Abdullah Al Rushud

Riyadh: For a week commencing from March 6, in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts (SASCA), the Embassy of Japan in Saudi Arabia presented the Japan Festival with the aim of introducing Japanese culture.

In Saudi Arabia, various events introducing Japanese culture have been held as cultural projects of the Embassy of Japan in Riyadh and the Japan Foundation. These include exhibitions of Japanese architecture, Japanese culture, and woodblock prints; Japanese drum performances; ikebana flower arrangement exhibitions, and martial arts performances.

On March 6, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Saudi Arabia Fumio Iwai gave a speech at his official residence in Arabic on Japanese culture, including Japanese food.

The embassy chef, Tanaka, then demonstrated how to cut salmon into sushi, with participants tasting the finished items.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Saudi Arabia Fumio Iwai commented, “I hope that people in Saudi Arabia will enjoy the ever expanding world of Japanese flavors through “washoku“, Japanese cuisine.”

From March 7 to 12, a Japanese culture experience will be held at Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts (SASCA) with kimono wearing, calligraphy (writing participant’s names in Japanese), and traditional Japanese games (kendama, otedama, origami, etc.). There will also be a Japanese speech contest, traditional Japanese performances, and booths with made-in-Japan products.