The Japan Society of the United Kingdom, founded in 1891, is the oldest and most respected organization dealing with European-Japanese relations.

The society is also known as the Japan Society of London, or simply as The Japan Society.

History

It grew out of a meeting of the International Congress of Orientalist

Oriental studies

Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...

s held in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on September 9, 1891, when a resolution was passed calling for the formation of a society "for the encouragement of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese studies and for the purpose of bringing together all those in the United Kingdom and throughout the world who are interested in Japanese matters".

The society's founder, Arthur Diosy (1856~), was a rather debonair figure who spoke fluent Japanese and wrote several books including The New Far East.

The Society's centenary was marked by The Japan Festival, the largest and most successful event of its kind ever to be staged, and its 110th anniversary has seen "Japan 2001".

Membership

The society reports that it has a membership in excess of 1000 individual and corporate members, 45% of which are Japanese.

Merger

In October, 2007, the UK charity Japan 21, merged into the society, which adopted its educational and grassroots activities relating to Japan, alongside the society's business-related, academic and cultural activities.

Publications

From 1957 to 1985, the society published:

From 1892 to 1941, the society published:

See also

• Anglo-Japanese relations
  Anglo-Japanese relations
  The history of the relationship between Britain and Japan began in 1600 with the arrival of William Adams on the shores of Kyūshū at Usuki in Ōita Prefecture...
  
  
• Hugh Cortazzi
  Hugh Cortazzi
  Sir Arthur Henry Hugh Cortazzi, GCMG is a British diplomat. Best known as Hugh Cortazzi, he is also a distinguished international businessman, academic, author and prominent Japanologist...
  
  
• The Japan-British Society
  Japan-British Society
  The Japan–British Society was founded in 1908 "to encourage the study of things British and to promote cordial relations between the peoples of Great Britain and Japan." It is the oldest bilateral organization in Japan, promoting international cooperation and exchanges.-Foundation of the...
  
  
• Joseph Henry Longford
  Joseph Henry Longford
  Joseph Henry Longford was a British consular official in the British Japan Consular Service from 24 February 1869 until 15 August 1902...
  
   - Vice-President in 1922
• Walter Weston
  Walter Weston
  The Reverend Walter Weston , was an English clergyman, missionary, and mountaineer.-Background and early life:...