Nagahama Neru: Empress of Nagasaki. Neru blog plus photos.

Neru appeared at the Nagasaki Lantern Festival on Saturday as the Empress in the Emperor's Parade.

1. The Empress. Long may she reign!

2. Neru's blog post

Lantern,  273

Nagahama Neru
2018.02.25


Good evening!
(This is a long post)


At today's Lantern Festival
I was made Ambassador of Nagasaki Tourism.

I was formally given the responsibility
Of studying and communicating
The many charms of my beloved Nagasaki.

Truly, thank you very much.

I am so happy!!
I will put my fighting spirit into it!!
Please treat me well.

My favorite place! The waterside Mori Park!
(Dejima pose) [see explanation below]


I took lots of photos.
I hope they get across the feeling of walking among the lanterns.


The Lantern Festival
Originates in the Chinese Spring Festival.

  
From Megane Bridge.

As day turned to night,
More and more lanterns steadily appeared
And I got all mizomizo [nervously excited].

It was like Spirited Away.
I love this time of day.



And
I was given the chance to appear in the Emperor's Parade.

Dressed as Emperor and Empress
With the local people ranged before us,
We did a circuit of the town.



The Emperor I was given the honour of being with
Was Nagasaki University President Kouno Shigeru
 

 
Nervous...

Just before going on.
My stiff expression.



And then...let's go!!
Off to see everyone!!!

 !!!!
This "welcome home" sign made me so happy.

I enjoyed it so much
Everyone was so warm
It was like a vision or a dream.

Truly, thank you very much.



The Lantern Festival
Continues until 3 March! Be sure to!!

There are lots of delicious things to eat




Also,

The Bathroom Travel MV
Was released today!!

I'd like to write about it in detail,
But I'll do that in the next blog post, okay

Thank you very much for reading.

Nagahama Neru

_____________________________________________________

written evening 180224, posted by staff 180225  02:007h

Many pics: http://keyakizaka46ch.jp/event/post-65120/

The Dejima pose is a local custom, making a gesture of thumb and forefinger at right angles. This represents the fan shape of Dejima island, which was where foreigners were allowed to live and trade in the early days of foreign contact, particularly with the Netherlands. It was used for this purpose from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s.

Nagasaki's status as the earliest place Western traders became established in Japan led to its hosting many Chinese sailors and merchants, too. That created the Chinese connection reflected in this festival. The festival was a local thing in Chinatown (one of the three biggest Chinatowns in Japan, along with Yokohama and  Kobe) until the 1990s, when merchants and the city government realized it could be made into a big tourist festival for the whole city. It has become a big tourist draw for Nagasaki since then.

The "welcome home sign" says: Nagahama Neru-chan, okaeri ("Nagahama Neru-chan, welcome home" or "...you're back home."

The word "mizomizo" is a newly coined word from Neru's favorite drama of last year, Quartet. The glamorous and flaky cellist in the drama uses it often, to describe her recurring feelings of nervous anticipation of something good.

Emperor and Empress

People reported their joy at seeing her so close up, from about a metre, in one case.

Neru receives her appointment as Ambassador of Nagasaki Tourism

It may have been two years ago that Neru first said she wanted to become an ambassador of Nagasaki tourism. What Neru wants, she finds a way to get. Tanuki magic.

Photos posted by people who were there:

Neru turns to make sure people can see her face

My favorite pic

Powerful but mild

Eye contact

Emperor and Empress

Brief video:

Excellent quality video of the ambassador ceremony and the lead-up to the parade. Those may be Neru's parents, sister and grandmother in the front row.