Siiri Pitkänen and Tadao Watanabe met when he came to Finland to study as a Lutheran missionary. They lived in Japan and Finland in the 1920’s, often far apart, and their longing letters to each other have been published in the book “Kirsikankukkien Vuodet” (Cherry Blossom Years). They had three children, Eimi, Chujo and Akeo. Their descendants and their personal influence as teachers, missionaries, officials, and musicians (their son, internationally famous conductor Akeo Watanabe, made Sibelius widely popular in post-WW2 Japan) doubtless contributed to the generally positive and surprisingly lively image of Finland in Japan. Photo scanned from Helsingin Sanomat March 9th, 2004.
Siiri Pitkänen and Tadao Watanabe met when he came to Finland to study as a Lutheran missionary. They lived in Japan and Finland in the 1920’s, often far apart, and their longing letters to each other have been published in the book “Kirsikankukkien Vuodet” (Cherry Blossom Years). They had three children, Eimi, Chujo and Akeo. Their descendants and their personal influence as teachers, missionaries, officials, and musicians (their son, internationally famous conductor Akeo Watanabe, made Sibelius widely popular in post-WW2 Japan) doubtless contributed to the generally positive and surprisingly lively image of Finland in Japan. Photo scanned from Helsingin Sanomat March 9th, 2004.