BY RICHARD MENANOPO
The Embassy of Japan, in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), hosted its first large-scale Japan Festival “Matsuri” in Honiara on Saturday, bringing hundreds of Solomon Islanders together for a day of cultural exchange that aims to strengthen friendship beyond traditional development cooperation.
Speaking at the opening of the festival at the multi-Purpose Hall outdoor futsal court, Japanese Ambassador to Solomon Islands His Excellency Higuchi Keiichi said the event was designed to give Solomon Islanders a firsthand experience of Japan’s rich culture and traditions.
“This is the first time we’ve organised something like this on a big scale. We wanted Solomon Islands people to know what Japanese culture has to offer,” Ambassador Higuchi said.
He said while the Embassy had previously held similar activities at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU), this year’s festival was significantly larger, with support from more than 20 Japanese nationals, including JICA volunteers serving across the country.
The Ambassador said the festival reflected Japan’s desire to build stronger people-to-people connections with Solomon Islanders.
“People often talk of Japan as just a development partner, but we have a lot more presence here.
“We are not just helping Solomon Islands with donations and money. We have many Japanese people staying in Solomon Islands, including teachers, nurses, physiotherapists and other professional volunteers working together with Solomon Islanders,” he said.
Held under the theme “Discover Japan in Solomon Islands,” the festival featured Japanese calligraphy, Yukata photo experiences, traditional games, anime and manga activities, Japanese food, cultural crafts and stage performances.
Visitors were also treated to demonstrations by the Karate Federation of Honiara, performances by students from the SINU Japanese language programme and traditional Japanese dances, culminating in the Bon Odori community dance.
Ambassador Higuchi said experiencing Japanese culture in person offered far greater value than simply learning about it online.
“It’s one thing to read about Japan on the internet, but it’s quite different when you actually experience karate, dancing or Japanese food. There is a big difference between what you can see on your smartphone screen and what you can actually see, hear, smell and taste,” he said.
Embassy of Japan representative Shoko Sugiyama said the activities were carefully selected because they represent some of Japan’s best-known traditions while being easy for Solomon Islanders to experience.
She said the Embassy hopes future festivals will include Japanese artists visiting Honiara to further strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Festival visitor Lynrose Herokana from Shortland Islands, Western Province, described the event as an enjoyable opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture.
“I learned a lot about their food, their clothes, their dances and even a bit of their language. I hope there will be more cultural events like this in the future,” she said.
Meanwhile, SINU student volunteer Watson Suiomea, who assisted at the Yukata booth, said the public response had been overwhelmingly positive, with many visitors eager to try on the traditional Japanese garments and learn more about Japanese customs.
As part of the day’s programme, Ambassador Higuchi also encouraged visitors to embrace one of Japan’s well-known cultural values by separating recyclable waste and leaving the venue cleaner than they found it.
The inaugural Japan Festival “Matsuri” was jointly organised by the Embassy of Japan and JICA Solomon Islands and ran from 11am to 2pm.
The free public event showcased traditional and modern aspects of Japanese culture and promoted friendship, mutual understanding and stronger people-to-people ties between Japan and Solomon Islands.
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