Category: Archives

As Mr. Francesco Foletti took us to the town of Bovezzo in his car, we saw kindergarten pupils walking in a long row.  Being led by teachers, they were heading to Vivaldi Middle School to participate the tree planting ceremony. When we arrived at the school and entered the gymnasium, many people, including the Mayor, deputy mayor, middle school and primary school pupils, teachers and parents already gathered there and greeted us with applause. The entire town was welcoming the tree. They decorated the gym walls with displays of children’s works such as their studies on kaki, cooking recipes using kaki and origami kaki fruit. They also hung many origami… Read more »

Franciacorta Peace March 2013 started from Berlingo. Berlingo Mayor (at that time) met Mr.Francesco Foletti in December 2012 and told that he wished to plant the “sapling from the bombed kaki tree” in 2014. Unfortunately, the then Mayor passed away due to a tragic accident a few days later. When Mr. Foletti learned about the incident, he contacted the Kaki Tree Project head office. We asked Dr. Ebinuma for a special permission and the tree presentation ceremony to the town of Berlingo was planned to express condolences for the former Mayor. The former Mayor’s wife and children attended the ceremony on 7 April. After the tree presentation ceremony, the Franciacorta… Read more »

SGI-UK (Soka Gakkai International – UK) National Centre, Taplow Court stands atop a hill beside the River Thames. It is about 30 minutes away from the Heathrow Airport by car, and a “historic building” considered a national heritage by the UK government. Since its opening in 1989, it has been hosting peace exhibitions, art festivals and family festivals. Locals enter and leave the house freely, and love this historic building. There is a library inside the house which displays its history (owners in the past, etc.) and related material. The “sapling from the bombed kaki tree” was planted in the “Garden of Remeberance” in its vast grounds. Mrs. Katja Bailey,… Read more »

Thameside Primary School is a state school with 300 pupils from a wide range of cultural and social backgrounds. 30% of the pupils use English as their second language and 31 different languages are spoken within the school. One of the parents, Mrs. Katja Bailey, a friend of Yoriko Miyajima from the Kaki Tree Project head office has two children who attend the school. She has introduced the Project to the school principal, and the principal applied to plant the tree. Prior to the tree planting ceremony, workshops were held on 12 and 13 March. The Parent Forum at the school is a very active parent association, and many creative… Read more »

The students introduced their Haiku and poems, and also gave guitar and flute performances. Then, everyone moved outside and planted the sapling from the bombed kaki tree. The student representatives put soil over the tree roots, and a nice-looking signboard was set up beside the tree.

The project first started at the Fukushima Geijutsu Keikaku x Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo’s Kick-off Forum on 30 June 2012. In cooperation with the Fukushima prefectural government, Fukushima Museum and Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, foster parent recruitment campaigns for the “seedlings of the bombed kaki tree” also began. On 25 December 2012, a talk event on the Kaki Tree Project was held in the community center in Motomiya City. Application for planting was sent by Mayor Yoshiyuki Takamatsu and the board of education. There are three junior high schools within the city. One of them, Motomiya Daini Junior High School has already planted the kaki tree on 14 February 2000…. Read more »

Around the war memorial and peace monument in Mizuho-machi, the “sapling from the bombed sterculia” and the “bombed camphor tree” are also planted. The town has been working to foster the awareness about peace within the community over the years, so they planted the rose called “Souvenir d’Anne Frank” in eight locations within the town as well. The municipal office has designated the planting day as the “9th Peace Message Awards Ceremony” day. It held a peace message contest prior to the tree planting ceremony and called for entries from children and local residents. The second part took place in the Mizuho-machi community center, and the awards ceremony was held…. Read more »

Plantings in Fukushima in 2013 took place in five locations as part of the Fukushima Geijutsu Keikaku (Fukushima Art Program) x Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo’s “‘Passing on Fukushima’ Project.” The Fukushima Geijutsu Keikaku x Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo is the Tokyo metropolitan government’s support services for the earthquake-hit area through art and culture. Three public bodies, namely, Fukushima Prefecture, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Cultrure Creation Project (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) co-organize and carry out art programs in cooperation with local organizations. They aim to provide, from the perspective of creation of local dynamism and mental health care through art and culture, assistance for restoration and reconstruction by creating… Read more »

The project first started at the Fukushima Geijutsu Keikaku x Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo’s Kick-off Forum on 30 June 2012. In cooperation with the Fukushima prefectural government, Fukushima Museum and Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, f A teacher from Tomioka kindergarten attended the event and got inspired by the Project. The word passed around, and we received the tree planting applications not only from Tomioka kindergarten but also Shiraume and Higashi-gyonin kindergartens in Aizu-wakamatsu City.

The project first started at the Fukushima Geijutsu Keikaku x Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo’s Kick-off Forum on 30 June 2012. In cooperation with the Fukushima prefectural government, Fukushima Museum and Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, f A teacher from Tomioka kindergarten attended the event and got inspired by the Project. The word passed around, and we received the tree planting applications not only from Tomioka kindergarten but also Shiraume and Higashi-gyonin kindergartens in Aizu-wakamatsu City. Finally, they took group photos, ate the puffed rice snack, danced “Hyokkori Hyotan Jima” again with everyone, prayed for the kaki tree’s healthy growth and ended the ceremony. On 28 March, the tree was transplanted in… Read more »

The project first started at the Fukushima Geijutsu Keikaku x Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo’s Kick-off Forum on 30 June 2012. In cooperation with the Fukushima prefectural government, Fukushima Museum and Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, f A teacher from Tomioka kindergarten attended the event and got inspired by the Project. The word passed around, and we received the tree planting applications not only from Tomioka kindergarten but also Shiraume and Higashi-gyonin kindergartens in Aizu-wakamatsu City. Volunteers made puffed grain snack in front of the children, as well. The snack is made by placing rice grains under high pressure. The children were loudly counting down the seconds until there was a big… Read more »

Afterwards, they planted the “seedling from the bombed tree” in the school vegetable garden on the premises. The female student who was the MC for the planting ceremony nicknamed the tree “Fusashi,” in hoping that the tree would grow well and become ‘bushy (fusa-fusa).’ Later they told us the nickname became the tree’s official name.

She has launched the Kaki Tree Project Executive Committee in Aki, and planned the tree planting ceremony together with the Ioki Council of Social Welfare. Then, in the exhibition room below, local high-school students conducted Japanse lantern painting and origami workshops. Finally, all the participants sang together “Believe.” While people were still feeling the excitement from it, Ms. Kusunose delivered a few words to close the planting ceremony. It was such an attractive ceremony, which was rare within the country and touched us deeply.

Daughter of Dr. Ebinuma, Ms. Hitomi, is currently teaching at Nishikita Elementary School.