Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will visit Okinawa Prefecture in October to attend the opening ceremony of the National Cultural Festival.
It will be the first time in about two years and 11 months that Their Majesties will visit a rural area for an overnight stay.
According to the Imperial Household Agency, Their Majesties will visit Okinawa Prefecture for two days from the 22nd to the 23rd of next month. I will attend the opening ceremony of the National Art and Cultural Festival for Persons with Disabilities.
If the Empress is not feeling well, Her Majesty the Emperor will visit her alone.
The "National Cultural Festival" is one of the annual events attended by Their Majesties, but due to the influence of the new coronavirus, last year it was all held online, including the one that was postponed.
Their Majesties visited the United Kingdom in September to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth, and are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the National Athletic Meet in Tochigi Prefecture on October 1, but will be staying overnight. This will be the first time in about two years and 11 months since he visited Nara Prefecture in November 2019.
In addition, this is the sixth visit by His Majesty the Emperor to Okinawa Prefecture since the first visit in 1987, before she became Crown Prince, and the first visit by Their Majesties since 1997 when they were Crown Princes. will be
Their Majesties and Okinawa
Since childhood, His Majesty the Emperor has deepened his understanding of Okinawa's history and culture by participating in conversations between Okinawan children called "bean reporters" who experience the work of journalists during their summer vacations and the Emperor and Empress. rice field.
Since the beginning of the Heisei era, in the form of inheriting from the retired emperor and wife, as the crown prince and wife, I have continued to interact with the "mameshika" with the Empress. When I was there, I even played volleyball with the children.
At this time, Princess Aiko, who was a junior high school student, also joined the circle.
In May this year, he attended an online ceremony with the Empress to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to the mainland, and said, ``In Okinawa, where many precious lives were lost in the war, people are I hear that you were able to deepen your thoughts on the treasure, and I am deeply moved to attend this ceremony while thinking about the history of the people of Okinawa, who have walked a path of hardships since then.” It was done.
Shigeo Kawamitsu, 76, an adviser to the Okinawa Prefectural Bean Reporter Party, who has been involved in the Bean Reporter's activities for more than 40 years, said, ``The Emperor and Empress's message of wanting peace and not repeating war is I believe that it has been passed down to Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress.I would like them to come to Okinawa not only as a 'memorial trip' but also to see Okinawa today."