The Heritage North Museum has long been the place to go in Thompson for delving into the history of Northern Manitoba. But now, thanks to an exhibit put together by martial arts school owner Jeff Fountain, people who visit the site can sample some Japanese culture as well.

The exhibit, which will be featured at the museum for all of February, has a wide array of Japanese traditional arts and culture and is called Nihon Bunka. The artifacts on display include kimono – including a wedding kimono – Buddhist scrolls, wood block prints dating back to the 19th century, ink paintings, items from the Japanese tea ceremony and much more.

Fountain says the people and culture of Japan have left a profound affect on him – which led him to share the beauty of the culture with other Thompsonites. After graduating from university, he received notice from the Japanese Embassy in Ottawa that he had qualified to participate in an exchange teaching program in Japan. Fountain then flew to Tokyo with a number of other Canadian candidates and ended up settling down for four and a half years in Shimokawa, one of the smallest towns in Japan located in Northern Hokkaido.

Fountain describes the small settlement of 4,500 people as looking much like the interior of British Colombia, with small mountains and rolling hills.

“This town would have such a profound effect on me that, to this day, it still defines me as an individual,” Fountain says. “It is unbelievably beautiful.”

In December of 2000 Fountain met his wife in Shimokawa, whom he married in 2005. The family still travels back to the town every year.

“I have such a connection to the place and culture that I started to collect anything that reminded me of the things I love about the place,” Fountain says, explaining how he gathered the artifacts featured in the exhibit. “I started collecting Japanese art after learning several arts and craft styles.”

But art was not the only thing that attracted Fountain to Japan. He achieved his black belt in Judo and a second-degree black belt in Kendo. He later went on to fight as an amateur mixed martial arts fighter in the Shooto organization and later as a professional in Seikendo.

“What most fascinated me was the Japanese attitude towards life,” Fountain reminisces. “The Japanese arts all have some element of Zen Buddhism applied to them. They say that you can take any ‘way’ to achieve enlightenment. Whether you do Sumo, the Tea Ceremony, flower arrangement, Karate or cook ramen, everything has ‘way’. Basically, this ‘way’ is to do what you do over and over as perfectly as possible.”

Fountain says he hopes many people come out to enjoy the exhibit he and his family put on, and encourages people to learn as much about different cultures as possible.