Statue of Confucius Unveiled at Confucius Temple In Syunan, Japan

A statue of Confucius was unveiled at Tokusyukan， a Confucius Temple in Syunan City of Yamaguchi Prefecture in southern Japan， on November 15， 2009. The white granite statue is 2m high and weighs four tons. It stands on a 1.3m black granite pedestal on which is inscribed: “Presented by the Information Office of the Shandong Provincial People’s Government and the Shandong Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.”

Tokusyukan has a history of over 200 years. It is not big， but is well preserved by the local people. Every year， on November 15， a solemn ceremony to worship Confucius is held there. Local secondary and primary schools often organize their students to visit and read and recite the Analects of Confucius. In June 2009， a cultural delegation of Shandong Province headed by Duan Yijun， Executive Vice President of the Shandong Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPPAFFC)， and Li Jianjun， Director of the Provincial Office for Overseas Publicity of the Shandong Committee of the CPC， visited Syunan to present a photo exhibition “Enchanting Shandong—Hometown of Confucius”. During this trip， the delegation visited Tokusyukan. The delegation members were moved to see the respect local people showed for Confucius and the great importance they attached to education. They found that， inside Tokusyukan， there was no portrait of Confucius， and in its place was a memorial tablet. The delegation talked with the departments concerned and reached an agreement that Shandong Province would present a statue of Confucius to Tokusyukan.

The unveiling ceremony was held on November 15， the day of worship for Confucius. Present were Director Li Jianjun and the Shandong information and culture delegation he headed， representatives of various circles in Japan including several Dietmen or their representatives， the mayor， the speaker of the Municipal Assembly， the chief of Education Bureau of Syunan， as well as heads of nongovernmental organizations.

During the visit， the delegation held an exhibition on Confucian culture and current social and economic development of Shandong with some 100 photos it brought to donate to Tokusyukan after the exhibition. The Japanese side said that these photos would be displayed at future cultural activity venues so that more people would know about Shandong.