(ANS - Tokyo) - On 10 May, the Don Bosco Nursery School  in Arakawa celebrated its 80^th anniversary with the blessing of a new building for pre-school children (0-5 years). Arakawa is one of the 23 districts of Tokyo, so named because of the nearby river of the same name. It has an area of 10.2 km ² and, with a population of 200,000, it is a very populated area, with many children.

The ceremonies began with a celebration of the Word led by the director of community and nursery school, Fr Domenico Matsunaga. Fr Aldo Cipriani, the Provincial of Japan, greeted local authorities present and all the guests. He gave a parchment of gratitude to the companies involved in the planning and construction of the new building. For his part, the Mayor of Arakawa, Ichiro Nishikawa, thanked the Salesian Congregation for its educational and spiritual presence in the district and he promised his cooperation.
Fr Cipriani handed a parchment of gratitude to one of the teachers, Shirasawa,  on behalf of the tenth Successor of Don Bosco, the Rector Major Fr Ángel Fernández Artime.  A long applause accompanied this gesture as a sign of gratitude of several generations of people and many citizens of tomorrow to this teacher for the many years she spent in the Don Bosco Nursery School in Arakawa.

In the second part of the ceremony, the three storey building was blessed and a concert was held in the theatre. Several people spoke including the head of the construction company, who briefly explained the process of design and construction of the kindergarten, and the coordinator of private kindergartens in the district.  The Parish Priest of the local parish, Fr Yohane Namiki, SDB, highlighted the Christian identity of the nursery school, and the importance of collaboration between school and parish.

92-year old Salesian, Father Joseph Emi, then recalled how 15 years ago, during a visit to the Arakawa district, the nursery school was visited by none other than Emperor Hirohito and his wife Michiko. When they saw a statue of the Virgin Mary on the second floor of the parish, they bowed and prayed for a few moments.

At the end of the celebration, the teachers’ choir performed two songs. The teacher Shirakwa thanked all those present and expressed the hope that in the future this Salesian school will remain a significant presence for the District of Arakawa.

Published 15/05/2014