Japanese cultural week 2013 kicks off in Tehran

Japan’s cultural festival kicked off in the Iranian capital of Tehran to introduce the arts and cultural heritage of the Asian country. Organized by Japan’s Embassy in Tehran, the festival started its work with holding an illustration workshop by the Japanese paper-cutting artist Shu Kubo at the Iranian Artists Forum on Monday morning, October 21. Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda along with several officials attended the opening ceremony that was held on Monday evening at the Forum, press tv reported. Japanese origami, calligraphy, cartoon and children’s photography are to be presented at the festival. The renowned Japanese piano maestro Noriko Ogawa is also slated to perform along with Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra at Vahdat Hall in Tehran. Arash Gouran will lead the orchestra with some 80 members at the concert that is to be held on October 26, 2013. The event is scheduled to present some opuses from well-established and classical musicians and songwriters such as Wolfgang Mozart. This year’s Japanese festival is set to tour several other Iranian cities including Shiraz, Isfahan and Tabriz. The event will come to an end at Tabriz Islamic Art University on November 5. Richi Miyake’s lecture on modern Japanese urban architecture will be part of the programs for closing ceremony. Iranian historical city of Isfahan and Japan's Kyoto were named sister cities on the sidelines of the meeting held at the Japanese cultural week in Isfahan in 2012. “While Iran and Japan have many common beliefs in culture such as hospitality, patience, respecting family and friendly manner, the decision was made to boost the two nations' cultural ties,” Japan's former Ambassador to Tehran Kinichi Komano had earlier expressed. “Iran and Japan have rich cultures, and the cultural and artistic exchanges can pave the path for the development of mutual understanding between the two nations,” Komano added.