The bronze statue of Teijiro Yamamoto left the Qiaotou Sugar Factory Office for more than a year, and returned to the original site of the sugar factory this afternoon. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Qimai (front row, left 4), Mayor of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, Japan Ryugo Watanabe (front row, right 3) and representatives to Japan Ambassador Hsieh Chang-ting (3rd from left in the front row) jointly witnessed this cultural exchange ceremony spanning Taiwan and Japan, which has been linked for a hundred years.

(Photo by reporter Su Funan)

[Reporter Su Funan/Kaohsiung Report] Teijiro Yamamoto, an important driver of Kaohsiung’s urban modernization a hundred years ago, left the bronze statue of Qiaotou Sugar Factory’s office for more than sixty years. It was unveiled at the original site of the sugar factory this afternoon. Ryugo Watanabe and Ambassador Hsieh Chang-ting, the representative to Japan, both attended the event to witness this cultural exchange ceremony that spans Taiwan and Japan and has been linked for a hundred years.

According to the Kaohsiung City Cultural Bureau, Teijiro Yamamoto was the founder of Taiwan’s sugar industry. He not only promoted the development of Taiwan’s sugar industry, but also contributed to the sugar iron system, storage system, and irrigation systems such as Erfengzhen. From 1900 to 1927, Teijiro Yamamoto was from Qiaotou The site selection, construction and operation of the sugar factory built Kaohsiung’s sugar empire from scratch, and contributed to the construction of Kaohsiung’s port, the modernization of Hama Star, and Kaohsiung’s reorganization into a city in 1924. It can be said to be an important driver of Kaohsiung’s urban modernization.

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In 1927, after Teijiro Yamamoto was transferred back to Japan as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, the local gentry commissioned the first modern sculptor in Taiwan, Huang Tushui, to make a bust. In 1929, it stood in the Qiaotou Sugar Factory House Office. After the war, the bronze statue was sent back to Yamamoto’s hometown. Sado City has been standing in Sado Mano Park since 1960.

Under the help of Ambassador Hsieh Changting and well-known dancer Wakabayashi Suko, in March this year, Chen Qimai personally wrote a letter to Sado City, expressing his wish to welcome the bronze statue of Yamamoto back to the former site of the sugar factory. With the consent of Mayor Watanabe and Sado City Council, it was successfully restored in August The bronze statue of Yamamoto welcomes back to Kaohsiung, and is professionally reproduced and collected by the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. The 3 reproduced works will not only be returned to the Qiaotangshe House Office, but will also be sent back to Mano Park for placement and the Gome Museum collection.

At 3:30 p.m. today, the Kaohsiung City Cultural Bureau held the "Century-Spanning, Cultural Return - The Unveiling Ceremony of the Bronze Statue of Teijiro Yamamoto" at the Qiaotou Sugar Factory. Long Wu, Hsieh Chang-ting, Deputy Minister of Culture Xiao Zonghuang, and Chairman of Taiwan Sugar Corporation Chen Zhaoyi all attended the event to witness this cultural exchange ceremony spanning Taiwan and Japan for a century.

In his speech, Hsieh Chang-ting said that Taiwan had a connection with Sado City, Japan a hundred years ago. Now that the bronze statue of Teijiro Yamamoto is gifted to Kaohsiung, it can be said that the friendship between the two countries has blossomed. Ten thousand doses of vaccines, mutual help between Taiwan and Japan is the highest level of international friendship and a model of world peace.

Ryugo Watanabe said that he was very happy to see such a grand unveiling ceremony of the bronze statue of Tejiro Yamamoto. He hoped that through the communication of the bronze statue, the cultural and tourism exchanges between the two countries would continue to be promoted.

Chen Qimai said that the bronze statue of Yamamoto left Kaohsiung for more than a year, and now being able to welcome the bronze statue back is an important milestone in the city of Kaohsiung. It not only symbolizes the century-old relationship between Taiwan and Japan, but more importantly, the excavation and understanding of the cultural and historical heritage of its own land. Let Kaohsiung move towards a great city, let us lay the foundation on the texture of history and move towards a more glorious Kaohsiung.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that in order to commemorate the century-old cross-border fate and Tejiro Yamamoto’s contribution to Kaohsiung, in addition to placing the bronze statue back at the entrance of the office, the Kaohsiung City Museum of History planned and published the book "The New Era of Sugar Industry Laid by Tejiro Yamamoto" and The special exhibition, the special exhibition will be on display at the social housing office from now until the end of June next year.

In 1929, the bronze statue of Tejiro Yamamoto was unveiled at the office of the Qiaotou Sugar Factory.

(Photo courtesy of Chen Mingfa)

This afternoon, the Gaoshi Cultural Bureau held the "Century Crossing, Cultural Return - The Unveiling Ceremony of the Bronze Statue of Teijiro Yamamoto" at the Qiaotou Sugar Factory to return the reproduced bronze statue of Yamamoto to its original site in 1929.

(Photo by reporter Su Funan)

The bronze statue of Teijiro Yamamoto, which was professionally reproduced by the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, returned to Qiaotang Shezhai Office today.

(Photo by reporter Su Funan)

The bronze statue of Teijiro Yamamoto is attributed to the original site of the Qiaotou sugar factory house office a hundred years ago.

(Photo by reporter Su Funan)