If you’ve taken the streetcar recently, you may have seen a poster with several old black and white photos of historical figures in Kumamoto. Ever wondered who they were? If you have, check out the play “Janes’ Girls” which will be held at Kumamoto Gakuen University Takahashi Morio Hall (building 14, front of campus) from 4:00-5:00 on March 29, 2014. Sponsored by the Janes Research Group, it features KGU English department students as historical figures such as Tokutomi Soho and Yokoi Shonans children, as well as students from Kushugakuin High school, with Jason Morgan, graduate from KGU’s graduate school and Executive Director at Adastra Company, playing the title role. It is a true story, ca. 1875, about Kumamoto’s first English teacher, a West Point graduate named Leroy Lansing Janes and the first public coed secondary school in Japan. An English synopsis will be available.
If so inclined, there is also a lecture in Japanese about the young people in Kumamoto who were caught up in the whirlwind of change just after the Meiji restoration from 2:00-4:00 in the same location. Both events are free of charge. Paid parking is available at the Prefectural Theatre next door to the Kumamoto Gakuen University