Friday, May 7, 2010

文化イベント - Kaiwo-Maru in San Francisco!


This weekend marks the arrival of the tall training ship of the Institute of Maritime Training of Japan of the Kaiwo Maru in San Francisco. The tall ship is here to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Kanrin Maru which arrived in San Francisco on March of 1860 carrying the Shogun's Embassy to America which is noted as the first cross cultural exchange between the United States and the Empire of Japan.

The Kaiwo Maru has traversed the Pacific Ocean tracing the route taken by the original Kanrin Maru that was captained by Katsu Kaishu who was accompanied by John Nakahama Manjiro and Fukuzawa Yukichi. This weekend will host a public viewing of the Kaiwo-Maru on Saturday followed by a cultural exchange in Japantown on Sunday before performing the Toshorei(manning of the yard) farewell ceremony. We are not sure if we can make it up there but if you can make it up to San Francisco you will truly have a date with history that you can participate in. Should we raise enough funds in time we will try to report from there with this week's festivities. For more information visit Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco or call 415-356-2460.

To see the Toshorei, watch the video below. Enjoy! おねがいします!


For any additional information, please visit Kanrin Maru150 site. おねがいします!

2 comments:

  1. That ship looks amazing. I wonder if that ship is bigger than the Kanrin Maru since the Kanrin Maru I believe was not a very large ship.

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  2. The original Kanrin Maru was a much smaller vessel. The Kaiwo Maru was indeed awasome to see in person and tour aboard. I will post about my adventure soon.

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