Named after a city some 30 minutes by train north of Tokyo, the Kawagoe Style Club was founded around 15 years ago to help promote Kawagoe as an international brand. Official residences of Japanese ambassadors all around the world are transformed into mini Kawagoe clubs for a day.

Here in Luxembourg, that meant providing invited guests with a real flavour of the city’s culinary and cultural traditions. They were served Japanese curry, selections of tempura, and yakitori served with Hibiki miso BBQ sauce and also had the opportunity to taste several different grades of saké.

Demonstrations of Maki-e, the traditional lacquer painting technique, and Shodo, Japanese calligraphy, also entranced guests. Also on the programme was a performance on the Shamisen, a three-stringed lute, and an explanation of sekku, the children’s day tradition of decorating the home with samurai warrior figurines to celebrate boys (and now girls) growing up to be brave and strong.