Will Adams, the boy from Kent who became the first Englishman to set foot in Japan, is being celebrated in an annual event this weekend.

He died in 1620 but Adams’s legacy is still strong and on Saturday festival-goers will remember the Gillingham-born navigator.

Martial arts clubs from around the county will display their combat skills at the festival using weapons such as swords and the naginata – a traditional long, wooden weapon with a blade.

Visitors will even be able to have a go at some martial arts moves themselves at taster sessions.

Students from a university in Japan, which has an exchange programme with Chaucer College in Canterbury, will be performing a traditional dance and there will be plenty of other events, including the chance to play Tudor and traditional Japanese games, learn some Japanese phrases and test out origami and calligraphy skills.

There will also be living history events and story-telling and opportunities to see Japanese body armour and sample some of the country’s cuisine.

Medway Council’s Howard Doe said: “The Will Adams Festival is not only a great family event but it allows the people of Medway to celebrate the legacy of a Gillingham-born man who is one of the most influential foreigners in Japan.

"The one-day festival is packed with lots of exciting things to see, learn and do.”

THE HISTORY

Will Adams was born in 1564 in Gillingham and joined the Royal Navy in 1588. In 1598, he was appointed chief navigator of the flagship Hope and set sail for the East Indies. His ship went aground on the Japanese island Kyushu in 1600.

Adams was taken to the Shogun, questioned and imprisoned, but he impressed with his knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation and set up the first trading link between Britain and Japan.

He was granted the title of Samurai and given a small estate in Japan.

Since 2000, there has been a festival in Medway each September to celebrate the culture of Japan.

EVENT DETAILS

The Will Adams Festival is at Gillingham Park in Canterbury Street on Saturday, September 10, between 11am and 4.30pm. Entry to the park is free.

For details visit visitmedway.org