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Japan group makes pilgrimage to Saipan
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Posted on Feb 13 2012
Twenty-five members of the Izoku Kai Bereaved Group from the Shiga Prefecture in Japan visited the CNMI last week for a pilgrimage to pray for their loved ones.
The group, which arrived on Feb. 6, also went to Tinian on Feb. 7 for a peace ceremony. Their trip was coordinated by Pacific Development Inc.
On Tuesday last week, the group visited Garapan Elementary School where they presented a basketball donation to the staff and students.
School principal Paulette Sablan and vice principal Leila Yumul welcomed the group, along with the Chamorro and Carolinian bilingual class students, and thanked them for their donation.
“The group expressed how much they appreciated the students performing the local indigenous dances, especially the colorful Carolinian beads they received as a gift from Garapan Elementary School,” PDI director Gordon Marciano told Saipan Tribune.
The visiting group, led by chair Takayuki Matsui, went to pray on Feb. 9 at the Japanese Memorial in Marpi for all those who perished during the war. Matsui recounted that he was only 7 years old when his father passed away during the war.
Inoue Shizuyo, one of the group members who visited the CNMI for the first time, shared a prayer for her grandfather.
Shizuyo’s grandmother, Zushi Kazue, made some 2,000 paper cranes in memory of her husband, Taniguchi Kihei, and all those who sacrificed their lives because of the war.
“Ms. Inoue Shizuyo apologized that her grandmother was unable to make it to Saipan as she is now 93 years old,” added Marciano.
Matsui expressed his appreciation to the Marianas Visitors Authority for their warm hospitality and the Division of Parks and Recreation for the upkeep of the Japanese Peace Memorial.
