Kobe Earthquake 16th Year Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony at Sister City Symbol, Kobe Bell

What: Kobe Earthquake Remembrance Ceremony

Who: Consul General of Japan Kiyokazu Ota, Kobe Trade Information Office Director Toshihiko Nakamura, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association President Karin Zaugg Black, Hyogo Business & Cultural Center’s Business Development Manager Keiko Nasu, Reverend Taijo Imanaka of the Seattle Koyasan Buddhist Temple, local Japanese and Japanese Americans, and members of the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association

When: 12:45pm
*Moment of Silence observed at 12:46 p.m., the time of the earthquake in Kobe on Jan 17th.

Where: Kobe Bell in the Seattle Center grounds (Located north of the International Fountain and south of the Opera House)

Remembrance Ceremony:
Karin Zaugg Black, President of the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association (SKSCA), will give greetings on behalf of the Association members. Consul General Kiyokazu Ota of the Consulate General of Japan in Seattle, Mr. Toshihiko Nakamura, Director of the Kobe Trade Information Office, and Keiko Nasu, Hyogo Business & Cultural Center’s Business Development Manager, will also give remarks. 

Following the Buddhist tradition of recognizing the importance of starting the 17th year since the earthquake victims have died, SKSCA is pleased to have Reverend Taijo Imanaka of the Seattle Koyasan Buddhist Temple give a special meditation and invocation as part of the ceremony.

After the speakers, participants are invited to light candles for a moment of silence and ring the Kobe Bell in memory of those who perished in the 1995 disaster at 12:46 p.m., which corresponds to the minute of silence and ceremonies taking place in Kobe in the early morning of the 17th.

Kobe Bell:
The Kobe Bell was a gift from the City of Kobe to the City of Seattle in 1962 in honor of the World's Fair. In 1961 the City of Seattle gave Kobe a Native American Totem Pole, which stands next to Kobe City Hall and serves as the major symbol of the sister city relationship in Kobe.

Kobe & Seattle Sister City Relationship:
Kobe became Seattle's first sister city in 1957; 2011 marks the 54th year of Seattle and Kobe's sister city relationship.