In the picture above can be seen a number of Irish visitors or citizens of Japanese descent playing Japanese taiko, or drums, at a festival on the green of University College Dublin.

Japan and Ireland actually have a fairly developed history of cultural exchange, despite the vast distance that separated them. Irish artists of the last century or so have been influenced  by Japanese aesthetic principles and mention of Japanese cultural products cannot be seen in quite a few important Irish artistic products, including the poetry of WB Yeats.

Nor is the exchange entirely one sided, especially in the modern era. A number of important contemporary Irish and Northern Irish artists have visited Japan to work, and products of Irish culture can occasionally be seen there as well.

Even as a fairly well traveled American, I often find myself centralizing the way the world functions around my home in the United States. I consistently think of individuals who originate from other cultures by terms such as “African American” or “Japanese American,” for instance, which not only fails to properly credit the right of other people to my nation (as a “white” or “Caucasian,” my citizenship does not, apparently, have to be affirmed by my title and is instead assumed), but also limits individuals of such heritages from existing as citizens of other nations. When I was an undergraduate student, for instance, I had a roommate who was British of Ghana  descent. I still called him African American until one day he politely corrected me: “I’m just British, mate. That’s all you need to say.”