens, and then the “Country style” was established. In this lecture, Prof. Akagawa will talk on landscape gardens, neoclassical gardens, contemporary gardens and also future gardens in the UK.

Time: 1400-1530 hours *Door opens at 1330 hours.
Place: International House of Japan (5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tel: 03-3470-4611)
Price: 2 sessions > Members JPY3,600 Guests JPY4,000
　　　　　Each lecture > Members JPY2,000 Guests JPY2,500

We are happy to welcome Ms. Mara Yamauchi, a British marathon runner, as a speaker for a lunchtime lecture which will be held in association with the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Ms. Yamauchi (JBS member) finished 6th in the Beijing Olympics women’s marathon. If you wish to participate, please make reservations no later than 27th February, using the form included with February notice, or by e-mail.

Time and Date: 1200-1400 hours on Thursday, 5th March
Place: The Westin Tokyo (Ebisu Garden Place, 1-4-1 Mita, Meguro-ku Tel: 03-5423-7000)
Price: Members JPY5,500 Guests JPY8,000

The founder of Nikka Whisky, Masataka Taketsuru, left for Scotland in 1918 to study whisky making, and created the first Japanese whisky. A whisky lecture and tasting will be held with the kind cooperation of Nikka Whisky. Participants will enjoy a talk by a chief blender, and tasting 3 kinds of whisky. To book, please register your full name and phone number with the JBS Secretariat by telephone or e-mail no later than 4th March and make full payment to the bank account. No refunds will be made after the closing date. The talk will be given in Japanese.

Time and Date: 1930-2045 hours on Thursday, 12th March *Door opens at 1915 hours.
Place: Nikka Blender’s Bar (B1F Nikka Whisky Bldg., 5-4-31 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku Tel: 03-3498-3338)

Prof. Hisaaki Yamanouchi (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, JBS member) will give us a lecture on William Wordsworth. Please see the outline below for the details of the lecture. To book, please register your full name and phone number with the JBS Secretariat by telephone or e-mail no later than 13th February and make full payment to the bank account. No refunds will be made after the closing date.

The speaker Hisaaki Yamanouchi, Ph.D. in English (Cantab), CBE, is Professor Emeritus of English, University of Tokyo. His publications include The Search for Authenticity in Modern Japanese Literature (CUP, 1978), Wordsworth’s Poems: Bilingual Texts (Iwanami, 1998), and an English translation of Oe Kenzaburo’s Nobel Laureate Speech, ‘Japan, the Ambiguous, and Myself’ (Kodansha International, 1995).

Outline: William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is widely acclaimed as a national poet of England second only in importance to Shakespeare and Milton. In Japan as well as in the U.K. he has been talked about in varying terms such as “lake poet”, “nature poet”, “young radical”, “aged conservative”, “egotistical sublime”, “eco-critic”, etc. These terms, however, need qualifications: in his poetry Nature is presented not only for its own sake but as a counterpart of the human mind; his is a landscape with people in it and often with the poet in its centre. Not only deeply concerned with the problems of his time but also actively engaged in them, he was also one of the most introvert and introspective English poets. The talk will attempt to re-examine some of the popular assumptions about the poet and his works. The speaker hopes to share with the audience the pleasure of reading passages from some of his representative poems such as ‘Tintern Abbey’, ‘Intimations of Immortality’, ‘Resolution and Independence’, The Prelude, etc. It is hoped to show the ways in which Wordsworth matters to us in the twenty-first century. The talk will be given in Japanese except the reading of Wordsworth’s poetry.　

Time and Date: 1400-1530 hours on Friday, 20th February *Door opens at 1330 hours.
Place: International House of Japan (5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tel: 03-3470-4611)
Price: Members JPY2,000 Guests JPY2,500

At this annual event of the Junior Group, members and friends will celebrate the New Year with freshly-pounded rice cakes. If you wish to join the party, please register your full name and phone number with the JBS Secretariat by telephone or e-mail no later than 7th January. Ordinary members and their children are welcome to attend, but please note that the number of guests is limited to three per member.

Time and Date: 1400-1600 hours on Saturday, 17th January *Door opens at 1345
Place: Please ask the Secretariat
Price: Junior Members / Students JPY2,000 Junior Guests / Members JPY3,000 Guests JPY3,500
Party fee will be collected at the venue. Please have the exact fee ready.

