I first went to Japan in 1975. I was twenty-five years old. I stayed in Japan for just over a year. I was funded by a British Arts Council grant and hosted by the British Council. I met Edward G Seidentsticker, Akira Kurosawa and a number of other Japanese and British expatriot writers, theatre directors and intellectuals. I over stayed my visa and was repatriated by the British Embassy under a cloud. When I went to Japan I was alrfeady interested in modern Japanese fiction. In 1975/76 I read anything in English I could get my hands on. I started the Gokaido Reader’s Group becuase, fifty years later, I am still reading and re-reading Japanese fiction and I find I have no one to talk to about my enthusiasm. I loaned a copy of Snow Country and Thousand Cranes to a friend who lives in my village. When he gave it back he said “Got any more like that”.

Joe Tibbetts
January 2026