Professor Brian Dollery of the UNE Business School will swap a sizzling Aussie Christmas this year for the wintery wonderland of Japan, where he is a visiting researcher in the Faculty of Economics at Yokohama National University (YNU).

It’s Brian’s 14th visit to YNU since 2002 and he says he’s developed a deep affinity for the Japanese people, especially while staying in the historic Gumyoji district in southern Yokohama.

“A wide circle of friends have given me fascinating insights into daily Japanese life not normally available to tourists, such as my participation in the Gumyoji matsuri festival,” Brian says.

“Held every second year in August, it involves a huge parade through the streets, with participants carrying mikoshi (portable shrines) to be blessed at the famous Gumyoji Buddhist temple. I vividly recall the impact of helping carry a heavy shrine complete with a hyperactive taiko drummer in the procession of August 2002, with only cold beer as a balm.”

Brian is undertaking collaborative research on local government with Japanese colleagues at YNU. He and Professor Keiichi Yamazaki have previously published on local government amalgamation in Australian and Japan. This year they are working on how Japanese local government acco

mmodates the huge number of people who volunteer in the wake of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and landslides.

“I have developed a deep admiration for the Japanese people,” Brian says. “I particularly admire their calm and stoic approach, given the frequent natural disasters that beset the country. I also enjoy the Japanese love of music and conviviality.”

And he’s also a little partial to tsukan (hot nihonshu or Japanese sake).

Image: The Gumyoji matsuri festival where participants carry shrines to blessed a the Gumyoji Buddhist temple.