Film screening: 'Sympathetic Souls – A Biography of Hokiichi Hanawa'
2023/9/11
On 11 September, the Embassy of Japan in the UK hosted a public screening of 'Sympathetic Souls – A Biography of Hokiichi Hanawa', which was attended by Ambassador and Madame Hayashi, together with producers of the film.
Hokiichi Hanawa was a blind scholar in late-18th and early-19th century Japan and celebrated for compiling Gunsho Ruijū, an impressive collection of literature and historical documents dating from ancient times from all over Japan. In 1921, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince of Japan (the future Emperor Shōwa) visited the University of Cambridge during his trip to the UK and later presented its library with a set of Gunsho Ruijū.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Hayashi spoke about Hokiichi’s incredible achievement despite his difficult circumstances and expressed his confidence that the film would convey to the audience the significance of Gunsho Ruijū and Hokiichi’s incomparable contribution to our knowledge of history.
Hokiichi Hanawa was a blind scholar in late-18th and early-19th century Japan and celebrated for compiling Gunsho Ruijū, an impressive collection of literature and historical documents dating from ancient times from all over Japan. In 1921, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince of Japan (the future Emperor Shōwa) visited the University of Cambridge during his trip to the UK and later presented its library with a set of Gunsho Ruijū.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Hayashi spoke about Hokiichi’s incredible achievement despite his difficult circumstances and expressed his confidence that the film would convey to the audience the significance of Gunsho Ruijū and Hokiichi’s incomparable contribution to our knowledge of history.
(106KB)