一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

From 6:00 p.m. on Friday, July 29, at our base Senmaya International Club, we hosted a concert by koto (Japanese harp) player Ms. Miho Yamaji, in which she played five pieces of music ranging from 200 years ago to the present day. During the day, ceremonies and events were continuously held from the morning; however, the beautiful performance by Ms. Yamaji made everyone feel at peace. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to her for coming from Okayama to Iwate and presenting wonderful performances many times.

From 7:00 p.m., we held a dinner party attended by about 32 guests from local communities. For this party, we requested Mr. Lee Shuei, a Chinese cuisine chef at Tokyo Prince Hotel, and his friend Ms. Fon to cook healthy dishes, which were a fusion of the food from their home countries, Taiwan and Vietnam. For the dishes, plenty of tomatoes and peppers were used, which were offered by Mr. Ikuo Takeyama, who set up a Dutch-style hydroponic farm in 2016 in partnership with local farmers, and everyone enjoyed the delicious taste.

We also invited Mr. Yuichi Yonezawa, his wife and his daughter Tae, from Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, to the dinner party. On the day of the March 11, 2011 earthquake, Mr. Yonezawa evacuated to the rooftop of the three-story reinforced concrete building where he ran a packaging supplies shop. However, the tsunami soon reached there, so he climbed the chimney and had a narrow escape from death. In the meantime, his parents and younger brother fled to the shelter right next to the building and sadly, never came home. In his speech at the party, Mr. Yonezawa spoke as follows: "I feel chagrined at this tragedy, but I believe my wife and Tae survived in exchange for my deceased family members. Tae, born in the year of the earthquake, turned 11 years old this year. Please come and visit the building which saved my life; I put a sign indicating the tsunami water level on it. I am willing to guide you around at any time."

The party was also attended by Dr. Hiroyuki Iwamoto, who runs a neurology clinic in Senmaya Town, and his family. Dr. Iwamoto said that he became friends with Syed Tahir, a member of our foundation, and their friendship mentally saved him very much, and he was thankful to him. Mrs. Iwamoto also gave her speech. She told us that her hometown is Kamakura, and when she started living in Iwate, she felt a distance from her hometown; around that time, she heard about our foundation's activities related to Minamoto no Yoshitsune and felt a curious coincidence.

With this dinner party, once again, we deeply appreciated the connection with local communities and had a strong sense that we would like to continue such a dinner party that would allow us to interact with local people in the future.

Following the chinkonsai (a ceremony for the repose of the departed soul) for Yoshitsune of Minamoto, held on 15 June, the anniversary of his death, we performed a service to pray for the peace of the soul of Shizuyoshi of Minamoto (named by our Representative Director), who is the son born to Yoshitsune and Shizuka Gozen. It was held on 29 July, the birthday of Shizuyoshi, at Shirahata Shrine, which is associated with Shizuka Gozen and located near our base Senmaya International Club.

At the chinkonsai, kencha (tea offering) was conducted by Ms. Kiyoko Chida from Senmaya Town, who is a member of the Urasenke school of the tea ceremony. In addition, a piece of music, "Shizuka no Mai" (Shizuka's Dance), was performed by koto (Japanese harp) player Ms. Miho Yamaji who dedicated it to the souls of Yoshitsune and Shizuyoshi; she arranged the piece and performed it for the first time in Japan. In this ceremony, through the good offices of Mr. Jinan Fujiwara (the owner of Kurikomaso, hot spring inn on Mt. Kurikoma), a helmet and armor were placed in the main shrine in order to worship Yoshitsune as one soul; they were created by likening the helmet to his head and the armor to his body. In June 1999, Mr. Fujiwara performed a ceremony to pacify the soul of Yoshitsune at Shirahata Shrine in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture by combining the soil taken from the grave that enshrines Yoshitsune's body, located on the Hanganmori hill in Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, and the soil taken from the grave that enshrines his head at Shirahata Shrine in Fujisawa. After the ceremony, he walked a distance of 500 kilometers from Fujisawa to Kurikoma, Miyagi Prefecture, taking 43 days. Unfortunately, Mr. Fujiwara was unable to attend our ceremony, but we sincerely appreciate him for his cooperation.

Continuing on from June, Mr. Shin Oyama, the chief priest of Shirahata Shrine, and his wife again offered their support, which enabled us to perform the chinkonsai successfully. We deeply appreciate the enormous efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Oyama from preparation through to the day.Continuing on from June, Mr. Shin Oyama, the chief priest of Shirahata Shrine, and his wife again offered their support, which enabled us to perform the chinkonsai successfully. We deeply appreciate the enormous efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Oyama from preparation through to the day.

The naorai (feast after the ceremony) served at the shrine office was attended by guests who gathered not only from Senmaya Town but also from various places, including four from Kurikoma, Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, and one from each of Nishiwaga and Hiraizumi. The foundation's Representative Director delivered the following thought-provoking speech: "History is often written by statesmen, but the truth lies deeply in the minds of the common people. To develop the areas around Ichinoseki and Hiraizumi to be a garden of love and peace that the Fujiwara clan once aimed for, what can we do today by going beyond the concept of 'world heritage,' which is just a defensive approach?" We also screened a video of "Shizuka no Mai" (Shizuka's Dance) performed at Kamakura Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine to think about the feelings of Shizuka Gozen.

We hope this ceremony will be held annually as a shrine event, along with the Yoshitsune's chinkonsai in June, and will be helpful to promote local development and make this place a garden of love and peace.

An article about the chinkonsai for Yoshitsune of Minamoto and Shizuyoshi was published in the Iwate Nichinichi Shimbun newspaper on 1 August, 2022.

