Fi Leith
LightNews LightNews
banner
fileith.bsky.social
Fi Leith
@fileith.bsky.social
180 followers 340 following 43 posts
Writer for The Botanics.
Comms for NatureScot.
Researching a novel on the 19th century blossoming of Glasgow and Japan's love affair.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Fi Leith
womensartbluesky.bsky.social
Girl in the East Wind with Ravens Passing the Moon, 1893 by Glasgow School artist Frances MacDonald #WomensArt
Painting of a stylised white woman in a pale green dress standing facing left in front of a full moon as five or more ravens fly past to the left against a dark sky
October 7, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Reposted by Fi Leith
scotnational.bsky.social
An exhibition documenting the lasting effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has opened for the first time in the UK at a Scottish university
Scottish university opens UK’s first Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing display
www.thenational.scot
October 8, 2025 at 4:14 PM
fileith.bsky.social
Very moved to be at the opening of Remembered: Hiroshima and Nagasaki exhibition @stir.ac.uk last night, and looking forward to hosting their planting for peace event next month to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombings and Scotland's friendship with Japan.
October 7, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
lynncorrigan.bsky.social
Potatoes were popularised in Japan in the early 20th century by an engineer who developed a taste for them while studying in Glasgow. There's a monument to him in Hokkaido onumakouen.com/en/nanae_sto...
Birthplace of Danshaku potatoes
Nanae’s good stories 04 Birthplace of Danshaku potatoes The first person who cultivated potatoes in Japan, which helped to overcome the post-war food shortage, was a baron who specialized in mechan…
onumakouen.com
August 19, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
robertbohan.bsky.social
[17] George Henry (1858-1943) was a member of the Glasgow School. He even travelled to Japan. The Cabbage Girl (1887), Autumn (1889), An at Home in Japan (1894) & Felicity (1916)
August 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
thisismyglasgow.bsky.social
I started the day with a tree, and I'm going to end today with one, too. This is a kaki or persimmon tree in the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow.

Cont./

#glasgow #glasgowbotanicgardens #glasgowhistory #peacetree #nagasaki #tree
August 9, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
brettezeleliquide.bsky.social
construis-moi la mer dit le petit prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry / Jumpei Mitsui, Katsushika Hokusai, Great Wave Of Kanagawa, 1830, LEGO
tags : frêles embarcations dans une mer déchaînée, #sea #lego #wave #painting
June 12, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Reposted by Fi Leith
alojapan.bsky.social
‘It’s just great’: Japan ambassador tries Irn Bru on visit to whisky distillery

https://www.alojapan.com/1286378/its-just-great-japan-ambassador-tries-irn-bru-on-visit-to-whisky-distillery-2/

“We’ve been using our time to cement links and connections between Scotland and Japan, and particularly …
‘It’s just great’: Japan ambassador tries Irn Bru on visit to whisky distillery
“We’ve been using our time to cement links and connections between Scotland and Japan, and particularly yesterday, to engage with Japanese business people who are investing in Scotland and who recognise Scotland as an attractive destination for investment, particularly in renewable energy, but also in life sciences, and as we see from our visit here today, in the whisky industry as well.”
www.alojapan.com
May 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
fileith.bsky.social
Raku workshop with Paper Flowers Edinburgh at Honey Pot Ceramics, South Queensferry. Looking forward to sharing the tea with my creation.🍵
June 1, 2025 at 9:14 AM
fileith.bsky.social
“Being born in Nagasaki has undoubtedly shaped me. I felt that it was my mission to become a gardener and to create gardens of peace around the world.”
A poignant Chelsea win for the 2nd-generation survivor in this 80th anniversary year of the atomic bomb.🌱
www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/gard...
An interview with the Japanese garden designer Kazuyuki Ishihara
Kazuyuki Ishihara on Chelsea Flower Show nerves, and how coming from a city synonymous with war shaped his love of peaceful nature.
www.gardensillustrated.com
May 23, 2025 at 10:51 AM
fileith.bsky.social
In this 80th anniversary year, such a privilege to hear Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors Chiyoko Motomura, who was six; Dr Masao Tomonaga, who was two and devoted his career to studying the medical effects; and Tomoko Ōtaki, a second-generation survivor.
Thanks to @daiwafoundation.bsky.social
Survivors Survivors Survivors Nagasaki
May 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
japanese-ukiyo-e.bsky.social
Tagonoura, from Famous Scenic Spots of Japan, by Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1897
#Japanese #Art #JapanseArt #Ukiyo-e
Tagonoura, from Famous Scenic Spots of Japan, by Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1897
May 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
fileith.bsky.social
Thanks to Soo Burnell for taking the time to talk me through her photographs of Japanese bathers.
May 11, 2025 at 8:20 PM
fileith.bsky.social
Immersive morning with Joseph Sharples @hunterianglasgow.bsky.social, within touching distance of 1888 items.
Managed not to break the glass trying to see the Japanese prints on Mackintosh's fireplace.
#Glasgow850 #GlasgowJapan
May 9, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Fi Leith
camelliakyoto.bsky.social
Irises at Heian-jingū (平安神宮) herald the comfortable dying days of spring.

in the spring breeze
already casting shadows...
irises
春風やはや陰作るかきつばた
-Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶), 1810.
Trans. David G. Lanoue.

