Annual Sri Lanka Festival in Tokyo:
Lankan warmth in Japan
Sally McLaren
On September 11, the world marked the 10th anniversary of the
terrorist attack on the United States, and Japan marked sixth months
since the triple disasters - the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power
plant accident. On the same weekend, one corner of the vast Yoyogi Park
in central Tokyo was transformed into a peaceful celebration of Sri
Lankan culture.
The 8th annual Sri Lanka Festival showcased both traditional and
modern dance and music, with performances by well-known artists such as
the Channa-Upuli dance troupe and Bathiya and Santhush Group. Over 80
stalls promoted Sri Lankan products such as tea, spices, Ayurvedic
medicine, textiles and handicrafts. Sri Lankan restaurants from Japan
offered a solid selection of Sri Lankan cuisine, from Hoppers and Kottu
Rotti, to the ubiquitous rice and curry. There was even a stall selling
thambili at Tokyo prices - 500 (Rs 700) per king coconut.
The opening ceremony was attended by Japanese dignitaries with strong
connections to Sri Lanka, including former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda,
president of the Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Association Parliamentary
Group and Yasushi Akashi, former UN diplomat and now the Japanese
government representative for Peace-Building, Rehabilitation and
Reconstruction in Sri Lanka. Both are frequent visitors to Sri Lanka,
and they commented in their speeches on the positive changes they have
witnessed since the end of the conflict.
Former Prime Minister Fukuda said that he expects to see "more
prosperity and development in Sri Lanka in the near future." Members of
the 15,000-strong Sri Lankan community in Japan, such as business
people, monks and students, were also present at the ceremony.
Stall holders at the festival showed their support for Japan-Sri
Lanka cultural ties. Akira Takenami, a university professor, displayed
his photography book entitled "Over the War, Over the Tsunami, Sri
Lanka", a record of his journeys in Sri Lanka, with proceeds going to
charity. At the Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Association stall, architect
Kozo Kondo, who feels a special affinity with Sri Lanka because of his
parents' visit to the island in 1929, was hosting a mini-exhibition of
his photographs of Geoffrey Bawa's architecture. Next year, the
Friendship Association will travel around the island on a Bawa study
tour.
As Ambassador and Retired Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda noted in his
welcome speech, many international events have been cancelled in Tokyo
since the March disasters, and the embassy debated whether or not to go
ahead with this year's festival.
Sri Lanka's shared experience of a tsunami disaster led to a decision
to hold the festival.
The fact that the ambassador himself has made four trips with relief
teams to the stricken Tohoku region in northern Japan has strengthened
the relationship between the two countries, and has also attracted
praise both in Japan and Sri Lanka. After the opening ceremony, Anton
Wicky, a long-time Tokyo resident and Japanese TV personality originally
from Mount Lavinia, said that the energy Ambassador Karannagoda has
brought to the job has deeply impressed him and many other people. "He's
the best ambassador we've had in recent times," he said.
The posting to Japan is ambassador Karannagoda's first diplomatic
appointment and he arrived just over a week after the disasters, when
many other embassies were fleeing from the capital. He could have easily
postponed his appointment, but the ambassador was mindful of Japan's
assistance to Sri Lanka with development aid and tsunami reconstruction
projects.
He visited evacuation centres with members of the Sri Lankan
community in Japan to distribute three million Ceylon tea bags, as well
as thousands of servings of rice and curry.
Ambassador Karannagoda says that the disaster victims were incredibly
grateful for a warm meal, as the disaster struck at the end of winter.
The Sri Lankan government also sent a 15-member rescue team and
donated $1 million to the Japanese Red Cross. |