Activity

Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali Kitiyakara, a member of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Thailand – a country with which Japan has had friendly relations for the past 400 years – arrived in Tokyo on January 9. During her visit this time, she was scheduled to have an audience with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan, visit Honda Motor Co. Ltd., and take a tour of the First Office in Japan of Thai Red Cross Society, located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, and headed by Mr.Takashi Uryu. Her Royal Highness was also scheduled to attend a reception held by the World Art and Cultural Exchange (WAC), entitled “10 Years of H.R.H. Princess Soamsawali & Japanese Art”, in her capacity as Honorary Director of the organization.

In addition to her duties as a member of the Thai Royal Family, Her Royal Highness works tirelessly as Director of the Thai Red Cross, is a valued supporter of the WAC, and is otherwise busily engaged in activities geared towards achieving world peace by focusing on health, welfare and arts. The reception scheduled for her visit, “10 Years of H.R.H. Princess Soamsawali & Japanese Art”, was arranged by the WAC to show our appreciation to Her Royal Highness. Japanese artists have been working hard for ten years through the WAC to achieve greater global communication; the event was intended to show our appreciation for her support throughout the decade, and to encourage all involved to continue their hard work.

The reception was held in the Primavera Banquet Hall of Dai-ichi Hotel Tokyo. The WAC welcomed more than 100 Japanese artists, government-related people and business people, all keen supporters of the WAC and its activities, as well as 31 representatives from Thailand, including members of the Bureau of the Royal Household and the national military. The presence of so many illustrious guests created a lively and refined atmosphere.

After Her Royal Highness cut the tape, signaling the opening of the reception, she visited an adjacent room, the Flora Hall, where artworks by 70 Japanese artists were being exhibited. Her Royal Highness has a great understanding and appreciation of Japanese art, and paid a great deal of attention to the explanations of the pieces as given by the artists themselves. Doubtless the image of Her Royal Highness, appreciating each of the artworks on display so intently, as if somehow disappointed at the limited time available for her, will stay with the minds of many participating artists for a long time.

Among those artists present at the reception were those who had had the opportunity to meet Her Royal Highness a decade ago. Those artists remembered their audience with her in 1998 as if it were yesterday. Her Royal Highness also seemed delighted to encounter so many nostalgic faces and artworks. As far as history is concerned, a decade is just a few moments in time, bound together arbitrarily, but it is not too short for those who have experienced it to feel continuation and progress; we can also talk of this past decade as having been ten years of cooperation and friendship between Japanese artists and the Thai Royal Family.

The reception in the Primavera Banquet Hall began with the opening greeting from Mr. Joji Hagiwara, Honorary Director of the WAC. In his speech, Mr. Hagiwara thanked Her Royal Highness for her help in, and dedication to, the establishment and development of the WAC. He then spoke, in the form of a reading of poetry, how the dialogue between people through art and cultural exchange as well as the spiritual fulfillment born out of heart-to-heart contact would eventually bring peace to the world, and how art and culture could contribute to world peace.

Fumitaka Ishikawa, Director of the WAC Tokyo Branch, then presented to Her Royal Highness a donation for the Thai Red Cross, of which she is a keen supporter. The donation was collected from WAC members and Japanese artists, to help fund the activities of the Thai Red Cross and the Friends in Need of Volunteers Foundation, a project established by Her Royal Highness to provide medical services and support to persons with AIDS. Her Royal Highness expressed her thanks, on behalf of the Thai Red Cross, and then presented the WAC with a commemorative gift. Her Royal Highness explained how touched she was in that people from another country were aware of, and moved to contribute to, her project to support persons with AIDS; the warm handshake that took place between Mr. Ishikawa and Her Royal Highness was symbolic of just how much the friendship between Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand has deepened.

The opening greeting was followed by a toast by Mr. Hansui Sakamoto, WAC Education Director, which signaled the beginning of dinner. Half way through the dinner, calligrapher Koyo Hara demonstrated his talents in celebration of the presence of Her Royal Highness and the decade of art and cultural exchange between Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand. Firstly, he wrote a kanji character “san” (燦), which means “bright and beautiful” or “clear and glittering”, to celebrate Her Royal Highness’s visit and to symbolize the WAC’s bright future. He then wrote Her Royal Highness’ name in phonetic Japanese characters and her title in Chinese ideograms, prompting Her Royal Highness to declare that she would like to learn the characters herself. Her Royal Highness was also presented with a specially made seal. Throughout the Japanese history, persons of political authority have always owned stunningly intricate seals, and the presentation of such a piece symbolized the depth of the appreciation that Japanese artists hold for Her Royal Highness.

Following the reception, an informal gathering was held between Her Royal Highness and 16 Japanese artists in the Cosmos Room opposite the Primavera Banquet Hall. A similar gathering took place over tea on the 15th at Park Hotel Tokyo with additional 16 Japanese artists. Unlike the reception, this gathering was held in order that the Japanese artists present might be able to meet with Her Royal Highness in a more intimate setting. The gathering was chaired by Mr. Fumitaka Ishikawa, Director of the WAC Tokyo Branch, who introduced each of the artists in turn; they then spoke of their own work and their links to the Kingdom of Thailand. For some artists, it was their second meeting with Her Royal Highness in a decade; for others, it was their first audience with her. All, however, expressed their delight at the opportunity, and the gathering was conducted in a warm, friendly atmosphere.

After the gathering, although needed to leave for her next appointment with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, Her Royal Highness took the time to pose for commemorative photographs with the Japanese artists, only after which she left. Her attendants were doubtless worried that she would be late for her audience; but it was perhaps a fitting end to her visit, indicative of the strength of Her Royal Highness’ understanding of Japanese art, and her pleasure in meeting with so many of the artists for the first time in ten years.
Her Royal Highness is indeed a veritable state guest. And we cannot be sure when we will have the pleasure of welcoming her on our shores again.

Her parting words to us, however, hinted at her desire to see even more of the fruits of Japan’s artistic activities in another decade: “Next time, I’ll need more time to take in the art”.

Period: 14th-15th January 2009
Venue: Dai-Ichi Hotel Tokyo, Park Hotel Tokyo