#Kyoto #goldenweek #irises #Japan #京都 #ゴールデンウィーク #菖蒲 #haiku
Irises bloom within Heian Jingu's gardens. An iced matcha within the small cafe in the gardens of Heian Jingu. Heian Jingu's 'Reclining Dragon Bridge'. A wooden bridge winds through clusters of irises at Heian Jingu.
May 9, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Reposted by Fi Leith
alojapan.bsky.social
A Photographic Deep Dive Into Japan’s Bathing Culture – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

https://www.alojapan.com/1258939/a-photographic-deep-dive-into-japans-bathing-culture-the-nen-north-edinburgh-news/

Soo Burnell builds on her acclaimed Scottish poolside collection New exhibition explores …
A Photographic Deep Dive Into Japan’s Bathing Culture – The NEN – North Edinburgh News
Soo Burnell builds on her acclaimed Scottish poolside collection New exhibition explores Japan’s love of warm healing waters Scottish fine art photographer Soo Burnell has turned her focus to Japanese culture for a new exhibition, building on her acclaimed poolside collections – which included historic Scottish swimming pools. At the Onsen, A Journey Into Stillness, takes place at Edinburgh’s Saorsa Gallery from 3-11 May, and is an opportunity to see 40 new pieces by an artist who is highly praised for her “striking images” (Stephanie Wade, Editor, IGNANT). Soo has long had a fascination with the atmosphere and beauty of
www.alojapan.com
April 27, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
nccjapaninfo.bsky.social
Today is Constitution Memorial Day #憲法記念日 in Japan, marking enactment of the 1947 constitution. But did you know the Meiji Constitution of 1889 was the subject of many ukiyo-e prints? 👀📜 Peek into visual history in this print held by Princeton Uni Art Museum: artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/...
May 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
thedailyhistorian.bsky.social
On March 31, 1854, under the watchful eyes of samurai and American naval officers, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy signed the Convention of Kanagawa with representatives of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

This ended over two centuries of Japan's self-imposed isolation. 🧵
Japanese copy of the Convention of Kanagawa, ratified February 21, 1855 Matthew C. Perry, between 1854 and 1858.
March 31, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Fi Leith
hokutoandy.bsky.social
"Generations of culture and refinement have made the Japanese the most aesthetic people in the world... Japanese have made a religion of nature as did the people of ancient Greece"
- Highways and Homes of Japan, Kate Lawson 1910

Not just Lafcadio Hearn comparing 19c Japan to glorious ancient Greece
98 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN oilcake plentifully mixed with rich soil. Beside it were the kintaka (golden kite) with 730 yellow blooms, and the mikasa with 788 flowers of a yellowish red colour. Guests leave the Palace grounds by a path on the opposite side of the lake, which leads them along the ancient public road. We retraced our steps regretfully, our minds filled with a deep sense of the satisfying charm of all we had seen; feeling almost inspired to write a poem of appreciation in praise of the exquisite beauty of our surroundings, and pin it more japonico to the branch of a tree, as we passed from one faultless. effect to another. Generations of culture and refinement have made the Japanese the most sæsthetic people in the world. To understand properly the estheticism of Japanese art, it is necessary to remember that the Japanese have made a religion of nature as did the people of ancient Greece. They may be described as the Epicureans of the twentieth century, since they understand better than any other people, how æsthetically to make the best of life. There are two schools of modern estheticism, the one, of which Kant is the best known opponent, is German, and is based on the dictum that for purposes of pure art usefulness must be set aside, and hence that the supremely useless is the supremely artistic; the other is the saner school, of which some of the best known teachers are Ruskin, Leighton, Millais, and Morris, whose creed is that to sever usefulness from art is to kill art, and that true art is a great moral instructor. It is to this latter school that the art ideals of the Japanese belong. Everything Japanese is artistic, every step provides a new picture, every child in the street has an artist's eye. The little girls arrange their
April 29, 2025 at 4:12 PM
fileith.bsky.social
Thanks to Kozo and John from the Victor Murphy Trust for holding the door until closing so that I could see Hiroshige's The 53 Stations of the Tokaido at Central Library, Edinburgh on its last day.
What a treat.
April 29, 2025 at 4:12 PM
fileith.bsky.social
Three Ainu Indigenous people that were kept at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland will be returned to Japan.
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04...
Remains of Ainu people in Britain to be returned to Japan
It marks the third time that Ainu remains that were taken abroad for research have been returned to Japan, following similar arrivals from Germany and Australia.
www.japantimes.co.jp
April 28, 2025 at 6:06 AM
fileith.bsky.social
‘It’s done wonders’: trading card game featuring middle-aged men revives Japanese town www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
‘It’s done wonders’: trading card game featuring middle-aged men revives Japanese town
Ojisan trading cards bear the faces of real people – local men whose competing professional qualities determine the outcome of each game
www.theguardian.com
April 27, 2025 at 8:52 AM
fileith.bsky.social
Perfect morning for hanami at Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh. The best few weeks of sakura are still to come. 🌸
April 26, 2025 at 1:06 PM
fileith.bsky.social
‘Monks, politicians, drag queens – all life is here’: a trip to Japan’s Kyotographie festival www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
‘Monks, politicians, drag queens – all life is here’: a trip to Japan’s Kyotographie festival
The theme of this year’s celebrated photo bonanza is ‘humanity’ – and Kyoto is bursting with images
www.theguardian.com
April 23, 2025 at 6:20 AM
fileith.bsky.social
So grateful to Dr Chung, Curator, Chinese and Far Eastern Civilisation at Glasgow Museums for a first glimpse at the Japanese objects which sit at the heart of my book research.
Many hours will be spent in this treasure trove.
April 16, 2025 at 12:50 PM