| September 3, 2006 |
| China International Cultural Activites Center Delegates Visit Soka Gakkai International Women's Center |
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| China International Cultural Activites Center Vice President Lin Liyun (2nd from left, holding flowers) and her party visits Soka International Women's Center |
On September 2, China International Cultural Activites Center representatives, Vice President Lin Liyun, her husband Peng Tengyun, and directors Wu Qixiang and Xi Jianglin, visited the Soka Gakkai International Women's Center in Shinanomachi, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Ms. Lin Liyun served as interpreter during a December 1974 meeting between Premier Zhu Enlai and SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. She also is a former vice president of the All-China Women's Federation. Mr. Peng Tengyun is a former president of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots. The Soka Gakkai welcome committee included Vice General Director Hiromasa Ikeda, Vice Presidents Kenji Yoshigo and Yoshiki Tanigawa, SGI Women's Leader Kayoko Asano, SGI Young Women's Leader Mitsuko Tateno, and the 250 Japan-China Youth Friendship Exchange Delegation that had just visited China in July 2006. The Fuji Fife-and-Drum Corps and Fuji Chorus performed.
Referring to Premier Zhou's insistence on keeping his meeting with Mr. Ikeda despite his deteriorating health, Ms. Lin said the premier had high expectations of Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda. She affirmed that Premier Zhou and Mr. Ikeda's view that Sino-Japan friendship was a focal point for peace in Asia and the world and expressed hopes to collaborate with Soka Gakkai to continue strengthening the Sino-Japan friendship as avowed by the Chinese leader and Mr. Ikeda in 1974. Ms. Lin also lamented the continuing warfare that victimize mostly women, children and the elderly, despite the trend toward development and an era of peace. She called on all women--grandparents, mothers and wives--to unite in solidarity to protect peace.
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| Napoleon Exhibition Comes to Chiba |
On September 2, "Napoleon and his Time: The Sublime Triumph of Culture," an exhibition organized by the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (TFAM), opened at Chiba Portside Tower in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture. Some 120 guests from various sectors attended. Yasuhide Akada, president of the Chiba Nippo Press Corporation, Ltd., and TFAM Director Mitsunari Noguchi spoke. In a congratulatory speech, Chiba Governor Akiko Domoto said the exhibition that focuses on Napoleon's insight into the power of culture was spiritually enlightening. Chiba City's Deputy Mayor Kojiro Hayashi expressed his felicitations on the exhibition opening.
This particular exhibition focuses on Napoleon's grand vision for advancing society through the power of culture. Based on his own strong cultural and artistic sensibilities, Napoleon harnessed the power of culture to put in motion a blueprint for the modern society he envisioned. The brilliant conqueror left behind a monumental legacy reaching every sphere of social activity--arts, academia, city planning, architecture, fashion, judiciary, and industry--not only in France but, throughout Europe. The exhibition displays some 300 paintings, sculptures, crafts, garments, jewelry, signed letters, personal memorabilia and other historical objects, borrowed from museums and private collections in various countries, including France, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and the United States. Three dazzling coronets, one of them worn by Empress Josephine, are part of the show.
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Private collection
Coronet worn by Empress Josephine |
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© State Museums of the
Moscow Kremlin
From a dining set Napoleon presented to Russian Tsar |
[The Chiba exhibition runs through September 24, 2006. Venue: Chiba Portside Tower-8F, 1-35 Tonya-cho, Chuo-ku, Chiba City 260-8730. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday thru Thursday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Fri., Sat., Sun., and holidays. (Latest entrance 30 minutes prior to closing time.) Admission fees: adults--1,000 yen; high school and college students--700 yen; and junior high and elementary school students--300 yen.]
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