The Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society sponsored its annual Cherry Blossom Festival on 5/3/26, celebrating the special connection between Fairhaven and Japan.
In 1841, 14-year-old Manjiro was stranded on a deserted island in the Pacific with his fishing crewmates. They were rescued by Capt. William Whitfield of Fairhaven, aboard the John Howland whaling ship.
Manjiro returned to Fairhaven with the Captain and eventually went back to Japan, risking imprisonment and death, because Japan was a closed society. Instead, young Manjiro was instrumental in opening Japan to the west, earning the surname Nakahama.
He is still very famous in Japan, and the relationship between the Nakahama and Whitfield families endures to this day. Fairhaven has a sister-city relationship with Manjiro’s home own of Tosashimizu.
Speakers on Sunday included Gerry Rooney, President/CEO of the WMFS; the Consul General, Seiichiro Takahashi, of the Consulate-General of Japan in Boston; State Rep. Mark Sylvia; Select Board Chairperson, Charles K Murphy; Select Board member Andrew Romano.
Activities included writing names in Japanese, folk singing, Kamishibai paper theater, origami, Taiko drummers, martial arts demonstration, Ikebana floral arranging, and tours of the museum. There was also a raffle, silent auction, and Japanese items for sale. On its Facebook page, the WMFS gave a big thanks to the Lions Club for helping to set up.
The WMFS museum is in the first house Manjiro lived in while in Fairhaven, at 11 Cherry Street. The town has a Manjiro Trail with other signficant sites. Learn more about the WMFS at https://whitfield-manjiro.org.
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- Taiko drummers entertain the crowd during Japanese Cherry Blossom (O-Hanami) Friendship Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society and Museum in Fairhaven on 5/3/26. Photo courtesy of Debra Almeida.
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- Consul General, Seiichiro Takahashi, of the Consulate-General of Japan in Boston, speaks during Japanese Cherry Blossom (O-Hanami) Friendship Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society and Museum in Fairhaven on 5/3/26. Photo by Caden Lisa courtesy of Fairhaven TV.
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- A volunteer demonstrates origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into animals and other shapes during Japanese Cherry Blossom (O-Hanami) Friendship Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society and Museum in Fairhaven on 5/3/26. Photo courtesy of Debra Almeida.
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- Taiko drummers entertain the crowd during Japanese Cherry Blossom (O-Hanami) Friendship Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society and Museum in Fairhaven on 5/3/26. Photo by Caden Lisa courtesy of Fairhaven TV.
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