Wisteria Park welcomes a special visitor
Officials from Jiading District help Michio Fujimoto, 88, former mayor of Wake Town in Japan’s Okayama Prefecture and a Shanghai Honorary Citizen, appreciate the wisteria via the Internet.
With the flowers in full bloom, Wisteria Park in Jiading District welcomed a special visitor online on Tuesday — Michio Fujimoto, the 88-year-old former mayor of Wake Town in Japan’s Okayama Prefecture and Shanghai Honorary Citizen who helped create the park.
Fujimoto has been active in promoting Sino-Japanese relations. His efforts included the launch of a youth ambassador program, with the Wake Town government sending around 20 middle school students to Jiading every year.
In 1997, Fujimoto brought 120 wisteria to plant in the park and they have become a famous attraction in Shanghai and a landmark for Sino-Japanese exchanges.
He visits the city twice a year to prune the trees and teach local staff how to look after them.
Fujimoto was given Shanghai’s Magnolia Gold Award in 1996 and the title of Shanghai Honorary Citizen in 2018 for his efforts in promoting Shanghai’s international exchanges.
He had planned a visit with his family this month but the trip was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Jiading District government organized the online visit to enable Fujimoto to appreciate the wisteria along with city residents.
“The wisteria in the park are in full bloom now and look more beautiful than last year,” a park staffer told him. “They are neater and longer. Most of the flower tassels are 1.2 to 1.3 meters long. Thank you for your efforts and guidance to make them so exuberant.”
Shen Xiaowei, an official from the district’s foreign affairs office, attributed this year's beautiful blooms to Fujimoto as he had pruned the plants the year before last.
"Mr Fujimoto has been researching wisteria after retirement and found some secrets to help the plants bloom well," Shen said. "These include plenty of exposure to sunshine and pruning old twigs. His efforts have paid off now."
Fujimoto prunes wisteria twigs.
Fujimoto, wearing his honorary citizenship medal, said Wake Town had a long history of Sino-Japanese exchanges. Wake no Kiyomaro, a local politician, had sponsored monks to come to China in the Tang Dynasty to study Chinese culture, something which greatly facilitated the development of Japan’s economy, culture and other areas and laid the foundations of the current Japan.
As the monks were known as ambassadors to Tang, Fujimoto, influenced by the politician's legacy, launched the youth ambassador program to follow in their ancestors' footsteps of more than 1,200 years ago and carry on exchanges with China, as well as to expand their own international vision.
“Our young students have learned a lot from their trips to Jiading,” he said. “The wisteria were planted to thank you for your support and I’m glad it has been a symbol of exchanges between Shanghai and Japan. It’s a pity my trip to Shanghai with my family had to be canceled, but I will try to come next year. I wish everyone will keep safe and healthy and carry forward the Sino-Japanese exchanges and friendship to a deeper level.”
Michio Fujimoto, who helped create the wisteria park in Jiading District, speaks online.
Jing Ying, vice president of the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said: “The pandemic can stop people from traveling but cannot stop friendship. People from all walks of life in Japan provided plenty of support for China and Shanghai in fighting the virus and Shanghai people will always remember that. I believe the joint efforts of our peoples in the anti-virus battle will lay a solid foundation for an improved friendship between us.”
Li Feng, Jiading’s deputy director, said: “It was an unforgettable experience to enjoy the beauty and fragrance of wisteria with our Japanese friends together via the Internet. I hope the pandemic will end soon so that our friends in Wake Town can come to visit.”
He thanked Fujimoto for sending greetings to Jiading during the pandemic.
Nobuyoshi Kusaka, the current mayor of Wake Town, and Fujimoto also showed the Shanghai visitors Fuji Park, its wisteria park, in Wake Town.
Kusaka said the park was built in honor of Wake no Kiyomaro with 150 wisteria from not only Japan, but also Jiading and Suzhou in China. A Fuji Festival has been celebrated for 31 years but this year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic.
“The wisteria represent elegance and welcome and our resident Fujimoto has been promoting friendly exchanges between Japan and China.” he said. “We are all proud of him for winning the Shanghai honorary citizenship. We are also glad to interact with Shanghai people in such a way today. I wish you will be able to come to visit Wake too.”
Wu Yue, executive curator of the Shanghai Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall, created two wisteria paintings and donated one to the Jiading park and the other to Fujimoto.
Han Jingzhi, 75, a resident living nearby, was at the park on Monday.
“The park has been a landmark in Jiading and I come here very often as it’s so beautiful, especially in the bloom season,” she said. “I’m grateful to Mr Fujimoto for bringing this park into existence and to the Shanghai government for containing the coronavirus so that we can now enjoy the beautiful spring scenery.”
Visitors enjoy the wisteria in Jiading.
The wisteria is in full bloom in Jiading.
The beauty of the wisteria is captured on camera.
Visitors pose for a photograph among the wisteria flowers.
Selfie time for one visitor to Wisteria Park in Jiading.
A visitor takes a close-up shot of the wisteria blooms.
