Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau
Introduction of supports Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau(HCVB) offer
The HCVB provides a conference organizer who hosts a conference in Hiroshima with a variety of services including traditional performing arts. Sharing a cultural experience unique to a destination is a great way to build and nurture network among participants, which will lead to a successful result of the conference. It will also contribute to attract more participants to your next event. Here are some special experiences the HCVB offers.
Kagura
Kagura is one of the traditional performing arts that has been passed down since ancient times on festive occasions. Hiroshima Prefecture is known for its vibrant Kagura performance and has nearly 300 Kagura teams. There are 5 types of Kagura including Geihoku Kagura, which is known for its magnificence, swiftness and flamboyance and contributed to raise awareness of Hiroshima Kagura at the national level. Kagura’s main attractions are glorious costumes, music of Japanese traditional drums and flute, dynamic dance among other things. Some Kagura teams offer conference participants an opportunity to wear Kagura costumes and take photos with Kagura performers.
Tea ceremony
The HCVB offers a tea ceremony in the Shukkeien Garden to extend its warm welcome to conference participants. The Shukkeien Garden is a Japanese garden known for its scenic beauty and has been designated as one of the best scenic spot by National Government. There is a tea house in the garden named Seifukan, where participants can experience a tea ceremony of Ueda Soko school which was started by a great tea master named Ueda Soko who served as chief retainer of the Asano Clan, which dominated Hiroshima in the 17th century. Conference participants can enjoy Japanese maccha tea, admiring the beautiful scenery of the Japanese garden created by a pond dotted with islands and seasonal flowers.
Sake Kagami Biraki
The HCVB offers a traditional performance of Sake Kagami Biraki to extend its warm welcome to conference participants and to wish further development of the conference. It is an auspicious performance of breaking and opening a sake barrel at the beginning of a social event. Hiroshima is one of the best sake-producing areas in Japan and the Hiroshima sake made by “the soft water sake brewing method” is known for its rich aroma and mellow tastes. Participants will enjoy the performance of sake makers carrying a sake barrel into a room, singing their song of making sake, as well as the opening of the sake barrel as an auspicious beginning of the event.
Bugaku
Bugaku is a combination of traditional music and dance which had been originally brought from India to Japan via China and the Korean Peninsula in the 8th century and had been accomplished by the end of the 12th century as a graceful dance performance enjoyed among emperors and court nobles. Today, a traditional Bugaku performance can be appreciated on limited occasions such as in ritual ceremonies of the Imperial Palace, Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines. In Hiroshima, thanks to the cooperation of Hiroshima Bugaku Committee, the HCVB can arrange a Bugaku performance as part of its support for a conference held in Hiroshima. If you wish to have Bugaku performed for your conference participants, please consult the HCVB well in advance.
Dispatch of Hiroshima Goodwill Ambassadors
The Hiroshima Goodwill Ambassadors have been appointed to promote Hiroshima on behalf of Hiroshima City during their one-year term. The ambassador program has a long history dating back to 1947. The HCVB can dispatch Hiroshima Goodwill Ambassadors for a conference held in Hiroshima. They can, for example, give conference participants a cordial welcome at the conference venue and introduce attractiveness of Hiroshima to them. To international conferences, English-speaking Ambassadors will be dispatched.
