Links between Japan and the North East of England were celebrated as part of the ‘UK-JAPAN 150’ year of events in 2008 to mark the 150th anniversary of Japan-UK relations. Now the region’s vibrant historic links with Japan are being explored through a cultural research project which aims to tell the story of five young Japanese men who came to Tyneside to research shipbuilding in the late 19th century, never to return.
The project is the brainchild of Newcastle-based researchers Nicole Vivien Watson and Adam Dentone, who were fascinated by the story of the five young researchers from the Japanese Navy who visited Tyneside to investigate shipbuilding methods in the late 19th century but ultimately came to die on English soil rather than return home. The five are buried in Newcastle’s Elswick St John’s Cemetery, overlooking the Armstrong works where several Japanese navy ships were built to order during this time. Several of the graves currently lack headstones and the pair hopes to raise funds and identify suitable partners to provide fitting memorials.
The pair have enlisted the support of the two principal local authorities on Tyneside, Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council, as well as Tyne and Wear Museums and Archives Service, for their historical project, which will not only document the existence of the five buried Japanese nationals, but culminate in a series of events in the North East and Japan through the Surface Area Community Interest Company led by Ms Watson. They hope to assemble an anthology based on the history of the Japanese group, which they aim to present to their descendents in Japan, as well as online and in the Tyne and Wear archives. With the support of partners in the UK and Japan, as well as a dance performance in the Japanese ‘butoh’ form to be performed here and in Tokyo, a series of talks is also planned to take place as part of the commemorative research project.
