The five books include “Love Stories of Goethe (歌德激情書)” by Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政), “The Spring of Lan Caixia (蘭彩霞的春天)” by Li Qiao (李喬), “The Collected Poems of Tseng Kui-hai (曾貴海詩選)” by Tseng Kui-hai (曾貴海), “The Collected Poems of Li Yu-fang (利玉芳詩選)” by Li Yu-fang, and “The Summer When Russian Winter Comes (冬將軍來的夏天)” by Gan Yao-ming.
The Council has invited Maasa Takahashi, a Japanese freelance announcer and formal anchor of Fuji TV, to serve as the Hakka Cultural Ambassador to promote Hakka culture and literature.
The press conference, which was attended by Li Yu-fang, Gan, and Li Qiao’s son and daughter, marked the first large promotional event to promote Hakka literature in Japan.
At the press conference, Takahashi, who dressed in Japanese kimono printed with Hakka flora pattern, read two Hakka poems by Tseng and Li in Japanese, expressing meanings of the poems through her beautiful voice.
After the press conference, Takahashi, who has visited Taiwan 20 times, also shared her travel experiences. She said that Taiwan has a rich variety of delicious food and “power spots.” It is also a Japanese-friendly and safe country for female solo travelers.
During the event, Deputy Minister Fan Tso-ming (范佐銘) of the Hakka Affairs Council represented the Council to present a certificate to Takahashi to thank her for introducing Hakka literature and culture to the Japanese public and strengthen Taiwan-Japan friendship ties. He hoped that such cultural exchange will bring more Japanese to visit Taiwan to learn more about Hakka culture.
To help Japanese readers gain more understanding about Hakka literature, exhibition that features Hakka literary works, posters, large digital signage, and book signing session will be held at the flagship store and some of the branch stores of Books Sanseido in Tokyo through Dec. 20.
Leave a Reply