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JOHN KRICH, Contributing writer. Rehearsing for their latest journey to Asia, Oreka TX, a group from Spain's Basque region, showcased modern compositions played largely on some of the world's most ancient instruments: a kind of bagpipe called the alboka, and the txalaparta, a kind of crude xylophone manned by two players banging on enormous blocks of wood.

The band was gearing up for Basque Week in Tokyo, which runs from Oct. 14 to Oct. 19 -- an event that underscores an improbable relationship between two distinctly different global regions. Since 2009, when a Japanese arts promoter stumbled across the band, Oreka TX has collaborated with Japanese drummers and jazz saxophonists, sharing concert tours that encompassed both Japan and the Basque Country. The band, which has even provided the soundtrack for a Japanese puppet show, is now on its sixth trip to Asia.

"We believe that, despite being at the antipodes of the planet, at other levels Japanese and Basque culture are very close," says Igor Otxoa, the group's manager. " We are two cultures that, from an appreciation of our past heritage, admire and are interested in the heritage of others."

That sentiment seems to be shared by those governing the semi-autonomous region of Spain. In 2020, just before COVID-19 struck, Basque leaders passed a resolution aimed at a more purposeful "internationalization" of their commerce and culture. The list of targeted partners included many European countries, especially in Scandinavia, and Asian giants such as China and India. But, says Basque minister for external affairs Marian Elorza, "our very first priority was Japan."

As a result, wide-ranging relationships have been established between Basque and Japanese officials, academics, artists and commercial concerns particularly leading up to the declared Basque-Japan Year of 2023. Executives from 60 companies based in the Basque Country have traveled to Japan to reinforce commercial links. For example, a Basque concern operating in Mexico already provides automotive parts to a Toyota plant there. The governors of Japan's Mie and Fukushima prefectures have also visited Spain amid countless other cultural exchanges.

"In every way," says Elorza, "we have become used to Japanese participation. They are now much more present."

At first glance, few similarities seem to bridge the 10,600-kilometer gap between conformist Japan, with its hierarchical social system and conservative politics and the Basque Country -- a small sliver of northern Spain known for its egalitarian rebelliousness. Yet both are lands with rocky, rugged sea coasts, dominated by the ocean and fishing, with mountains that rise quickly inland and a vivid green landscape. The two also share strong work cultures -- the Basques are sometimes playfully described as "the Germans of Spain." Both are "industrially dense," as Elorza puts it, with 44% of the Basque economy linked to industrial output.

"We share a lot of common values," Elorza adds. "We are both proud of ancient cultures and languages. ... And we are both makers, people who take care and do things with perfection." Some have even drawn a parallel between Basque and the language of Japan's indigenous Ainu people, each of which appears to have no connection with other languages.

Aside from this, Elorza cites the Basque word auzolana, which signifies thinking collectively and doing things for the common good, which she believes is also a hallmark of Japan.

Then there is the Basque food culture, for which the region is celebrated. In recent years, the self-declared "Culinary Nation" has boasted restaurants earning more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else -- at current count, 34, including 19 in the beach town of San Sebastian. Some of the starred restaurants share an emphasis on purity and simplicity that resembles a Japanese approach. For example, Elkano, a restaurant in Getaria, outside San Sebastian, has earned a Michelin star for a single seafood delicacy: grilled turbot.

Famed chefs such as Elena Arzak of the restaurant Arzak, Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz, and Eneko Atxa of Azurmendi are among the top chefs carrying forward a style of cooking known as "new Basque cuisine" that combines experimentation and loyalty to fresh Basque ingredients. "For us, gastronomy is a religion," says Elorza.

Gastronomy will be heavily on display during Basque Week in Tokyo, including tables full of delicacies and classes for local cooks. "Both our cuisines are based around fresh fish," says Elorza, "and like in Japan, our pintxos (open-faced bar sandwiches) are all small dishes; a kind of nanogastronomy."

A number of Japanese are working in kitchens in the Basque Country, learning about local specialties, and there is a growing number of Basque restaurants in Japan -- at recent count almost three dozen, with names like Tokyo's Pais Vasco, Hokkaido's Hakodate Little Donosti and Txoko (the name for private eating clubs through the Basque Country).

Many other cultural exchanges are also taking place. Japanese films, including a new Miyazaki animation on opening night, were featured at this year's San Sebastian Film Festival in September, while five Basque-language films -- such as the Oscar-representative documentary, "20,000 Species of Bees" -- will premier for the first time at The Tokyo International Film Festival, which opens on Oct. 23.

In July, the San Sebastian Jazz Festival, one of Europe's oldest, featured one of the largest contingents of Japanese jazz players ever seen in the continent's summer schedule of jazz showcases. Chosen through a growing partnership with Japan's annual Kanazawa Street Jazz festival, four exceptional pianists followed one another in lunchtime concerts staged in the beautiful courtyard of the Museoa San Telmo, a 16th-century building that was once a Dominican convent.

Among them was Eri Yamomoto, a 28-year veteran of New York's jazz scene who performed a song about wearing a purple wig to avoid anti-Asian attacks in that city. Kento Tsuobaka, a next-generation player with only two years as a professional musician, received a standing ovation for his forceful semiclassical improvisations.

The festival's top Donostiako award, previously bestowed to Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and other jazz legends, went to Yosuke Yamashita, a former wild man of avant-garde jazz who was once filmed playing a burning piano but is now mellowed in his 80s and has taken to tackling standards by George Gershwin. "The Basque audiences are great. The Europeans understand and appreciate us better," Yamashita said after receiving his prize.

"The reason we feature Japanese jazz artists is obvious -- they are simply great, technically and all other ways," says Miguel Martin, longtime director of the festival, who says his visits to Japan have triggered a "passion" for its culture. Many in Japan as well as in a small patch of Spain are hoping that Basque Week helps spread that passion in both directions.