For the first gathering of the New Year, an annual convivial party will be held at the Society’s office. This party is only for JBS members, but guests who are interested in the Society will be welcome. No reservation is required, so please drop in for the get together. Some snacks and drinks will be prepared, but contributions are always welcome.

Time and Date: Open from 1700 to 1900 hours on Friday, 9th January
Place: The Japan-British Society Office (Room 213, 2F Fuji Bldg., 3-2-3 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku)
1 min walk from Exit B7, Tokyo Metro Nijubashi-mae Station. 10 min walk from JR Tokyo / Yurakucho Station
Price: Free of Charge

Kyu Furukawa-Teien has a traditional Japanese and a western garden, and has been designated as a cultural property of Tokyo Prefecture.　
The western style house in the compound was built by the famous British architect and builder, Dr. Josiah Conder. This parkland used to belong to Mr. Munemitsu Mutsu, a famous politician in the Meiji period, and later it belonged to the Furukawa family, one of the zaibatsu groups.
Participants will see the gardens, and also inside the main house where is open for visitors by appointment only, and walk to Komagome to have a Soba lunch at a famous Soba restaurant which opened in 1922.
To book, please register your full name and phone number with the Secretariat by telephone or e-mail no later than 5th December and make full payment to the bank account shown below. No refunds will be made after the closing date.
Full details will be given to participants about one week in advance. The tour will be conducted in Japanese, but an English brochure is available.

Date: Thursday, 11th December
Assemble at 1015 hours at the gate of Kyu-Furukawa-Teien
Schedule: 1030-1130 Kyu-Furukawa-Teien>>15 minutes walk >>1200-1300 Lunch (>> Rikugien *for those who with to visit.)
Price: Members JPY3,200 Guests JPY3,500 (Including admission fee and lunch)

Kyu-Furukawa-Teien Website

The Junior Group will reserve all of the Victorian Pub Rose & Crown and hold a Christmas party, the last JBS event of the year! Let’s meet friends, sing Christmas songs, and enjoy an early buffet dinner. Please bring a token of your festive goodwill (Do not spend more than 1,000 yen) for an exchange of presents. To book, please register your full name and phone number with the JBS Secretariat by telephone or e-mail no later than 5th December. Please note that Junior members and their guests will have priority. If you have to cancel the booking, please inform us early.　

Time and Date: 1600-1800 hours on Saturday, 13th December *Door opens at 1545 hours
Place: Victorian Pub Rose & Crown (Yurakucho Denki Bldg., 1-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku Tel: 03-3214-7920 )
Price: Junior Members / Students　JPY3,500 Junior Guests / Members　JPY4,000 Guests　JPY4,500

We are privileged to announce that a centenary dinner will be held to commemorate the JBS’s 100th anniversary.
The Japan-British Society (it was the “British Society” at that time) held a dinner party on 27th November in 1908, to celebrate its establishment. The news was reported in major newspapers.
This year, The Japan-British Society Centenary Awards announcement and presentation will be made, and a special performance will be given by Ms Noriko Ogawa (Pianist) and Ms Kyoko Takezawa (Violinist), musicians with a high reputation both in Japan and abroad.

The price includes pre/after dinner drinks, a 3-course dinner, dessert and coffee. British sparkling wine will be served as a welcome drink, and members and guests will enjoy a similar course dinner to that served 100 years ago.

It is hoped that many members will be able to attend this commemorative event of the Society. Please make reservations no later than 17th November, using the form included with September notice, or by E-mail, providing the same details as on the application flyer, and make full payment to our bank account shown below. No refunds can be made for cancellations after the closing date. Please be informed that invitation cards will not be sent to participants. Please do not use cameras in the venue.

Time and Date: 1900 hours on Thursday, 27th November *Dinner will be served from 1930
Dress Code: Black tie or dark suits
Place: Please ask the Secretariat
Price: Members JPY25,000 Junior JPY22,000 Guests JPY30,000 1 Table(10persons) JPY250,000

The tournament will be played amongst 32 contestants under the Double-Perrier System, and The Princess Chichibu Trophy will go to the golfer with the best net score. Please inform the Secretariat of your handicap when you apply. Further details will be provided to the participants by post one week in advance. (Closing date 10 Nov)

Time and Date: Start 0936 hours on Tuesday, 18th November
Place: Hodogaya Country Club (Asahi-ku, Yokohama-shi)
Price: Play fee JPY25,000 Party fee JPY3,000