Performing Englishness at the Koukin Society... and farewell to Japan!
And so this blog about 'Performing Englishness in Japan' draws to a close... I am writing this blog entry in mid-air while flying back home to the UK and stealing free wifi to post it at Frankfurt International Airport. From now on, I shall merely be performing Englishness in England, which is somewhat less blog-worthy (although perhaps not! Check out this book by my colleague, Simon Keegan-Phipps—and Trish Winter—which provided the inspiration for the title of this project: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Performing-Englishness-Contemporary-Resurgence-Ethnographies/dp/071908539X ). Before signing off, however, I just wanted to write a short piece about my final evening in Japan—which included one last morris jig with Tomo from Grand Hama Morris! On Wednesday I was lucky enough to be invited to perform a short concert for the Nihon Koukin Kyoukai—or Japan Jews' Harp Association—in Koenji, near Shinjuku. The Koukin Society—formed in 1990 and dedicated to all things jews’ har