Japan mayor to visit Saipan’s Katori Shrine

After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to rekindle the traditional Shinto ceremony, a delegation from Japan that will be led by the Katori City mayor himself will be visiting the Saipan Katori Shrine at the Sugar King Park this Oct. 28 for the first in-person ceremony since 2019.

This was learned yesterday morning, in an announcement made during the Japanese Society of the Northern Mariana Islands’ meeting at the Office of the Mayor of Saipan in Susupe.

Although the commemorative ceremony had continued in 2022, up until now it had been virtual due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and travelling restrictions in Japan.

This year, the ceremony would not only be the first in-person event, but Mayor Tomonori Ito of Saipan’s sister city in Japan, Katori City, along with a 30-plus group from Japan, would join the priests for the ceremony.

Both Seiji Sato, who chairs the Japanese Society of the Northern Mariana Islands, and vice chair Hiroko Tenorio said they feel honored to have Ito visit for the ceremony, and for the 2023 Japanese Autumn Festival that will follow.

Tenorio explained that the Katori Shrine commemoration is not only meant to rekindle the traditional event, but also to help boost tourism to the CNMI, while sharing the Japanese culture and traditions with CNMI residents.

“The main reason they are [coming] here from Katori City is to have the exchange program that we have been doing since last October, when we agreed to be a sister city. The mayor [of Saipan] visited this past July to have an initial meeting for what kinds of programs we can do, so this time, they [Ito and his delegation] will come here to attend the ceremony and participate in the festival and, at the same time, we’re going to have a meeting here to continue discussions on what else we can do,” she said

The Shinto ceremony is set to begin at 10am on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, at the Saipan Katori Shrine in Sugar King Park.