Welsh Artist Creates Artwork to Highlight Japan-Wales Links; Himeji, Conwy Castle Among Designs on Show

By Daniel Tod / Japan News Staff Writer

14:28 JST, May 29, 2025

Y Ddraig Goch, the red dragon that symbolizes Wales, stands out with its tongue and tail shaped like arrowheads.

To celebrate ties between Japan and Wales, Welsh artist Jonathan Edwards created designs with the dragon in front of scenes depicting both countries, with its arrowheads pointing at each of them.

Edwards was among the Welsh artists whose Japan-inspired work was on show at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo on Wales Day at the U.K. pavilion on April 29.

Edwards’ work takes the form of full-color tetsuin railway stamp designs. He was given a brief to come up with various designs and narrowed it down to themes such as nature and technology.

“It was a great honor,” Edwards told The Japan News via e-mail when asked about having his work on display at the Expo. “To walk into such a spectacle and then see people using my stamps was a moment of great pride.”

One of the most striking designs is an image of Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, and Conwy Castle in North Wales. The castles, both UNESCO World Heritage sites which were both built around the same time, were twinned in 2019.

Another features Mt. Fuji along with Yr Wyddfa (Mt. Snowdon), the tallest mountain in Wales and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United Kingdom.

Visitors to the Expo were able to make prints of the designs with a monochrome ink version of stamps similar to those found at Japanese train stations.

Close ties

Japan and Wales have many links in various fields. Many Japanese companies have bases in Wales, including Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. Both companies have had a presence there for over 50 years. The country even provided Hayao Miyazaki with inspiration for his movie “Tenku no shiro rapyuta” (Laputa: Castle in the Sky).

Edwards, from Wrexham in North Wales, first visited Japan 20 years ago. He has previously held exhibitions of his works in Nara and Osaka, and in 2021, his work was displayed on store windows at the Hankyu Department Store Osaka Umeda Main Store. He has also produced prints and books of his work themed on Japan.

Edwards said he is a big fan of many Japanese illustrators, including Ryohei Yanagihara and Akira Uno, and finds Japan “endlessly inspiring.”

“I’ve been asked by a lot of people in the U.K. if they’ll get to see [the stamps] used in Wales,” he said. “It would be great to see them used at Welsh train stations.”

Works from other Welsh artists and performers were also on display at the Expo, including hand-woven blankets by textile artist Llio James that were made using traditional Welsh fabrics.