Professor Darren Mitchell and Koyo Oration special guest Roger Pulvers shared the changing of seasons with guests, including current and former mayors Ruth Fagan and Bill West, and members of the Japanese consulate and other friends of Cowra's Japanese Garden at last week's Koyo Matsuri.
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Introducing Mr Pulvers, who have the Koyo Oration, Prof. Mitchell first recognised the role of the garden and its patrons.
"This relationship between Cowra and Japan is at the heart of the garden," Prof Mitchell said.
He described the garden as a peaceful place that fosters mutual recognition and understanding.
"Its cultural centre, the focus of our Koyo festival, has a focus on Japanese tradition and the arts, and a means of adding depth to our understanding of each other."
Prof Mitchell also gave pause to offer respect to the late Don Kibbler, who along with Peter Carruth had first proposed the idea of the Garden 50 years ago.
Mr Kibbler passed away last week on April 29 at 87.
Presenting the Koyo Oration Mr Pulvers spoke of what Australia and Japan have in common.
"I began to think about what we have in common, and how we should form the basis of a new relationship which is not only based on a snapshot of former Australian PM (Tony) Abbott and the late Shinzo Abe standing in front of a submarine," he said.
"Any tie only based on geostrategic exigencies is not going to last, because those change; it has to be a lot more. Easier said than done, of course."
Reflecting on our relationship with powers like the UK and US, Mr Pulvers leaned into themes of finding Australian security with neighbours in our region, as well as deepening our relationship with Japan.
"The fate of Australia was going to be more in the hands of the Americans than the British, and that reorientation, culturally had to be made for the future of Australia. I think that was the correct decision to make at the time" he said.
"We are at another turning point here, where we are being asked to assess our relationship with the United States and the UK, in a region so volatile that when you wake up in the morning and turn on your your news, you're unsure what you're going to see the next day."
Pulvers added that whilst Australia and Japan had many similarities, both cultures could learn from each other's different experiences.
