Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visit the Hue Imperial Citadel on March 4 (Photo: VNA) Thua Thien – Hue (VNA) –Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Hue city, the centralprovince of Thua Thien-Hue on March 4.
At the Hue Imperial Citadel, anofficial from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre introduced them to the specialculture of Hue – the ancient capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty, whichwas recognised by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1993.
Many of the palaces and tombs of Nguyen Kings in Hue have been restored withassistance from the Japanese Government and experts from the Waseda and TokyoUniversities, he said.
The Emperor and Empress enjoyedHue royal court music, which was recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of theOral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003. It was also staged in Japanin the eighth century.
The same day, the JapaneseEmperor and Empress called at a memorial house dedicated to patriot Phan BoiChau, an initiator of Dong Du movement in early 20th century thatencouraged young Vietnamese to go east to study and seek ways to save thenation.
Currently, a memorial stelededicated to Japanese doctor Asaba Sakitaro, who made great contributions toDong Du movement, is being kept at Fukuroi city, Shizuoka prefecture as asymbol of Vietnam-Japan friendship in the 20th century.
During their stay, the royalcouple met Japanese nationals in Vietnam and volunteers of the JapanInternational Cooperation Agency in Hue.-VNA
VNA
