The School of English welcomed academic staff from Kogakkan University, Ise, Japan and the Ise Mayor, Kenichi Suzuki and his delegation in November. Kogakkan University is a small, private University in Ise City which in 2011 initiated an exchange agreement with the Centre for English and World Languages at Kent. The first academic visit took place in Ise last year when Nancy Gaffield was invited to speak on ‘The Poem and the Journey: from Tokaido Road to a Poetics of Place’ followed by a reading of Tokaido Road.
This November, the President of Kogakkan University, Kiyoshi Shimizu, Dean of Students, Masanori Taura, Professor of English, Hisayo Ikeda and other members of academic staff, as well as the Mayor’s delegation, were welcomed to Kent by Chairman of the Council of the University, Sir David Warren, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Keith Mander, and Professor David Herd, Head of the School of English. Kogakkan University staff members led a symposium on Ise—Japan’s Sacred City organized by the Centre for English and World Languages and attended by members of staff, students and the public.
Kogakkan University and Ise City wish to strengthen the relationship between the two universities as both are located in cities of historical, cultural and religious significance, and both are sites of pilgrimage. Professor David Herd and Nancy Gaffield introduced the visitors to Canterbury’s Lord Mayor, Ann Taylor, and Colin Carmichael, Chief Executive of Canterbury City Council. They were also given a guided tour of Canterbury Cathedral, including a private visit to the Cathedral Library. Future visits of academic staff, students and Canterbury officials are envisaged, as well as an international, interdisciplinary conference to be held in Canterbury in 2016.