His Majesty, The Emperor’s 83rd Birthday Reception
Across both November 24th & 25th the Emperor’s Birthday Reception was held at the official residence. Those in attendance included former Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Mr. Daniel Hays, Mrs. Kathrine Hays, members of the Legislative assembly of Alberta, mayors of municipalities sharing twinning relations with Japan, members of the provincial government, members of the Consular Corps, business sector and other prominent figures, members of Japanese-Canadian associations, and individuals from the cultural sphere, for a grand total of 270 guests.
Consul-General Tanabe gave remarks at the outset of the reception, speaking on the recent statement made in August of this year in which His Majesty the Emperor of Japan expressed his personal views. Consul-General revealed that there is currently a discussion underway regarding the issue of living succession, while sharing current information pertaining to His Majesty. In addition, among the guests, remarks were given by both His Worship Chris Spearman, Mayor of Lethbridge, and Ms. Anam Kazim, MLA for Calgary Glenmore. Furthermore, Ms. Michiko Ono and Mr. Daisuke Hirai, both designated Japan Tea Ambassadors in February of this year, each offered their remarks.
In addition to this year’s reception once again featuring both the official residence chef frying tempura in the presence of guests as well as Japanese sake-tasting, guests were treated to a sushi-making presentation by a master sushi chef, the opportunity to sample 3 brands of Japanese tea (the high quality tea Yame Gyokuro from Fukui Prefecture; Shizuoka Prefecture’s deeply-steamed Sencha; and Premium Hojicha from Nara Prefecture), as well as onigiri (rice-balls) made with this year’s first harvest of rice in Niigata Prefecture, enjoying popularity among the guests.
