Fiona's year in Japan on Rotary Youth Exchange leads to amazing family heritage revelations
At Wednesday's breakfast meeting our honorary member, and long serving MP, Fiona Simpson, spoke to the club about her life changing experience as a Rotary Exchange student in Japan.
Many Rotarians have witnessed the impact that this amazing program has on students as they immerse themselves in their chosen country, living with Rotary families and experiencing life as a local.
Local examples of Rotary exchange students on the coast are many, including our Past President Skye and another chap called Mark Jamieson, aka The Mayor.
But we had an extra bonus with Fiona's talk as she shared with us how she became aware of a her familial connection dating back to the early 1900's when Japan was pretty much a closed book to most of the world.
Little did the young Fiona know that as she set off to Japan for her youth exchange year just a few years ago while still at high school that it would lead to discoveries of family connections that endure to this day.
Can you spot Fiona at her first day in Japanese high school? Hint. Check out the hair.
Thank you Fiona for sharing your story with the club.
Fiona's family has strong connections with Japan business leading back to the 1930's, and below photo of family member serving WW@ internment.
...and more recent photo of the Fiona and sister and relations who recall the school (converted to internment camp.
...and finally this photo of an (arranged? ) marriage with Fiona totally "dolled" up in a beautiful Kimono and head wear, and rather a smug looking groom by her side.
In a fascinating talk Fiona's immersion as a Rotary Youth Exchange student gave her an insight into how the Great Kanto Earthquake on 1923 caused such catastrophic damage to Tokyo and Yokohama.
: In less than one week, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent fires annihilated most of Tokyo and virtually all of Yokohama. Moreover, the earthquake caused nearly 6.5 billion yen of damage, a remarkable figure roughly four times larger than Japan’s national budget for 1922. The earthquake disaster was also a human calamity, resulting in the deaths of more than 110,000 individuals and leaving nearly 1.5 million homeless. The destruction, dislocation, and devastation caused by the quake, in the words of Tenrikyō relief worker Haruno Ki’ichi, not only defied description, it simply “surpassed imagination.”
Reflecting on how the earthquake also changed Japanese society and how the life shattering events led to the people looking for security and meaning in an authoritarian regime that eventually would lead to Japan's involvement in the Second World War.
Thank you Fiona, a remarkable story.
