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Japanese mayor unveils Sugar King memorial
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Posted on Apr 17 2006
Mayor Ichiro Kanke of Aizu-Wakamatsu City from the Fukushima Prefecture in the Tohoku Region of Japan led the symbolic unveiling yesterday of a new monument honoring Sugar King Haruji Matsue at the Sugar King Estate, an area named after the father of the island’s pre-war sugar industry.
Kanke led a delegation that arrived on Saturday afternoon for a weekend of cultural exchanges and the brief ceremony yesterday. The Aizu-Wakamatsu mayor was not on the island when the small monument was inaugurated in November 2005.
The Japanese mayor said he was very happy to unveil the memorial—a rectangular marble piece that measures about 2’ x 1.5’—with his fellow countrymen.
Saipan Mayor B. Juan Tudela, who acknowledged the presence of the delegation, was joined at the ceremony by war veterans and a number of government and private sector officials.
Tudela said the little monument signified the strong ties between the municipality and the Aizu-Wakamatsu Prefecture, where Matsue was born. By next year, he said the dignitaries would be able to tour the soon-to-be erected Japan Cultural Center at the Sugar King Estate.
Matsue earned the title of “Sugar King” by believing what many people long ago said could never be done—transform three major islands of the Marianas into a successful sugar cane industry.
Martin Duenas of Marianas Visitors Authority, HANMI president Lynn Knight, Historic Preservation Office historian Genevieve Cabrera, and Pacific Development, Inc. manager Yoichi Matsumoto also witnessed the brief ceremony. Yuko Seman served as the event interpreter yesterday morning.
