When asked why the Manjiro Society for International Exchange was formed, Walle Hargreaves tells a story of a young man named Manjiro who lived in Japan about 150 years ago. When his ship sank he was rescued by Americans and taken to the United States. He learned about American culture and eventually took his knowledge and shared it with those back in Japan.
"In the spirit of that exchange the society was formed," said Walle Hargreaves. "Manjiro made a big imprint on Japanese society about American culture," she said.
Walle Hargreaves, a grandmother who lives in Reston, is the executive director of the Manjiro Society which began its branch in the U.S. in 1993, seeking to bridge the cultural gap between the United States and Japan. The Manjiro Society is a non-profit organization run by volunteers based in Reston, specifically in Hargreaves’ basement.
THE SOCIETY WAS STARTED by Teako Floyd in Japan in 1990, but Walle Hargreaves became president in 2000 when Floyd went on to another business. Hargreaves’ interest in Japan has stemmed from the two separate times in her life when she lived there. Walle Hargreaves’ husband, Hardy, worked in foreign services at the U.S. embassy in Japan and since his retirement he has helped with the society the last seven years. The couple lived in Japan from 1970-1972 and then again from 1990-1993. When Walle and Hardy Hargreaves left Japan, they eventually picked out a piece of land in Reston. Now residents since 1965, Walle Hargreaves said Reston really appealed to her because it had "a very European flavor" and that "the town was close knit" and her children could walk to school.
The Japanese, who come to Reston and stay with local residents during the society’s summit meetings, agree with Walle Hargreaves’ fondness for Reston. "They enjoy that it is so green and quiet and that there are so many polite people," she said. "They also say how comfortable and spacious the homes and landscape appears."
"Walle is the kingpin," her husband Hardy Hargreaves said. "She pulls the newsletter together and keeps the ball rolling." Keeping that ball rolling includes Walle Hargreaves’ active participation in coordinating a yearly exchange program between the McLean Youth Orchestra and students in Chiba, Japan. "We tend to be parochial," said Hardy Hargreaves, "and this program gives average people a chance to meet other real people."
Meeting average people from a completely different culture tends to be "quite interesting and an eye opener," said Hardy Hargreaves. He describes the commitment that he and his wife, show the society as a "labor of love."
Dave Thompson, a Herndon resident and a society member for five years, said that the society is a “worthwhile organization which gives you an opportunity to meet new people.” Thompson has known Walle Hargreaves for as long as he has been a member and said, “She has added her own flavor while still having carrying on the work of the society in good fashion.”
THE MEMBERS OF THE MANJIRO Society eagerly await their once-a-year summit meeting between Americans and Japanese in late October. Summit meetings alternate each year between America and Japan. For a fee anyone, member or non-member, can sign up to travel to Japan. The summit meetings are the pinnacle of importance each year to the society. As many as 30-35 Reston residents and 200 Americans total travel with the Manjiro Society in order to experience Japanese culture. The trip is run with volunteers and is "not very fancy" said Walle Hargreaves, but it is meant to teach people about the every day culture of a foreign nation.
"It is very difficult to go to Japan on your own and learn about Japan. Meeting the local people is always the most important and memorable aspect of the trip," she said.