On Friday, July 29 at 1:30 p.m., we held the unveiling ceremony of the stone monument in Hiraizumi that commemorates Yoshitsune of Minamoto, Shizuka Gozen, and their son, Shizuyoshi of Minamoto.

The monument was created in the hope that it would offer an opportunity for people to think about Yoshitsune, Shizuka Gozen, who suffered a tragic fate, and Shizuyoshi, the son born to them. The monument also represents a wish for reconciliation between the Minamoto clan and the Oshu-Fujiwara clan. On the back of the monument, the words "Love & Peace" are engraved, and we hope that this place will become a place of "Love & Peace" for all visitors. This monument was produced by Ishioto Sekizai, a stonemason shop based in Takaishi City, Osaka Prefecture, and the day before the ceremony, they drove all the way from Osaka to Hiraizumi, taking 15 hours to deliver it. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to them.

After the ceremony, a tea party was hosted by Ms. Kiyoko Chida from Senmaya Town, who is a member of the Urasenke school of the tea ceremony. We sincerely appreciate her continuous support. The tea party was followed by a performance of a piece of music by koto (Japanese harp) player Ms. Miho Yamaji. She played "Midare" composed by Kengyo Yatsuhashi in the 17th century. While listening to the powerful and beautiful sound of the koto, the audience relived the moment of Japan 400 years ago.

From the afternoon on July 8 to July 9, we went to Iwaizumi town, Iwate prefecture and visited Senkin Shuzo Co., Ltd., Iwaizumi Elementary School, Iwaizumi Milk Products Co., Ltd. and Tanohata Yamachi Rakunou Gyunyu Co., Ltd.

【Visit to Senkin Shuzou Co., Ltd.】

On July 8, we visited Mr. Giichiro Yaegashi, the owner of Senkin Shuzo, a sake brewery and an old friend of Mr. Ichirou Murakami, our member. Established in the first year of Ansei (1854), the historic brewery have brewed Japanese sake using the water from the underground lakes of Ryusendo Cave, which is selected as one of the best 100 waters in Japan. Though we became late and visited the evening, he warmly welcomed us and showed us the brewery. Then at the fantastic place in there, Mr. and Mrs. Yaegashi prepared dinner to us with the help of their mother. Luckily, that day hit on the opening date of "ayu" (sweetfish) fishery, they also served us salt-grilled ayu. We really appreciate the pleasant dinner.

It was our first visit to Iwaizumi and the northern part of Iwate and they taught us a lot of new things.

【Visit to Iwaizumi Elementary School】

On July 9, due to our relationship with Ms. Kazue Takahashi, the principal of Iwaizumi Elementary school―our base camp Senmaya International Club was originally the estate of Ms. Takahashi's family―, we visited the school and saw a class. Ms. Takahashi told us that they have 149 students now but the number of students has been decreasing year by year. Her story saddened us.

They showed us a third year class by an American teacher and the students singing English songs cheerfully made us feel their eagerness to their future.

【Visit to Iwaizumi Milk Products Co., Ltd.】

On July 9 (Mon), we visited Iwaizumi Milk Co., Ltd., which locates just near Ryusendo Cave. The company is famous for its product called "Iwaizumi Yoghurt". Ms. Osawa, the senior executive, showed us their factory. Iwaizumi Milk was forced to stop operating because of the inundation caused by the heavy rain from Typhoon No. 10 in 2016. However, they spent 3 billion yen and reconstructed the facilities rapidly. Their effort astonished us and we couldn't help but wish they prosper more in the future.

【Visit to Tanohata Yamachi Rakuno Gyunyu Co. Ltd.】

On July 9, we visited Tanohata Yamachi Rakuno Gyunyu Co., Ltd., where cows are put to pasture and raised in the spacious field. Mr Kimio Yoshizuka, the owner, runs the farm with his five children and all their family members.

Two days before visiting the farm, we stopped at Yoshinoya, which is a confectionery shop in Hiraizumi town and has long been kind to us. Mr. Takashi Yoshino, the owner, told us that his sister married into the farmer. We felt some kind of connection and we took the opportunity and visited the farm.

On July 8 (Sun), we held an event in Otomo town, Rikuzentakata city, Iwate prefecture, for mingling with children in a foster home. Mr. Yuichi Murakami, a fisherman living in Otomo town, cooperated with us as before and Mr. Endo of Team Watahoi came all the way to help us. 21 children enjoyed fishing and barbecue with us and deepen the relationship.

Though it was cloudy that day, we did not have difficulties from the rain as we had two years ago and began auspiciously. Because of some trouble of the fishing boat, fishing and barbecue become the main event for the day. Fishing was popular among children last time and we had prepared more fishing tools for more children to experience it. Many children were very happy because they were able to catch fish and we felt glad that our effort might lead to their happiness.

While the children were enjoying, our staff members prepared for the barbecue. It went very smoothly because we already experienced twice.

This time, Mr. Butt, a friend of our member Tahir and from Pakistan, joined us and prepared tandoori chicken soaked with yogurt and spices from the previous day. Mr. Murakami, a fisherman, generously offered us plenty of "keganis" (hairy clubs), octopuses, "tsubugais" (whelks) and so on, free of charge, which made our barbecue lunch a rich one. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Murakami for always cooperating with us.

At the end, with Japanese "sanbon-jime" (three sets of three claps and one final clap) and Burgundian "Ban Bourguigon", the event was closed.

To assist the independence of children who are going to play important roles in the future, we would like to continue a variety of activities. We are grateful to everyone for cooperating with us.