Nihon jaia

Why a Second Edition of Japanese Festival in Basque Country?

This year, the festival is presented in order to give continuity to the first edition of the Japanese Cultural Festival held in April 2009 in the Sports Pavilion of “La Casilla” (Bilbao). The success of attendance (over 4000 people attended the event) and the wide news coverage received impels the organizing committee to establish the festival in a new and largest location which fulfills the aspirations of being an indisputable reference at a national and European level.

From the beginning, one of the main objectives of this cultural event is to reclaim and foster the historical relationship between the Basque Country and Japan. Since the arrival of St. Francis Xavier to Japan's shores in 1549, without forgetting the Basque adventure of the Pacific ocean exploration during the XVI and XVII centuries, or the role by certain basque personalities of the Jesuit missionary enterprise in Japan (S. Candau, P. Arrupe, P. Mugabure) and, of course, the recent interest of Japanese people in the Basque culture, especially in regard to the cuisine, language, folklore and traditions…, in sum, all of this demonstrates that the relationship the Basque Country and Japan along the course of the history, despite experiencing ups and downs, is truly ancient and of an unusual wealth. In consequence, the Festival, in addition to uncover this "unknown" reality, will try to impulse the cultural exchanges between these two peoples.

Besides, the festival will become an ideal space to welcome the pioneering experience of the Tokyo Basque Center / Tokyo-ko Euskal Etxea. The Tokyo Basque Center, with the exception of the Basque Center situated in Shanghai, is the only one located in the Far East region and has recently been recognized by the Basque Government.

But that’s not all. We cannot forget that the Festival also echoes the growing interest for Japanese culture in an important sector of society from Basque Country and this has motivated the organization, in recent years, of many cultural, sporting and gastronomical activities dedicated to the universe of Japanese culture. There are many examples:

  • Kurosawa Year (Bilbao, November 2010)
  • Superflat New Pop Culture (Donostia, April-June 2010)
  • Japanese Cuisine in the XI International Congress of Gastronomy (Donostia, November 2009)
  • Slow Food: Japan-Bilbao Connection (Basque-Japanese cooks meeting in Kyoto, April 2009)
  • Takashi Murakami retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (February-May 2009)
  • Japanese Cultural Festival (Bilbao, April 2009)
  • Comic and Manga Festival
  • Good Night, Japan / Japanese Festival (Tabakalera-Donostia, February 2009)
  • Manga and Anime Festival: “Mangamore”

In short, The Second Edition of Japanese Festival aims to bridge the lack of such activities in the Basque Country and go more deeply into the cultural exchanges with Japan. There will be two full days of demonstrations, shows, tastings, exhibitions ... and many more surprises.

Carlos Sierra, General Coordinator