euskalkultura.eus

Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo’s Basque club (TEE) is very happy with its activities in 2013, when summarizing the club’s main activities during that period.  Professor Hagio Sho, a very active club member, stressed the reactivation of the club’s website as one of the year’s highlights.

After the tsunami in Fukushima in 2011 the club’s website remained inactive but was able to be reactivated last October and is now available to anyone interested in the club’s activities at www.euskaletxea.jp. Information appears in both Basque and Japanese.

Seminar on Euskera

Among the main activities, various seminars and conference were held in hopes of introducing the Japanese to Basque culture.  In this way, on October 10, 24 and 31, there were seminars on Basque themes at the “Asahi Culture Center,” in Tokyo, presented by Professor Sho Hagio and fellow member Yuichi Shimanuko.  Club president, Jon Verastergui was in charge of presenting the event, as well as to say a few words of welcome.

Another conference took place on August 30 at the Spanish Embassy in Tokyo.  Sho Hagio was again the presenter and talked about the Basque Country, its people and culture.  The event was very well-received with more than 100 in attendance.  Sho also gave a third talk this year in Tokyo as a club representative.  This took place on December 19 at the “World Hibiya Salon,” where he talked about Basque customs to celebrate end of year holidays.  More than 60 attended the event.

[Japanese Basque speaker Sho Hagio at one of the conferences on Basques in Tokyo (Photo TokyoEE)]

With Oreka TX & Michel Ducau

On December 12^th Basque club representatives went to greet members of Oreka TX and Michel Ducau who were on tour performing in Tokyo.  The TEE also hosted them in Yaizu, where they gave another concert two days later.

[With musicians from Oerka TX (photoTokyoEE)]

The club also held its annual General Assembly meeting, on November 24 when the new board was elected.  A lunch was also held in November at the Catalan restaurant Casa Malla in the Machida neighborhood of Tokyo organized by the Euskal-Japoniar Elkartea and the TEE.