Fujimoto Michio, founder of Shanghai’s Jiading Wisteria Park

The reason why Fujimoto chose wisteria as the memento is that, according to Fujimoto, “Over 100 years ago, Japanese senators brought 3,000 stubs of cherry tree to Washington and planted them by the Potomac river, a site that has become a renowned scenic spot today. I was considering what can symbolize our friendship with Jiading. Coincidentally, the park in Wake that commemorates Wake no Kiyomaro is filled with wisteria. Cherry flowers in Washington is a symbol of US-Japan friendship, I hoped wisteria would be the same for Sino-Japanese friendship. It was such a beautiful thought, so I planned to plant it in Jiading.”

(Fujimoto imparting methods of grafting and pruning of wisteria)