Report on the "Asian Culture Award (ACA) 2021", Certificate of Appreciation, and other Awards

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Culture Award (ACA) — established by our foundation in 2020 — the Representative Director of ECF is visiting each of the award recipients individually and presenting them with a letter of appreciation and a gold envelope as supplementary prizes. We would like to report the following.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021: Mr. Toshiyuki Ozaki (Toba-ya Co., Ltd., Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture); Mr. Seizo Tanigawa (Kise Specialty Store, Tanigawa Seijiro Shoten / Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)

From right to left, Takayuki Sakakida (Chairman of Kyoto Credit Bank / Director of the Foundation), Toshiyuki Ozaki, Seizo Tanigawa, Yoshihisa Nakano (Representative Director of the Foundation) [Titles omitted].

Comment from Mr. Toshiyuki Ozaki:
Thank you very much for this great honor and wonderful award. I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to spend some meaningful time with Mr. Nakano and one the other award recipients, Mr. Tanigawa of Kise Specialty Store. As a manufacturer of strings for Japanese instruments, I have always striven to provide strings that satisfy all performers. Now, thanks to the honor of this award, I intend to devote even more of myself to my work. Furthermore, to have been chosen as a recipient during the ongoing pandemic adds even greater meaning. Thank you again for your guidance, encouragement and inspiration. It genuinely means a lot.

Comment from Mr. Seizo Tanigawa:
In accordance with the purpose of your foundation, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your appreciation of tobacco culture, which — in spite of a lot of negativity from the press recently — has its merits. I hope to bequeath the goodness of “Japanese tobacco culture" to future generations and I am truly grateful for your commendation of our store, where we have been making every effort to keep the cultural pipe lit.

Originally, "tobacco" was a luxury item. In Japan, "chopped tobacco" is the original "smoke", while worldwide, "pipe tobacco" and "cigars" were the original "smokes", and unlike cigarettes the smoke does not enter the lungs. Cigarettes, which are currently the mainstream, have a negative image as a pollutant because of the burning of the paper. What we consider “good Japanese tobacco culture" refers to Japan's only "chopped tobacco" and the "pipe" for enjoying it. The “kiseru” (the traditional Japanese pipe), the traditional “tobacco container" for outdoor use, and the “tobacco tray" for enjoying smokes at home, and the like, are all personal items one can choose to enjoy a relaxing and meaningful moment.

With great thanks we would like to ask for your continued support in our efforts to bequeath this healthy Japanese tobacco culture to future generations.

Wednesday, October 1, 2021 Mr. Yasuo Kobayashi (Kadoide Japanese Paper Artisan / Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture)

Comment from Mr. Yasuo Kobayashi:
Even though it was my first opportunity to meet Mr. Nakano it was the first time in a long time that I had such a lengthy and lively conversation. It was a wonderful time and I was happy to find someone with whom it seemed my roots were intertwined. To receive such a prestigious award and such a large monetary prize made me feel as if I was floating in outer space. However, since this is the first time for me to receive this kind of money, I have been thinking about how to use it wisely and plan to share it with the many people who have offered tremendous help and inspiration: my family members whose cooperation has been invaluable; the workshop staff; and Kadoide Village that has nurtured us to this point; furthermore, I intend to continue to improve and sell traditional Japanese paper and bequeath the tradition to future generations. I would like to express my genuine gratitude from the bottom of my heart.