The event started at 2pm with a warm welcome and an introduction to the program, which continued until approximately 9pm. There were several workshops teaching various forms of Japanese art to visitors, such as origami - paper folding, shuji – calligraphy, and manga drawing.

There was also a demonstration about Wagashi, which are Japanese sweets. On the other side of the building there was an exhibition of Ikebana, which is a Japanese way of arranging flowers.

Visitors were also encouraged to attend lectures and readings about Japan-related topics, such as Daishin Zen, Japanese festivals, Japanese Baths and others. The open day finished with a Japanese drum concert by the Japanese Taiko-group Masa-Daiko from Bremen. The group was founded in 1996 by Nishimine Masakazu and has been performing for 20 years.

The Centre for Japanese – German Relations was also promoting their newsletter with a foreword by Japanese Ambassador of Germany, Yagi Takeshi, in which he outlines the importance of the Germany-Japan alliance.
Yagi Takeshi draws attention to the fact that German – Japanese relations have a history of more than 150 years and are important for both nations. He said that Japan and Germany share fundamental values, such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of the law and Japanese officials have increasingly recognised the importance of Germany’s role in the international community.

Germany’s second largest trading partner in Asia is Japan, and Germany is Japan’s top trading partner in the EU, meaning that there is a remarkable degree of cooperation and exchange between both countries. According to Yagi Takeshi, leading countries such as Japan and Germany have to closely work together towards a peaceful international community and therefore he encourages increasing exchange between both nations in fields such as politics, security, economy, and human interaction.

• - http://www.jdzb.de/fileadmin/Redaktion/PDF/veroeffentlichungen/echo/echo115e.pdf

News from Berlin
Dominique Schmutzer, Berlin Global