AsemconnectVietnam - Exhibitions of Japanese dolls and Ukiyo-e Arts (Japanese woodblock prints and paintings from the 17th through 19th centuries) will introduce the opening ceremony of the annual 20th Hoi An-Japan Cultural Exchange in the ancient town on July 26-August 4.

 A 29-doll collection will be on display at the Japanese Culture Centre at 6 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street from 5pm on July 26, while a 'Dialogue with Ukiyo-e Arts' event will be open, free admission, at 39 Nguyen Thai Hoc street on the same day.

Japanese dolls reflect Japanese cultural practices, aspirations and beliefs accumulated over centuries, while Vietnamese artists will create Ukiyo-e Arts, with Vietnamese traditional material of Do, or poonah paper, silk and lacquer.

Visitors can also experience Japanese tea making,origami (paper folding) and traditional Japanese exhibits at the centre.

A series of events will be held following the opening ceremony of the Hoi An-Japan Cultural Exchange on the Hoai River throughout the day and into the evenings from July 26 to August 4.

The doll exhibition will have both traditional and more modern figures made in Japan, including wooden Kokeshi dolls.

During the events the Japanese Bridge restoration project will be unveiled on August 3, following a year-long preservation exercise carried out by experts from both countries.

Every year the Old Quarter hosts the reenactment of the 17th-century wedding procession held for Princess Ngoc Hoa and Japanese businessman Araki Sotaro on August 2–4 marking the relationship between the Japanese community and Hoi An, 400 years after Japanese traders settled in the busy port town.

Local people in Hoi An still preserve three tombs of Japanese traders who died in Hoi An in the 17th century in Cam Chau commune.

Experts from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) partnered with Hoi An in building a waste treatment plant and restoring old Japanese style houses, along with working on the Japanese Bridge.

Hoi An and Naha city, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, also cooperated in the Eco-city Achievement Support Project./.

Source: VNA