Sister and Friendship City Days 2011
Citizens enjoyed foreign cultures
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Hiroshima City has Sister City and Friendship City ties with six cities overseas, and holds a
commemorative Sister and Friendship City Day event for each city. The aim of the events is to
increase Hiroshima citizens' familiarity with and understanding of each of the cities. This Foundation
is consigned with the implementation of the events by Hiroshima City. Each event is led by the
Hiroshima Messengers.
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Daegu Day
A commemorative event was held from May 3 to
5 last year at the Hiroshima Flower Festival
venue.
At the commemorative ceremony on the 4th,
speeches were given by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi
Matsui, Daegu Metropolitan City Mayor Kim Bum-il,
and Mr. Shin Hyung-Keun, the Consul-General
of the Republic of Korea Consulate-General in
Hiroshima.
This was followed by a traditional Korean dance
performance of "Seungjeonmu" and Buchaechum
by the Daegu Municipal Korean traditional
performing arts group. Many in the audience
were enthralled by the impactful musical
performance and wonderful dance.
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A boy beating the large drum
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For the three-day event a Daegu Korea area named "Madang" was set up, to provide an
introduction to Korean culture,centering on Daegu Metropolitan City. There was lots of friendly
exchange between the Korean international students and visitors at the always-popular
commemorative photo section where visitors could have their photo taken in Chimageogori (folk
costume), as well as the Korean Proficiency Test section. The section selling home-style Korean
cooking, which is also a favorite every year, was bustling with families. A Korean Traditional Kusaki-zome
(plant dye) Workshop was also set up over the two days of the 3rd and the 4th, and while
the number of participants was limited to one hundred people, they enjoyed the colors of the dyed
fabrics.
At the main building of the Museum there was also a performance of the large drum given to
Hiroshima City by Daegu Metropolitan City to commemorate the sister city relationship, and a joint
performance of the large drum together with Janggu (one of the most famous drum groups in the
Korean Peninsula), as well as the chance for visitors to try beating the large drum themselves.
These were all very popular with the participants.
Around 9,760 citizens visited the venues over the event period, a record high. It was a great
success.
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Panel exhibition
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Hanover Day
The Hanover Day event was held at Hiroshima
City International House on May 29 last year.
The event included an experience of Ueda
Soko-style Japanese tea ceremony, which has
strong ties with Hanover, a demonstration and
tasting of authentic German sausage making,
tasting of Baum Kuchen cake, a demonstration
of cake-making by a German master, and Luettje Lagen
(different liquor is served in two glasses,
which are then drunk in one gulp).
At the German music concert held in the hall,
three professional musicians gave a wonderful
performance of violin, flute and viola, and the
session ended with the audience singing "Rose
on the Heath" in German and Japanese.
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The event also included a display introducing Hanover and Germany, a panel exhibition describing
the history of exchange between Hiroshima City and Hanover City, paper crafting of Hanover trains,
and an introduction and reading of German picture books. All events were very popular.
Despite the poor weather 310 people attended the event, and through the varied program
deepened their understanding of Hanover and Germany while enjoying themselves at the same time.
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Montreal Day
The Montreal Day event was held at Hiroshima
City International House on July 24 last year.
Visitors to the event started with tasting of
some delicious Montreal gourmet cuisine including
smoked meat and cranberry juice.
After the commemorative ceremony, an
assistant English teacher from Montreal City
provided an introduction to Montreal City.
At the memorial concert, the Canadian-born
singer Kelly Pettit spoke in a friendly manner to
the audience in fluent Japanese, also responding
to requests, which the audience enjoyed.
The event ended with a fun prize draw where
participants could win maple syrup, a Quebec
Province photo book, smoked meat and other
specialties.
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Canadian-born singer Kelly Pettit in the memorial concert
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There was also a message of support from the citizens of Montreal City for recovery from
the Great East Japan Earthquake, a display of Canadian specialty goods, and an introduction
of Kooza, a work of Cirque du Soleil. Participants also received a copy of the special Montreal
Day issue of the information magazine Coco Montreal.
