すごくランダムな記事ですが、今日片付けをしてたら出てきた紙切れから。5月末に明治神宮で行われた講演を聴きに行った時に心に残った言葉です。ブログにメモって、紙切れは処分。

遠くにいると幻想するが
近くになると幻滅する

幕末から明治中期の日英関係をさして。地理的に遠いと、幻想めいたあこがれを抱くが、交流が進み理解が深まると、それは幻想であった事に落胆し、幻滅する。

Lecture by Dr Angus Lockyer, Lecturer in the History of Japan and Chair, Japan Research Centre, SOAS, at the Meiji Jingu Shamusho Kodo, Tokyo, on Saturday 30 May

Beyond Diplomacy: Anglo-Japanese Relations during the Nineteenth Century
2008 marked the 150th anniversary of the formal opening of diplomatic relations between Japan and the UK. This lecture draws on a recent exhibition at the Japanese Embassy in London, to explore the exchanges between the two countries during the 19th century, putting the diplomatic relationship in its broader cultural and historical context. What role did Britain play in the modernisation of Japan during the Meiji period? And how was Japan seen back in the UK?