The great-grand-daughter of Umeya Shokichi (a bosom friend of Dr. Sun Yat-sen) visited the Memorial Hall of Dr. Sun Yat-sen

The other day, a delegation led by Ms. Ayano Kosaka (the maternal great-grand-daughter of Umeya Shokichi) paid a visit to the Memorial Hall of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, Nanjing, China, accompanied respectively by Mr. Wang Pengshan and Shen Xianjin, director and vice-director of the Administration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum.

As the great-grand-father of Ms. Ayano Kosaka, Umeya Shokichi maintained profound friendship with Dr. Sun Yat-sen. While Sun was living in exile in Japan, Umeya Shokichi donated money to Sun many times, having offered great assistance to Sun. After Sun had passed away, Umeya Shokichi sold off his household properties to mold four bronze figures in honor of Sun, one of which stands on the Square of the Memorial Hall of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Nanjing.

As the former residence of Umeya Shokichi, Matsumotoro is the major site for the revolutionary activities of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Japan, in which a lot of articles and documents that Sun used while living in Japan are kept intact. As the fourth-generation family descendant of Matsumotoro, Ms. Ayano Kosaka has been always trying to enhance the friendship between China and Japan according to the unfulfilled wish of her great-grand-father. The major purpose of her present visit to China is to hold an exhibition entitled “Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Umeya Shokichi” in Japanese Pavilion in Shanghai Expo. In the meantime, she paid a special visit to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum. While gazing at the bronze figure of Dr. Sun Yat-sen donated by her great-grand-father in front of the memorial hall, Ms. Ayano Kosaka felt very excited and had a picture taken of herself before the figure in spite of rain. Thereafter, she paid an earnest visit to the exhibition entitled “Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a Great Man in the 20th Century”, and the stele corridor of Three Principles of the People, as well as watched a live video entitled “The Great Burial Ceremony for Dr. Sun Yat-sen”.

Ms. Ayano Kosaka has extended an invitation to the recuyeiving party, so that the Memorial Hall of Dr. Sun Yat-sen can go to Japan for exchanges. In addition, she expressed her sincere wish that the friendship between China and Japan could last forever. (Contributed by Li Jing; edited by Chen Ken)