Mr. Katsuji Ebisawa, Chairman of NHK, addressing the opening ceremony |
H. E. Mr. Kyriakos Rodoussakis, Ambassador of Greece, addressing the
opening ceremony
|
Address by H.E. The Ambassador of Greece Kyriakos Rodoussakis
at the Opening Ceremony
I would like to take this opportunity on the opening
of this magnificent and very ambitious exhibition on "ALEXANDER THE
GREAT: East – West Cultural Contacts from Greece to Japan"
and convey to the distinguished friends, attending today's happy event,
all the wishes and cordial greetings of Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, Greek
Minister of Culture, and Mr. Evgenios Giannakopoulos, Chairman of the
"Cultural Olympiad, Hellenic Cultural Organization" Athens.
This organization was assigned with the handsome task of all the coordinating
effort required in Greece for today’s marvelous achievement.
Allow me at the same time to extend the sincere and
heartfelt thanks of Greece to all the Japanese friends – coorganizers
of this exhibition – and I mean the National Museum of Japan, the
NHK, which has taken the initiative and the leading role of the whole
operation, and the newspaper YOMIURI. With all their dedication, meticulous
preparation and untiring joint teamwork, they finally organized an exhibition
of an unprecedented scale and impressive dimension, as well as definitely
of an historic importance.
It is for the first time, that, thanks to our Japanese
organizers, the EURO – ASIAN cultural message of Alexander the Great
is being established through a comprehensive exhibition, beyond the books
of historians or archaeological research. Furthermore, today's exhibition
is giving ample evidence of the influence of the Greco – Indian
or Greco – Bactrian cultural heritage, which lasted for a number
of centuries and was finally transmitted as far as to Japan. A glimpse
of the transmission of the Greco – Bactrian civilization toward
the Asian Continent and Japan was also given through the exhibitions held
at this same Museum ("The Art of Gandhara, Pakistan” and The
Art of Mathura, India") late last year. It was one century ago on
the other hand, that coincidentally a Greek – Irish – Japanese
writer, Lafcadio Hearn, in his attempt to interpret Japanese culture and
religion, intuitively traced some of the similarities of Greco –
Indian or Aryan – Indian cults with those of Japan.
I am sure that the exhibition on Alexander the Great,
which opens in Tokyo today and in Kobe in October, is destined to kindle
a fervent and fertile dialogue on the Hellenic - Japanese cultural affinities
intertwined during Alexander’s era.
This is already so eloquently exposed in Professor Katsumi
TANABE's (of Chuo University) text, under the title: "FROM GREECE
TO JAPAN", included in the catalogue, following Professor TANABE's
longstanding research on the matter.
I am more than happy as well, since the Greek Ministry
of Culture and the organizing "Cultural Olympiad" Hellenic Culture
Organization, gladly accepted to include this exhibition in the framework
of the cultural events marking the "Cultural Olympiad" in view
of the Athens Olympic Games of 2004, together with other equally important
Greek – Japanese cultural events such as:
The successful performance of the National Theater of Greece with Sophocles'
"ANTIGONE" in Tokyo last March, next year's (July 1-3, 2004)
presentation of the Japanese theater – director Mr. NINAGAWA, Sophocles'
ancient tragedy "OEDIPUS REX", at the HEROD ATTICUS Ancient
Theater under the Acropolis' shadow, and the exhibition, for the first
time in Europe, of the designs and paintings of the famous late Japanese
film director KUROSAWA in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, in September
2004.
Last but not least, I am personally thankful to the
organizers of the "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" exhibition, on the opportunity
offered to come again in contact with archaeologists I admire. Archaeologists
are in general very much respected in my country. Every time I come in
touch with archaeologists, I bear in mind this witty and very sharp mind
of the British letters: The writer AGATHA CHRISTIE, married to and archaeologist
herself, used to say: "An archaeologist is the best husband a woman
could have: The older she gets, the more interested he is in her".
:: Text and photos from the press
release of the Embassy of Greece in Japan
Features
page
