(2025.05.29) Kids IIFA
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On January 25, “Inzai World Fest 2025” was held at the Chuo Community Center with about 100 participants, including foreign residents of the city. The participants enjoyed various performances such as Karate, Japanese drums, musical ensembles, Japanese dance, Uyghur dance, and an old Indian song in Sanskrit performed by an exchange student from India. During the exchange time over zoni and kinako (soybean flour) rice cakes, conversations blossomed everywhere and many smiles were seen.
Children and adults alike participated in the experience of mochi pounding and taiko drumming, and the hall was filled with the sound of happy voices. The event was closed with the “Inzai Ondo” dance. Everyone danced in a big circle with happy smiles.
On November 21, 2024, I met again with Yoshio, my Godson, at Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo for the
first time in six years for dinner and shopping.
In mid-November, Hon. Romeo Salda, Municipal Mayor, La Trinidad, Benguet Province, Republic of the Philippines
and his delegation of 15 people came to Japan to participate in the “10th Anniversary of Exchange Ceremony”
held in Minamimaki Village, Minamisaku-gun, Nagano Prefecture. Yoshio, one of the delegates, is Municipal
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer in La Trinidad office. Six years ago, by taking another
opportunity to come to Japan for JICA's “Disaster Management Safety Training”, he visited our home to meet my
family.
Mayor and company at Senso-ji Temple (Nov. 2024)
With Yoshio (Nov. 2024)
In March 1972, I joined the JOCV(1) of JICA(2) and was dispatched
to the MSAC(3) in La Trinidad as an agricultural corps member. My mission was to introduce and
teach “Pomology on Temperate fruits trees” which is the science and practice of temperate fruit trees culture
to the hi-land people there.
I made research and collected temperate fruit trees in the province, developed Experimental orchards. I
introduced superior breeds of seedlings of mandarin oranges, summer oranges, apples, and peaches from Japan.
JOCV(1) Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers,
JICA(2) Japan International Cooperation Agency,
MSAC(3) Mountain State Agricultural College, Benguet State University at present,
Map of Northern Luzon
Map of Benguet Province
At MSAC's orchard（1973）
MSAC Graduation Ceremony（1973）
One evening, when I went to the government building where the truck driver Mr. Alfred Labi and his family lived to confirm our schedule for the next day, I saw a baby crawling around. I asked him what his name was and he said, “I haven't named him yet, soon or later I will baptize him in church and give him a name, Yoshi-san, will you be his Godfather, oh yeah, the name should be YOSHIO”. I immediately replied OK. One Sunday morning in September, I went to a Catholic church near the college and attended the baptism. It was my first holy experience. After the baptism, I returned to the government building where his relatives, neighbors, and colleagues gathered for cannao (feasts).
At that time, I was taken care of for two and a half years by a nice family in Baguio City.
They were the husband, Mr. Fernando Cabato (Attorney, Professor and Judge passed away in 2000) and his
wife, Julie (a medical doctor). Julie is 88 years old now and is doing very well.
I learned many things from them as “Lesson 1” of living in a foreign country, such as the country, people,
history, culture, customs, English language, family life. Mr. and Mrs. Cabato were also very understanding of
our cooperative missions and supported my duties. My successor, Mr. Shigeki Koyama, was also taken care of by
Mr. and Mrs. Cabato. To date, they have taken care of about 100 Japanese cooperative members and so on. My
relationship with the Cabato’s continues to this day. On the occasion of Yoshio's return to Baguio, I asked
Yoshio to convey a Christmas card and Japanese sweets for Julie.
Yoshio at our home (July 2018)
Yoshio with Dra. Julie (Nov. 2024）