Exchange Salon  “Visit to the Imperial Palace”

Some people say that cosmopolitan is the person who is familiar with the traditional culture of his/her country, while showing respect and appreciation to the culture and history of other countries. To my shame, although I have been with Meguro UNESCO Association more than 30 years, I have never visited the imperial palace which surely takes an important role in our country’s history. Therefore this visit was a very good opportunity for me. I really appreciate the work of the organiser of this visit.

I came away with the impression that the imperial palace has a very simple appearance, like the Katsura Imperial Villa and the Shugakuin Imperial Villa. However, I also found a graceful atmosphere from its simplicity. I hope many people inside and outside Japan will understand part of the basis of Japanese culture, through the palace.

This visit was held on a weekday and work schedules prevented many people from attending. It would be interesting to have the impression of other Friendship members of the visit. It was a rainy day so the organiser was anxious whether all the participants could turn up on time; a point to bear in mind for future plans. Fortunately, the weather improved and we had a bit of sunshine.                                                                                                                                               - Ken Hirabayashi

On June 30 (Wed), I headed to the Kikyo-mon Gate of the imperial palace, where we were due to gather for the visit. Although it had been scorching until the day before, this day started with a thunderstorm. As organiser, I had worried that some participants could not come, so I was relieved when many people turned up. Even though the rain was heavy, only 10 of the 60 applicants cancelled. Twenty-five Japanese members and as many Friendship members were lined up and counted, the visit vouchers were checked, and eventually we entered the gate. Then the rain stopped and a very beautiful blue sky appeared.

After receiving an explanation in the hall, we joined the line of about 200 people, and started to make the rounds. However, some participants tried to take longer than the allocated time to see certain parts, and we got a strong caution several times from the security guards. The guards gradually realised that foreign visitors might take more time than Japanese visitors, and eventually gave up cautioning us. I learned the difficulties in leading a group consisting of members with various backgrounds in a special place such as the imperial palace. Some Friendships members mentioned they enjoyed the visit and others said they were a bit disappointed they could only see the outside of the buildings. It would be nice to get the impression from all participants. Please accept my apologies as organiser, if anything did not meet expectations. The International Exchange Committee is planning more activities. I hope many people will attend the next opportunity.                                                                                         - The International Exchange Committee, Yoshiko Nakajima

Presenting a Letter of Appreciation to Friendship Members