Profile of the Project

The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn began in 2009 as a contemporary art exhibition organised and hosted by the American College in Athens. The name expresses Hearn’s character. The same exhibition was subsequently held in Matsue Castle, the symbol of Matsue City, which has connections to Hearn. The Matsue exhibition was organised by Matsue City, who also organised to take it to New York in 2011, and New Orleans in 2012. It was well-received in all the places it was held.

In 2014, the 110th anniversary of Hearn’s death, an international symposium was held in Hearn’s birthplace of Lefkada. It was organised by the Executive Committee. Panelists from six countries were invited to participate, and the Lafcadio Hearn Reading Performance received much acclaim. In 2015, the first large-scale “homecoming” event was held in Ireland, the homeland of Hearn’s father. It was organised by the Sanin Japan-Ireland Association and Matsue City. An exhibition of the same title was organised by The Little Museum of Dublin, and the Reading Performance was presented in three cities. With these events, Hearn was celebrated in both of his home countries.

The Lafcadio Hearn Reading Performance, performed by Shiro Sano and Kyoji Yamamoto, is the most effective way of communicating Hearn’s works to the world. It has been performed over 50 times both in Japan and overseas, and continues to delight audiences.

In 2016, the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum in Matsue was re-opened, with a focus on the concept of Hearn’s open mind, which is communicated to the museum’s many visitors.


The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn

The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn in the USA

The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn in the USA. 3,607 likes · 287 talking about this. 22nd October, 2019 – 5th January, 2020 | New York, Cincinnati, New Orlenas, USA 2019年10月22日(木)―2020年1月5日(日) |…