The Corfu Museum of Asian Art, located in the imposing Palace of Saints Michael and George, is planning two exhibitions on Lafcadio Hearn, the writer who bridged the Greek and Japanese cultures.
The shows will take place at the Athens Municipal Gallery and the Greek Consulate in New York as part of events celebrating Japan-Greece Year in 2019.
The exhibition in the Greek capital, titled “Japan and Literature,” will open on February 15 and will also include a section on the Japanese engraver Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849).
The New York show, which will focus exclusively on Hearn, is set to open at the Consulate in November. The writer spent more than 20 years of his life in the United States.
Hearn (1850-1904) a unique figure in international literature, began his life in Greece and spent the rest of his career becoming a citizen of the world. He served as a bridge between East and West, and was a great devotee of both Greek and Japanese culture.
Historian Kathy Warnes wrote that Hearn believed that the Greek and Japanese cultures had common features in their paganism and animism, and he visualized Greece as Utopia.
Also known by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, Hearns’ books about the land of the rising sun, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, have made him an integral part of the Japanese literary world.
In the United States, Hearn is also known for his writings about the city of New Orleans based on his 10-year stay there.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
