Japan Times John Evans (1973) John received the St Catherine’s Award for Intellectual Initiative after combining English with Sciences at A level. His enthusiastic contributions to school chapel services led the chaplain to introduce him to the Anglican monks of the Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) in Oxford. After graduating from Oxford, he spent five years in an experimental SSJE house, where Yoga and Tai Chi were integrated into the Benedictine monastic life. In 1981, he travelled to Japan and began training with a ‘yamabushi’ in the mountains west of Tokyo. This ancient tradition combines mountain training with meditative practices including martial arts. In 1987, his training regime was profiled in a 30 minute NTV programme in Japan titled: ‘Igirisujin no Mushashugyo’ (An Englishman’s Warrior Discipline). On his return to England in 1993, he founded the Fudokan Sword School in London. His book, Kurikara – The Sword and The Serpent – The Eightfold Way of The Japanese Sword, was published by Blue Snake Books in 2011. He continues to teach, research and train in London, making annual trips to the mountains of Japan. director intervened. The company was venturing into Japan and needed international representation. Peter spent three years in Japan and after a brief period studying in Fontainebleau, France, to acquire his MBA, and a few more years in London, he ended up in Singapore. Peter spent 25 years in Singapore, raising his family and running his own company which morphed into a family office (an investment management organisation that only has a single client). Seeking investment opportunities, Peter’s attention returned to Japan; more specifically, Japanese real estate, and even more specifically, tourism assets in Nozawa Onsen, a mountain resort in northern Nagano. The commute between Singapore and Nagano quickly grew impractical and Peter made the decision to relocate to Japan. Peter now oversees 16 properties, while his wife manages their family-owned hotel. As a result of living in a traditional, rural Japanese community, he follows the local philosophy that if you stop working, you are essentially sitting in death’s waiting room, so you might as well carry on working. Peter Douglas (1979) Following university, Peter spent a year backpacking around Latin America, before returning to work in London. After a while, Peter found himself working in an investment company, taking the job largely because his choice of company car came as a part of the package. After three years, just when he considered leaving – to ride his motorbike down to the Spanish Sierra Nevada to write poetry – his managing GRIFFEN 2024 | 16
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