Foundation revives the ‘Matsue Award’

The Sugar King Foundation, headed by its president, Keiichiro Saeki, announced today that it has revived the Matsue Award of the 1930s, which is also called “Matsue-sho” in Japanese.

Saeki is the grandson of Haruji Matsue, whose statue stands in Saipan’s Sugar King Park.

“Matsue-sho” was an award given out on Saipan in the 1930s and 1940s for the top grade among students of Saipan junior school. The award was discontinued due to the onset of World War II.

The award was initiated by Haruji Matsue, a famous entrepreneur known as the “Sugar King” who founded the sugar industry on Saipan in 1920. Matsue’s belief was that “education makes our future” and frequently donated his fortunes to educational services on Saipan and in Japan.

“This year 2005 is an epoch making year between Japan and CNMI because of the memorial visit of the Japanese Emperor and Empress to Saipan, as well as the 130th anniversary of Haruji Matsue’s birth,” said SKF president Keiichiro Saeki.

“At this time, we wanted to express our gratitude to the people of Saipan for preserving Matue’s bronze statue at Sugar King Park and for remembering him for so many years,” he said.

SKF revived the ‘Matsue Award’ with the support of the Aizu Technical High School Reunion Association for the top grade among students who are learning the Japanese language at Marianas High School. The Aizu technical school is located in Matsue’s birthplace in Japan, where he was a founder of its machinery department in the 1930’s.

“The Sugar King Foundation hopes that this award will be a symbol and help promote continued cultural exchange between Saipan and Japan,” said Saeki.

According to the Foundation, the first winner of the new award is Keith Gabaldon, a student of Marianas High School, who will be presented with a testimonial from the Foundation and an eight-day educational tour in Japan.

The awards ceremony will take place on Aug. 26 at 11:30am at MHS and will be attended by Northern Marianas College Japanese language instructor Sachiko Adacho, Jessica Tomokane and Sugar King Foundation vice president Lynn Knight, as well as MHS officials.

The Foundation was established in 1997 under the laws of the CNMI as a non-profit organization to assist in the preservation and maintenance of the historical site on Saipan known as Sugar King Park, as well disseminate knowledge and information concerning the development and existence of the sugar industry on Saipan. Since its inception, the organization has also collected and donated artifacts from the peacetime Japanese Administration of Saipan to the Northern Marianas Museum of History and Culture. (PR)