During a recent conference for all Gifu ALTs, we were given a keynote speech by Mr. Anthony Bianchi. Bianchi was born in Brooklyn, New York and is one of few westerns to become a naturalized citizen of Japan. After becoming a citizen in 2002, he ran for public office in 2003 and become the first naturalized citizen in Japan to serve public office.
He served on the city council in his town, Inuyama 犬山市 in Aichi prefecture. Inuyama sits right on the border between Aichi and Gifu. In fact, only a river seperates the city from Gifu.
Mr. Bianchi was kind enough to offer Gifu ALTs a tour of his town, and talk with local artisans about their traditional crafts, their heritage, and their history.
We visited the Marionette Museum, Inuyama Castle, the Inuyama Museum, and finished the tour by visiting Orson Itou's Calligraphy.
Note: This post was made in Apr 2025 and back-dated to the time of the events
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