Fujimoto Michio, founder of Shanghai’s Jiading Wisteria Park

Attachment to Jiading

Fujimoto Michio was born in Okayama on January 23, 1932, and got his name from a line in the analects that says “establish one’s foundation and the general way is clear”. He served as the town master of Wake, Okayama, for 24 years consecutively. Regarding the reason why he devoted himself to Sino-Japanese friendship, Fujimoto told the reporter, “There was a great person born in my hometown—Wake no Kiyomaro, a famous politician during the Nara and Heian eras. He once helped send two Japanese monks to Tang Dynasty China, Saichō and Kūkai, to study Chinese culture, which greatly facilitated Japan’s development. In today’s Heisei period, I believe we should draw on our ancestors and open up international exchanges. That’s why I decided to be associated with China.”

(Fujimoto Michio during the interview)