Virginia Anami, the American wife of former Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami, has arranged tours to China to commemorate the 1,400th anniversary of Prince Shotoku's dispatch in 607 of Ono no Imoko as an official Japanese diplomatic delegate during the Sui dynasty.
The tours are aimed at vicarious experiences of the routes Ono and delegates after him took.
"There were various routes at that time. Generally, a southern route crossing the East China Sea by ship is known. But when Imoko was alive, Baekje (an ancient Korean kingdom), which was friendly to Japan, did not collapse, and there was a course on the Korean Peninsula," said Anami, 62, whose Japanese first name is Fumiyo.