Taiwan's natural ecology writer Liu Kexiang (right) was reappointed as the county's international goodwill ambassador by Governor Hamada of Kochi Prefecture. To promote Makino Tomitaro, the "father of Japanese botany" who was born in the county, both of them wore bow ties marked with Makino .

(Photo by reporter Lin Cuiyi)

[Special Commissioner Lin Cuiyi in Japan/Report from Tokyo on the 20th] Kochi Prefecture in Shikoku, Japan, which is popular among Taiwanese tourists for its "Hometown of Ryoma", saw the upsurge of topics that might be brought about by the broadcast of the NHK morning series "Ranman", and launched a new A wave of exchange activities with Taiwan, in addition to the County Governor Hamada’s personal visit to Taiwan to sign a half-year charter flight direct flight cooperation letter of intent with Taiwan Airlines and travel agencies, a certificate was also issued by the Kochi County Government recently, and the Taiwanese natural ecology writer Liu Kexiang was re-appointed Served as the county's "International Goodwill Ambassador".

The NHK morning drama "Ranman", which will start broadcasting on April 3, is based on the "Father of Japanese Botany" Tomitaro Makino. One of the few morning dramas with a male protagonist in the story, the female lead is the popular actress Minami Hamabe. This drama can be said to be a sensation before it was staged. Especially for Kochi people, it is a long-awaited drama.

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Because Tomitaro Makino was born in Sagawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, he was the first botanist in Japan to use the Linnaeus classification system to classify Japanese plants. Ryoma Sakamoto, a hero of the end of the Bakumatsu period.

Kochi, known as the "hometown of Ryoma", has long been a sacred place for fans of Ryoma in Taiwan. The former governor, Masao Ozaki, actively developed exchanges with Taiwan many years ago. In addition to attracting Taiwanese tourists to visit Kochi, he also sent Kochi's traditional night festival Naruko dance team I went across the sea to Taiwan to participate in the Lantern Festival. Unfortunately, due to the impact of the epidemic, the exchange activities between Kochi and Taiwan were also forced to stop.

After the epidemic restarted inbound and outbound tourism, Taiwanese tourists have once again become the largest source of tourists locked in all parts of Japan. In the four countries alone, in addition to the direct flights between Taoyuan and Kagawa Takamatsu opened by China Airlines, Kochi County has also joined hands with Tigerair Taiwan and Canxing Travel , It is scheduled to start a half-year charter flight from Taoyuan Airport to Kochi Ryoma Airport from May 10, with two flights a week.

Kochi Prefecture Governor Hamada Shoji, who took office at the end of 2019, visited Taiwan for the first time in mid-March in order to sign a letter of intent for cooperation.

Kochi Prefecture faces the Pacific Ocean. It has the Shimanto River and the Niyodo River, which are known as the last clear streams in Japan, as well as the bonito that goes northward with the Kuroshio Current and the Tosa wine made from good water. The open natural beauty and local cuisine are very popular. It is in line with the new orientation of the post-epidemic tourism market.

Liu Kexiang was hired as the international goodwill ambassador of Kochi "Ryoma Holiday" in 2019, and was reappointed again this year.

In fact, Liu Kexiang, who has been engaged in nature observation and writing for many years, is also the number one fan of Toitaro Makino, the protagonist of the NHK morning drama "Ranman". It serves as a bridge between Kochi and Taiwan.

In 1896, Toitaro Makino was ordered by Tokyo Imperial University to conduct an academic investigation in Taiwan. Within 2 months, he visited Taipei, Tamsui, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung Fengshan, Penghu and other places, collected more than 4,000 plant specimens and recorded more than 1,000 kinds of plants. Makino Aiyuzi was discovered when investigating plants in Chiayi. It was published in 1904 and was named Ficus pumila L. var. awkeotsang Makino. Last name on Makino.

Liu Kexiang said that when he visited Kochi in 2019 and visited the Muye Botanical Garden in Wutai Mountain, he was amazed by the osmanthus bamboo landscaping in the atrium as soon as he entered the park.

The Makino Botanical Garden was opened in 1958. In 1999, the Makino Tomitaro Memorial Hall was added to the park. It was designed by the Japanese architect Hiroshi Naito. There is a circular terrace in the main hall, and a large area of ​​osmanthus bamboo stands in the central patio. It is marked on the guide board With "Taiwan real bamboo", this is the most eye-catching place at the entrance of the park, which is equivalent to the main visual landscape of the whole park.

Taiwan’s real bamboo is Taiwan’s unique osmanthus bamboo. Liu Kexiang found it incredible that Muye Botanical Garden planted osmanthus bamboo in the most eye-catching area of ​​the park. I know why Taiwan osmanthus bamboo was chosen.

However, because of this discovery by Liu Kexiang, a QR Code has been added to the new guide board of the Makino Botanical Garden. The Chinese commentary mentions that Osmanthus osmanthus is a unique plant found in Taiwan by Makino, emphasizing the relationship between Makino and Taiwan.

When Liu Kexiang was re-appointed as an international goodwill ambassador this year, he specially prepared a photo of Taiwan Aiyu, and took the opportunity to introduce this classic Taiwanese dessert to cool off the summer heat to Governor Hamada.

Compared with pearl milk tea and almond tofu, Aiyu is rarely known in Japan. If this Taiwanese dessert can cause a whirlwind of popularity in Japan like pearl milk tea, Kochi people should feel proud, because Aiyuzi is also named after Makino One of Taiwan's specialties.

The main visual landscaping at the entrance of the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden is a towering piece of Taiwanese osmanthus bamboo, emphasizing the connection between Makino and Taiwan. Makino became the protagonist of the NHK morning drama "Lanman" broadcast in April this year. Kochi Prefecture is actively recruiting Taiwanese tourists go to the local area to "flirt with flowers and grass".

(Photo by reporter Lin Cuiyi)

Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden is organizing various activities in conjunction with the upcoming NHK morning drama "Ranman", hoping to stir up tourism topics in the prefecture after Hon Ryoma.

(Photo by reporter Lin Cuiyi)

The nemophila is in full bloom in the Makino Botanical Garden in Kochi Prefecture. It is located on the height of Mount Wutai and overlooks the streets of Kochi.

(Photo by reporter Lin Cuiyi)