Love Letter from Brussels
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March: Hina Matsuri and the 5th Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake (No.33)
March 15, 2016
It’s finally March. The signs of spring are getting stronger every day. These last few days have been wonderfully sunny here in Brussels. However, I still have the habit of taking my umbrella every time I go out…
Doll Festival
In Japan, March is of course the month of Hina Matsuri. We have a 7-tiered doll stand at the Information and Cultural Center of the Embassy, which is very much appreciated in this period.
As this year marks 150 Years of Friendship between Japan and Belgium, it was a very special Hina Matsuri. This is because we were able to gift a Japanese Hina doll set to the Belgian royal family. This gift ceremony took place at the Royal Palace on 7 March. Normally, the members of the royal family do not accept such gifts; however, in light of the 150 Years of Friendship, they exceptionally accepted our present. This ceremony is also published on the homepage of the royal family. https://www.monarchie.be/fr/agenda/audience-394
At the time of the gift ceremony, I was unfortunately on a business trip abroad so I could not attend. However, the couple of doll makers who created the two sets of imperial dolls attended the ceremony along with Minister Yamada, Director of our Cultural Centre Ms. Kurihara, and my wife. Her Majesty Queen Mathilde made her appearance after the imperial dolls were displayed. The Queen showed a great interest in the dolls and her various questions about the dolls themselves and the origin of the clothing were answered by the doll maker. In addition, another doll set with different garments was presented to His Majesty King Philippe’s sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgian Royal House have four children: two boys and two girls. The first in line to the throne is the eldest daughter HRH Princess Elisabeth, who is currently 14 years of age. I think it’s fantastic that Japan’s traditional Hina dolls will be passed on to the next generation in Belgian Royal Family. It makes me confident that our countries will maintain a cordial relationship for a long time to come.
Fifth Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake
Next is the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March. This year marks the fifth anniversary and several events to remember the victims were held in Belgium as well.
In the morning of 11 March, I attended the Great East Japan Earthquake 5th Year Commemoration Ceremony at the Japanese Garden in Hasselt organized by the BJA and the city of Hasselt. This marvelous garden was donated by Hasselt’s sister city in Japan, Itami.
The ceremony took place in front of the cherry tree that was planted on the first anniversary of the earthquake. Ms. Claes, mayor of Hasselt and Mr. Declerck, President of the BJA, also attended the ceremony. After a word of welcome by the organizers, the approximately 100 attendees held a moment of silence to the sound of the bell. The fine weather contributed to it being a wonderful ceremony.
In the evening, the 6th edition of the “Fukko Concert”, a charity event, took place. “Fukko” has become a Japanese wordt that many Belgians understand thanks to violinist Ms. Yuzuko Horigome, who outdoes herself every year by organizing such a concert, since the year of the earthquake. Ms. Horigome was the first Japanese to win the long-established Belgian Queen Elisabeth Concours. She has since then worked all over the world, including in Japan, while living in Belgium.
This year’s concert surely would not have taken place without Ms. Horigome and the help of her friends. Renowned artists that are normally completely out of reach made time out of their busy schedule and rushed to perform at this concert. Pianist Martha Argerich participated to the concert in between performances on her German tour and travelled back to Germany after the concert in the middle of the night. Cellist Mischa Maisky and his daughter also hastened to Belgium in the middle of their tour in Germany. In addition, a friend of Ms. Horigome from the disaster-struck Sendai, the young violinist Mr. Oe Kaoru, also gave a marvelous performance. The Flagey Concert Hall, which has a capacity of 800 people, was almost completely full. The performers’ breathtaking performance provided a fantastic opportunity to remind us just how important it is to support recovery from the earthquake. I would like to thank all who were involved for their hard work in organizing the concert.
Once again “a friend in difficult times”
I feel like it’s not just a coincidence that the 5th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the 150 Years of Friendship both take place in the same year. In the past 150 years, Belgium and Japan have been “friends in difficult times”. I believe that the Great East Japan Earthquake was one of the peaks of this relationship. Japan will never forget the debt of gratitude we owe our Belgian friends. However, to recover from the ravages of the earthquake, which took the lives of over 18,000 people, 5 year is only halfway down the road to recovery. I hope our Belgian friends will continue to generously watch over our ongoing path to “FUKKO” (recovery).