From ships to Shinenkai: a Japanese visitor's guide to Scotland

The aim of the year is to promote greater mutual understanding of each others' society and culture by developing exchanges and contacts. Many events are taking place in Scotland including an exhibition in Perth on the Ainu people; a Japanese Matsuri festival and a Taiko drumming festival in Glasgow; art exhibitions in Dundee and sporting events and a Kendo seminar in Edinburgh. Full details of events can be found at the Embassy website.

Scotland is a popular destination for Japanese visitors – on average, around 26,000 visit every year. Many of these visitors may not realise that links between Scotland and Japan are extensive, historic ... and often quite surprising. They range from commercial links – many Scots participated in the early industrialisation of Japan – to floral. Visitors, for example, should not be surprised to find Japanese plants in Scotland ranging from Japanese maples and cedars to acers and camellias – there is even a camellia japonica called 'Red Red Rose' which takes its name from the Scottish poet, Robert Burns' famous love song. Possibly one of the more romantic links between our countries? Or is that Madame Butterfly?

Both peoples have a great love of gardens and Scots plant collectors of the 19th century, admiring the beauty and subtlety of Japanese plants, returned with many specimens for our great gardens. Mostly these were plants which thrive in mild, wet climates – another feature common to both countries!

And we even have a Scottish Bonsai Society with affiliated groups around the country from Ayr to Aberdeen.

Over the next few months we will look at some of the places in Scotland with a special link with Japan. We start in the south west. Click here for a map of the area.

Near Dumfries lies the estate of Arbigland where the garden has an area called 'Japan', featuring woodland, a water garden and running streams. A more tenuous link is that John Paul Jones was born on the estate and worked there as a gardener. Regarded as the father of the US Navy, it was one of that navy's later officers, Matthew Perry (also of part South West Scottish descent) who opened Japan's ports to world commerce in 1853.

Going west to Kirkcudbright, we find the 18th century Broughton House which belonged to the artist E A Hornel, one of the 'Glasgow Boys', a school of painting whose style was much influenced by Japanese art. He went to Japan in 1893-94 and on his return he landscaped the house garden to look like a Japanese garden sanctuary. The house has a collection of early photographs of Japan taken by foreigners during the later 19th century Meiji period. The house and garden are cared for by the National Trust for Scotland and can be easily visited. Opening times can be had from broughtonhouse@nts.org.uk. About one third of the long strip garden is given over to a Japanese theme and the rest to a Scots theme, further blending the two cultures. More of Hornel's paintings can be found in Glasgow.

Close by is the village of Twynholm where there is a sporting connection. This is the home village of the Formula One racing driver, David Coulthard, who, on four occasions stood on the podium at the Suzuka circuit, at the Japanese Grand Prix. He had some of his most exciting races on the Japanese circuit including championship deciders with Schumacher and Hakkinen.

Going north (at a sensible speed), we move into Ayrshire which has many links with Japan. This area is famous for its potatoes and it is believed that one of Japan's best known potato varieties, the Baron, may have been developed from local potato seed brought back by a Japanese student studying in Scotland. Try the local potatoes when you are here and judge for yourself. At Dreghorn, you will find the site of a church which was removed stone by stone to Hiratsuka where it now serves as a Victorian style wedding chapel for romantic Japanese couples. By the way, if you are feeling romantically inclined, Scotland is a great place for a wedding and Ayrshire offers a number of special locations (see Romantic Weddings).

Hiratsuka has also had sporting associations with nearby Kilmarnock. The local football club, past winners of the Scottish Cup, established links with the Japanese club Shonan Bellmare and a Shonan football strip is held by the Ayrshire club. Still in Ayrshire, we come to Beith, where a statue to Dr. Henry Faulds (1843-1930) celebrates a man seen by many as introducing the science of fingerprinting to the world of crime detection. He worked as a medical missionary in Tsukiji, Tokyo where there is also a statue to him at the hospital he founded. It was in Japan that he developed his interest in fingerprints and calculated that the odds of two people having matching prints were 64 billion to one. Fingerprinting has become one of the basic tools of forensics, a science in which Scotland still exceeds (after all, we did invent Sherlock Holmes too!). Faulds was later invited to be the personal physician to the Crown Prince of Japan.

In an upcoming feature, we will look at further connections between our countries.

Sayonara!