U.S.-Japan Grassroots Summit Newsletter - Summer 2020
John Manjiro-Whitfield Commemorative Center for International Exchange (U.S.)

Connecting Americans and Japanese Through Grassroots Exchange

The 2021 Summit in Wakayama will be dynamic! To hear more about the Summit and meet some of the people involved, join a video meeting with Matt Krebs on July 7 at 8:30 pm EDT. This will be a great year to participate again in the Summit or perhaps you will want to share the program with your friends and family.

Wakayama Prefecture, together with its adjoining regions of Nara Prefecture to the north and Mie Prefecture to the east, might well be called “the historical, cultural, and spiritual heart of Japan.”   With some sites extending far back into Japan’s pre-history and modern cities representing the developments of contemporary Japan, the region is like a living textbook of Japanese history and culture.  It also boasts stunning natural scenery, including primeval forests, high mountains, deep river valleys, and a coastline that have been celebrated in Japanese poetry and literary writings for nearly two thousand years.   Religious monuments of the ancient Shinto and Buddhist traditions abound in the region, and have been visited by pilgrims and other travelers throughout Japanese history.

The mountainous district of central Wakayama is known for the Yoshino-Kumano National Park, a region of spectacular scenery, with numerous historic shrines and temples, linked by ancient trails traveled by religious pilgrims and other visitors seeking enlightenment or the solace of extended sojourns in Nature.  In springtime, the vast mountain vistas of Yoshino are covered with cherry blossoms considered the most beautiful in Japan.  The animistic ancient traditions of Shintoism celebrated the sanctity of notable features of Nature like mountains and waterfalls, and the Kumano area includes many major Shinto sites of worship.  At the Nachi Shrine, for example,  the great Nachi waterfall is the revered deity.   At the Hongu Shrines, Mt. Otake and other high nearby peaks are worshipped.  

In northern Wakayama stands Mt. Koya, a religious mountain revered since the early 9^th-century by the monk Kukai and his followers in the Shingon sect of Buddhism.  The crest of Mt. Koya is covered with scores of Shingon temples that provide accommodations to pilgrims who travel from all over the world to worship at the sacred tomb of Kukai.  An overnight stay at one of the temples at Mt. Koya is an unforgettable experience for foreign travelers to Wakayama from abroad.

The beautiful coastline of Wakayama and Mie prefectures is dotted with small fishing villages, shrines to deities of the sea, and luxurious beach resorts.  Other notable attractions include the birthplace of aikido, a leading Japanese martial art, at the coastal town of Shingu; the center of the cultured pearl industry at Ise-Shima National Park; and the Imperial Grand Shrines at Ise.  These shrines, dedicated to the Sun Goddess and other Shinto agricultural deities, are built in an ancient form representing the highest ideals of traditional Japanese architecture that have been impeccably preserved since the 6^th-century by a process requiring that they be completely reconstructed in facsimile every twenty years.  The Ise Shrines have been acclaimed for their purity and natural beauty by architects from all over the world.
 
First-time travelers to Wakayama and its environs are astounded by the natural beauty and cultural variety of the area, and frequent visitors return repeatedly to delight in new discoveries and in the warm hospitality of its people.  So rich and bountiful are the historic, cultural, and spiritual heritages of the region that they often exclaim: “Wakayama Has it All!”


Koyasan is among the highlights you can see during the 2021 Summitt!!

On April 23, CIE-US Board Member Dr. Matthew C. Perry led a dynamic webinar exploring Commodore Perry's interest in science and the roots of U.S.-Japan scientific interchange as well as information about his time in Okinawa. The webinar provides fascinating and relatively unknown information about aspects of Perry's time in Japan and also highlights some dimensions of Manjiro's life. The webinar was hosted by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Foundation and co-sponsored by Manjiro-Whitfield CIE-US and the National Association of Japan-America Societies and moderated by NAJAS President Peter Kelley.