Birth of Eagerly-Awaited Yonaguni Horse Healthy Foal in Shizuoka A Joyful Link Across the Sea

Birth of Eagerly-Awaited Yonaguni Horse Healthy Foal in Shizuoka A Joyful Link Across the Sea

The healthy Yonaguni horse foal. (Rakujyu-en, Mishima. Photo provided by Rakujyu-en.)


April 17, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Yuki Muramatsu

Yonaguni – At dawn on March 20, an eagerly-awaited male foal was born to Auri and Meri, Yonaguni horses at Rakujyu-en, a public park in Mishima, Shizuoka. On March 26, Toshio Sakimoto, chair of the Yonaguni Tourism Association received an email sharing the happy news from the head of the Department of Industry and Cultural Affairs at Mishima City Hall.

In 2018, Rakujyu-en representatives asked to purchase Yonaguni horses. Working with the Yonaguni Horse Preservation Association and other groups, it was decided to provide the park with two (one male, one female) of the horses that are a natural monument of Yonaguni. Sakimoto, who was involved in the process, recently received a message thanking him.

With stories of coronavirus dominating the news, the birth of the foal is a bright spot that has enlivened Rakujyu-en. Everyone is eager to share the joy: there are plans to organize events announcing the foal’s name and formally presenting him.

Sakimoto is from Yonaguni and has grown up seeing Yonaguni horses up-close. He says, “Of course the birth of a horse is a happy occasion, but I’m surprised anew to see how much joy the Yonaguni horses bring to people outside of Okinawa and how much they are treasured and loved. I hope that the Yonaguni horses become a reason for people in Mishima to learn about our island, to feel connected to it, and to be interested in it. If the foal becomes a bridge that connects Mishima and Yonaguni, I will be even happier.”

(English translation by T&CT and Ellen Huntley)

Go to Japanese


　


Previous Article:
Next Article:

[Similar Articles]