Manjiro Festival

Held biennially in October
Millicent Library
Sister City Committee
45 Center St.
Fairhaven, MA 02719
508-992-5342

This festival celebrates the legacy of John Manjiro (a.k.a. Manjiro Nakahama), a young Japanese boy rescued by Whaling Captain William Whitfield (c. 1842) from an island in the Pacific. Capt. Whitfield brought the boy to Fairhaven and raised him as his own son until his return to Japan. Later in life, John Manjiro was instrumental in opening up Japanese society to western trade.

The relationship led to the establishment of a sister-city arrangement that New Bedford and Fairhaven have with Tosashimizu, Japan. The festival features a Japanese tea ceremony, origami, sushi, and other displays of Japanese culture.