ID :
10579
Mon, 06/23/2008 - 12:22
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/10579
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CROWN PRINCE NARUHITO ATTENDS CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL IN SAO PAULO
SAO PAULO, June 23 (Kyodo) - Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito on Saturday attended a memorial festival in this southeastern Brazilian city celebrating the centennial of Japanese emigration to the country, which drew some 37,000 local people including those of Japanese descent.
Delivering a speech, the 48-year-old crown prince said, ''I hope all who attended today's ceremony will create a friendship bridge between the two countries.''
The crown prince, who serves as honorary president of the Japan-Brazil Exchange Year, arrived in Brasilia, the nation's capital, on Tuesday evening and went to Sao Paulo on Thursday.
During the festival, the prince also watched a bearer of the ''torch of friendship,'' which was lit at Kobe port, western Japan, in late April and transported by ship, light up a cauldron.
April 28 marked the 100th anniversary of the departure at Kobe of a ship carrying the first 781 Japanese emigrants to Brazil -- the Kasato Maru, which arrived at Santos port, southeastern Brazil, on June 18, 1908.
Kokei Uehara, 80, chairman of the Association of the 100th Anniversary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil, said in his speech at the festival, ''Emigrants were absorbed into Brazilian society because they cherished morals even though their lives were difficult.''
At the venue, about 300 personnel of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Training Squadron who had traveled to the country mainly for the purpose of training, organized a parade.
Also performed at the event were traditional dances from Japan's Okinawa and Tottori prefectures from which many Japanese settlers in Brazil hailed.
Earlier in the day, the crown prince also visited Santos port to place flowers at a monument near the pier at which the Kasato Maru arrived.
During his 12-day trip to Brazil through June 27, Crown Prince Naruhito is scheduled to visit other cities including Londrina, Maringa and Rio de Janeiro to meet with Japanese-Brazilians living there.
Six generations of ethnic Japanese have lived in Brazil and an estimated 1.5 million Brazilians of Japanese descent live here now.
Brazil designates this week as a week of Japanese culture, organizing a spate of events introducing traditional Japanese arts and culture across the country.
Delivering a speech, the 48-year-old crown prince said, ''I hope all who attended today's ceremony will create a friendship bridge between the two countries.''
The crown prince, who serves as honorary president of the Japan-Brazil Exchange Year, arrived in Brasilia, the nation's capital, on Tuesday evening and went to Sao Paulo on Thursday.
During the festival, the prince also watched a bearer of the ''torch of friendship,'' which was lit at Kobe port, western Japan, in late April and transported by ship, light up a cauldron.
April 28 marked the 100th anniversary of the departure at Kobe of a ship carrying the first 781 Japanese emigrants to Brazil -- the Kasato Maru, which arrived at Santos port, southeastern Brazil, on June 18, 1908.
Kokei Uehara, 80, chairman of the Association of the 100th Anniversary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil, said in his speech at the festival, ''Emigrants were absorbed into Brazilian society because they cherished morals even though their lives were difficult.''
At the venue, about 300 personnel of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Training Squadron who had traveled to the country mainly for the purpose of training, organized a parade.
Also performed at the event were traditional dances from Japan's Okinawa and Tottori prefectures from which many Japanese settlers in Brazil hailed.
Earlier in the day, the crown prince also visited Santos port to place flowers at a monument near the pier at which the Kasato Maru arrived.
During his 12-day trip to Brazil through June 27, Crown Prince Naruhito is scheduled to visit other cities including Londrina, Maringa and Rio de Janeiro to meet with Japanese-Brazilians living there.
Six generations of ethnic Japanese have lived in Brazil and an estimated 1.5 million Brazilians of Japanese descent live here now.
Brazil designates this week as a week of Japanese culture, organizing a spate of events introducing traditional Japanese arts and culture across the country.
