I mentioned Gonza in a previous post. Back in the 1700's, his father wanted to take him by ship to Europe, but the ship crashed along the Russian coast, and one tribe discovered the survivors and killed everyone but Gonza. While he was alive, he compiled the first Japanese-Russian dictionary, but because he'd been so young when he left Japan, his Japanese vocabulary was limited. He died at age 21. He's considered something of a local legend, and some of the merchants in Tenmonkan have named their street after him. On Sunday, the Gonza Street merchants held a little festival to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Gonza's birth.
The entertainment consisted of music, some food and crafts tables, and the opportunity to dress up in costume for 500 yen ($5 USD). The only musicians I saw were these two guys, singing "100 Miles" and other American folk pop.
Not a lot of people at 2 PM, but they did enjoy the nice weather while they were there.
I continued on to the Volunteer Center, where I watched a lot of people making stuff, until about 4:30 PM. I returned to Gonza Street, and the same two men were still playing. Some people really like their music.
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