The approximately three hundred visitors enjoyed themselves at the event as they deepened
their understanding of Montreal and Canada.
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Volgograd Day
The Volgograd Day event was held at Hiroshima City International House on September 11 last year.
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Visitors enjoying a drawing game
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Visitors first enjoyed tasting of famous Russian
cuisine including borsch, piroshky, and Russian
chocolate, as well as tasting of Georgian wine,
Russian tea (black tea with jam) and Birch sap.
Although the food and drinks were rare, many
people commented on how tasty they were.
In the hall, following on from the
commemorative ceremony, there were
presentations by elementary school students
who had participated in home stays in Russia.
Using photos and images, the presentations
were easy to follow, and very popular. After this
was a Russian language class by a Russian
resident of Hiroshima, and a Russian-style janken
(rock-scissors-paper) competition. All visitors
participated and the event was very lively.
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At the Russian music concert that followed, three groups of performers performed various Russian
musical pieces. First was a piano performance and chorus, followed by an ensemble of various
different instruments, and then a marimba performance. The venue was full of cheers and applause
for the various different types of Russian music. The concert closed with an enjoyable rendition of
the Russian folk song "Troika" (triplet) by all.
The event also included a display section introducing Russia and Volgograd, an exhibition of
Russian folk crafts, picture books and posters, as well as a display of landscapes painted by
children from Volgograd and photos of exchange sessions.
On the day before the event was a Russian cooking class with a Russian teacher. The thirty
participants tried making borsch, which they enjoyed eating at the end of class.
Including the cooking class a total of around 320 people attended the Volgograd Day events, and
developed a greater understanding and interest in Volgograd and Russia.
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Chongqing Day
Chongqing Day was held on October 23 last year at Hiroshima City International House.
Visitors first enjoyed tastings of Mala Tang (using the hotpot soup that is a specialty of
Chongqing), fried dumplings, and Mahua.
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After this, the Coordinator for International
Relations from Chongqing gave an easy-to-understand
presentation using PowerPoint
images on the city of Chongqing as well as kanji
characters used in China and Japan that seem
similar but are actually different.
At the memorial concert was a demonstration
of tai chi and tai chi sword by the members of
the Hiroshima Branch of Japan-China Friendship
Association, and the audience were able to try
tai chi for themselves. A concert was given by
Mr. Zhao Rongchun, a world-famous Chinese
two-string fiddle (erhu) performer who lives in
Hiroshima. The concert ended with everyone
singing Akatombo (Red Dragonflies) in Japanese
and Chinese, accompanied by Mr. Zhao.
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Zhao Rongchun playing two-string fiddle (erfu)
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The three hundred visitors enjoyed themselves while gaining a greater understanding of Chongqing
City and China.
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Honolulu Day
On November 3 last year, the Honolulu Hula Party was held at the underground event space at the
South Exit of Hiroshima Station, as a commemorative event for Honolulu Day.
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Hula dance lesson
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The event began with a performance of the
kahiko, a classic hula dance, and the opening
ceremony welcoming the Consul-General of
America in Osaka/Kobe. This was followed by an
explanation using enlarged images of Honolulu's
food culture, history, tourist spots and more by
four people: Hiroshima Messengers, Mr. Daryl
Sato from Honolulu, and Ms. Kelly Jackson from
America.
The main event was a full-scale stage
performance by three Hawaiian bands and a
team of hula dancers. The hula dances by the
cute children and gorgeous and graceful women
put the venue fully in tropical Hawaiian mood,
and participants enjoyed the convivial
atmosphere.
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There were also participation events including a quiz where participants could win Hawaiian goods,
and hula dance lessons on the stage together with the performers. The event ended with all joining
in chorus to sing "Hawaii Aloha".
There was a display and sales of Hawaiian goods at the venue and visitors could try making their
own ribbon leis. Through the event, approximately 530 citizens gained a greater understanding of
America and Honolulu City.
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(International Relations and Cooperation Division)
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