‘Like fine-broken starlight’: Memories of a Ruskinian Journey to Japan, by Rachel Dickinson

Over the summer of 2026, Companions Rachel Dickinson (from the UK) and Mark Usher (from the USA) each visited Japan, meeting and spending time with Guild Companions and other Ruskinians there; each has written an illustrated account of their travels, both of them reflecting in particular on the warmth and generosity of the welcome and hospitality they received and the cultural value of a global Companionship. Read Rachel's account below.

READ MARK USHER'S ACCOUNT HERE.

Ruskin’s autobiography Praeterita draws to a close with a memory of time spent in companionship with his friend Charles Eliot Norton. He writes of how they walked in Dante’s footsteps to look at the Fonte Branda in Siena: ‘We drank of it together, and walked together that evening on the hills above, where the fireflies among the scented thickets shone fitfully in the still undarkened air’(35.562).  He speaks of the dream-like quality of the fireflies ‘moving like fine-broken starlight through the purple leaves. How they shone!’  The fireflies were a wonderful memory, but they also function as a symbol for the power of good memories, beacon memories.

I have been thinking of that passage a lot since June, when I experienced the joy of travelling to Japan, spending time with Guild Companions there, sharing food, drink and ideas with each other -- and seeing fireflies.  Looking back, it seems almost like a dream.

Companion Chiaki Yokoyama invited me with kind support from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Keio University (where she teaches) and Manchester Metropolitan University (where I teach).  I met with some of Chiaki’s students, joined her in teaching a class at Keio’s Yokahama campus near the beginning of the trip, and gave a public lecture on “ ‘Courage of necessary truth telling’: John Ruskin & Elizabeth Gaskell” at the Mita campus as my journey drew to a close.  Between the activities at Keio University, I travelled a route which overlapped with those taken in the last twelve months by Companions Bob Richmond and Mark Usher.

I am immensely grateful to all the Japanese Companions and members of the wider Ruskin community in Japan, who made me feel so very welcome.  There is not space to mention everyone, nor every shining memory, but here are a few with illustrative photographs.

Tokyo

My first full day in Japan began with a visit to the Tokyo Ruskin Library, located in the Mikimoto building, Ginza district.  When Chiaki and I arrived, we were welcomed by Yasuo Kawabata (a Trustee of Tokyo Ruskin Library) and Rieko Yokoyama (a staff member of Tokyo Ruskin Library), as well as Companion Shoji Sato.  We enjoyed sipping cold green tea together on a hot day, while talking about the impressive holdings in the library.  After my tour of the Library, we walked to a nearby building where I was honoured to meet the Board of the Ruskin Library, including the Chair of the Tokyo Ruskin Association, Hirohiko Mikimoto.

Nose-Cho, Osaka

As I journeyed with Companions Chiaki and Shoji from Tokyo to the Osaka Ruskin-Morris Centre, it seemed we were entering a different world.  The Shinkansen (bullet train) whisked us from the fast-pace of Tokyo, into the bustling central interchange of Osaka, then onto smaller trains out to Yamashita where Ikuko Kurasawa (now a Companion!) met us in her car for a 20-minute drive into the satoyama landscape.  Satoyama is something I have been thinking about since my visit.  A literal translation is village (sato) and mountain (yama), and it is a uniquely Japanese socio-ecological approach to good stewardship and humans living in harmony with nature.  Rooted in Japanese culture and developed a world away from Ruskin, it resonates with Ruskin’s ideas; it is fitting that the Osaka Ruskin-Morris Center (ORMC) is nestled in this landscape.

The ORMC is both a treasure trove of research materials and an inspiring education centre for Community Design.  We were hosted there by Companions Ryo Yamazaki, Eiji Yoshida and Ikuko Kurasawa, along with other members of studio-L (the Community Design firm founded by Ryo) and a group of Ryo’s university students – who thoughtfully chose to prepare a family-style build-your-own sushi supper so I could have an authentic food experience.  Eating together in community while sharing ideas at the table was a joy.  After dinner, each student said a few words about what they had been learning about Ruskin’s ideas – hearing their thoughts was a highlight of my visit.

While there, I also gave a talk to the students entitled ‘Ruskinian Wealth: A Vision of a Better World’ (with pauses in my English speaking so Ikuko could translate) and did a filmed Q&A with Ryo (with Chiaki providing simultaneous translation into English for me and Ikuko translating my English into Japanese). The work Companion Ryo has done in establishing studio-L and bringing together a group of individuals committed to making a positive change as individuals and as a collective is an exemplary model of how Ruskin’s ideas can have meaningful impact in twenty-first century communities.

The students were staying in the guest housing at the Osaka Ruskin-Morris Center, so we stayed at a traditional ryokan (hotel) with an onsen (natural hot baths) – another wonderfully Japanese experience.  The ryokan offered an evening mini-bus ride to a nearby river where we saw the last of the summer fireflies, and in the mornings we ate the most wonderful breakfast!

At supper prepared by university students. In foreground are four Companions, R to L:  Eiji (standing), Shoji (back of head), Chiaki and Rachel. The photo was taken by Ikuko

Kyoto

Leaving rural Nose-cho, I travelled by train to Kyoto with Shoji and Miho Hotta (a member of the Tokyo Ruskin Association), where they left me in the kind care of Companions Toshiko Asai and Shokan Nishikawa for a whirlwind afternoon and evening of wonderful experiences.  Knowing my keen interest in textiles, they had arranged a private visit to the Museum of Nishijin Textiles, which was closed on the only day I could be in Kyoto.  The rich brocades displayed there are a wondrous example of craftsmanship.

We then drove to atmospheric Ittoen Community, with which Shokan has a long-standing connection.  It is made up of a series of communal buildings, workspaces and residences – but most of the members are now aging and numbers are dwindling.  Shokan is working with others there to revive it as a community for the future.

From Ittoen, we drove to the Impact Hub Kyoto.  Established by Toshiko as a co-working space for emerging businesses, I was delighted to see that one corner is – in effect – a physical outpost of the Guild of St George in Japan.  There is a shelf of books the Guild had sent to help establish a ‘Ruskin Kyoto Library’, and I was touched to see that Toshiko had printed out copies of the Guild newsletter for visitors to read.

That evening, we shared a magical meal in a traditional restaurant.  The Companionship over wonderful food in such an atmospheric location, followed by a night-time walk around its renowned garden will, I know, like so many of my experiences in Japan remain as a ‘firefly’ memory, bringing joy when I think back on it in future.

It is difficult to find the words to thank my Japanese hosts – Companions and members of the wider Ruskin community there.  Together we shared ideas, wonderful meals, walks, cultural experiences and thoughts about future activity together.  The way Ruskin has been interpreted and embodied in Japan is an inspiration for Ruskinians and I am honoured and grateful to have had the opportunity to experience it in person.

Rachel Dickinson, October 2026.

Toshiko, Rachel and Shokan in front of the ‘Ruskin Kyoto Library’.