Croatian Day in Hekinan

2005/04/06 - 2005/04/12

Water-the Source of Life in Ancient Pula and A Drop in Universe
The Kingdom of The Dragon Baby
Friendship Quilt
(With the opening of the 2005 Aichi World Expo, Hekinan was honored to become the “Friendship Partner” of the Republic of Croatia. To commemorate this occasion, six members of the Hekinan Sister City Association lovingly made this Friendship Quilt. These six members include their sincere warmth and extension of friendship stitch-by-stitch, and hope the quilt will help introduce both the city of Hekinan and Japanese culture to the people of Croatia)

エリア 愛知

Welcoming Croatian Excellencies at Hekinan Culture Hall

Official Presentation of the Exhibition Water as a Source of Life in Ancient Pula, by the Archeological Museum of Istria;The exposition Water - the Source of Life is embedded in the general theme A Drop of Water: a Grain of Salt,which is the basic concept of Croatian presentation at the EXPO 2005 that will take place in Aichi, Japan. Iria Venus, the Histrian-Roman goddess of beauty and love, represents the bridge of beauty and love connecting two cognate regions, Croatian Istria and Japanese Aichi.

Official Opening of the Exhibition “Exceptional and Fragile Nature of Dragon’s Baby Hidden Karsts Island”, by the Croatian Natural History Museum
The aim of this exhibition was to present you the beauty of a small piece of our Planet, our homeland-the Republic of Croatia. Also our aim was to show that our country is not only beautiful and divers on the durface, but to show that below there is equally fascinating invisible world of the Dinaric underground cave salamander is undoubtedly the best representative of this world. To our knowledge, this is the first time that live Proteus is exhibited somewhere out of Europe・・・by Drasko Holcer, Croatian Natural History Museum

Dragons Baby: Dinaric cave salamander, Proteus anguinus (It was noted as the dragons offspring because local inhabitants connected it with the mythical cave-dwelling dragon. The last in the food net is the blind neothenic Dinaric cave salamander. Its females reach sexual maturity when they are 14-18 years of age, and living until 80-100.

This exhibition is appeal to save the fragile Dinaric cave fauna.

Working for the exhibition

Kaitoku-ji temple
Established in 1848 to flourish as the temple authorized by the Tokugawa shogunate. The Great Image of Buddha was made in Heian Era (about 870 years ago) to be designated as important cultural property.

Ballet “Licitarsko srce” by the “Ballet Troupe Croatia

Official reception hosted by 2005 EXPO Cultural Exchange Committee was held on April 10. On April 11, in the Eve of the Croatian National Day at the 2005 World Exposition Aichi, Concert by Tamara Obrovac and the Transhistria Ensemble, Concert by the Harmony Singing Group Klapa Nostalgija and Concert by the Zagreb String Quartet were held at Emerald Hall.

Mr. Toichiro Hiraiwa gave A Friendship Quilt to Vice Prime Minister, H.E. Jadranka Kosor at Croatian Pavilion.

Celebrating Croatian National Day at the EXPO 2005 World Exposition. Commissioner General of Section for EXPO 2005 Mr. Ivica Maricic has the honor of inviting you to the CROATIAN PAVILION on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 2:30pm, Nagakute Area, Global Common 3 Presentation of the Pavillion Cocktail

At Hekinan City Hall

The following was translated to English by Ms Leanne Onishi. The above exhibition was done by Mr. Sasaki.

1. Cherry Blossoms
One of the most loved flowers of the Japanese, the cherry blossom can be seen all over the country in the springtime. Hekinan has a number of parks with blossoming cherry trees.

2. Hekinan City Logo and Hekinan City Hall
Hekinan City Hall towers over its many neighborhoods and can be seen from all over. It has become a symbol of the city for Hekinan citizens

3. Wisteria
In Hekinan’s beautiful “Koutouen” garden, there are wisteria which are approximately 200 years old. Every year, from the end of April to the beginning of May, wisterias are in bloom and measure up to one meter long. Under the colorful wisteria canopy, one can drink tea, making Koutouen a favorite place among Hekinan citizens

4. Girl’s Day Festival
A traditional event that has continued from old Japan, Girl’s Day takes place every year on March 3rd. Special dolls depicting an ancient royal court are put on display, representing parents’ wishes for their daughters to grow up happy and healthy.

5. Puppet Walking on Poles
This special doll has already been introduced in Croatia. This quilt square depicts the walking puppet and “dashi” (a traditional float or vehicle used during a Japanese festival) which has been passed on for generations in the Ohama-naka District in Hekinan city. Every year in the fall, when the city holds autumn festivals in various neighborhoods, people look forward to viewing these rare artifacts.

6. Carp Banners
All across the country, these colorful carp banners fly high under blue skies on Children’s Day, also known as “Boy’s Festival”, part of Japanese traditional culture. On this day, May 5th, families with boys hang carp banners in their yard, hoping that the boys will grow up as strong and courageous as carp.

7. Star Festival
The Star Festival is a tradition stemming from Chinese folklore. On the night of July 7th, people gaze at the twinkling stars and decorate a bamboo stick with colorful pieces of paper on which they write their wishes. It marks the peak of the summer season in Japan

8. New Year’s Festival
This depicts Japanese New Year. Playing with tops and hagoita (shuttlecock, a traditional, badminton-like game), and flying kites are traditional activities that children enjoy during the New Year’s celebration.

9. Iris Garden
This quilt square is designed after a park in the Nishibata District of Hekinan. The Croatian national flower is also the iris, the flower that graces Hekinan’s Iris Garden. The Iris Garden Festival is held in June, and citizens joyfully take part in the children’s iris drawing contest or outdoor tea ceremony among the flowers.

10. Produce of Hekinan
Hekinan is well known for growing vegetables. Carrots, onions, and figs are among the many vegetables grown. Hekinan produces carrots the most.

11. Camelia
This beautiful flower can be seen in bloom from fall into early winter. It is often used in tea ceremonies, as it holds a special quality of beauty in simplicity.

12. City Bus
This bus can be seen making its rounds all around the city. The convenient city bus spares tired feet as it takes citizens from place to place at no charge.

13. Genkissu! Hekinan
This summertime, city-wide festival is enjoyed by all. Set to the specially-created tune, “Genkissu! Hekinan”, children and adults alike dance the night away dressed in the seven colors of the rainbow which represent the seven public elementary school.

They made the Friendship quilt for Croatia.