On June 7, 2014, the International Symposium Commemorating Winners of the Cikada Prize was held at the 1st building auditorium of Josai’s Tokyo Kioicho Campus.

On December 9, 2013, Chancellor Noriko Mizuta was given the Cikada Prize―an international poetry award administered by the Embassy of Sweden in Japan that honors exceptional poets who are able to express the inviolability of life in East Asia. To celebrate this achievement, Josai organized a symposium centered on the theme of “Giving World to the Inviolability of Life,” which was divided into three sessions and assembled the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, recipient of a PhD in literature from Uppsala and Kyoto Universities as well as an exceptional poet in his own right, His Excellency Lars Vargö; past recipients of the Cikada Prize; and famous poets from around East Asia as participants.
　 Panelists who participated in this year’s symposium were as follows:

Lars Vargö	Swedish Ambassador to Japan, haiku poet
Noriko Mizuta	6th winner of the Cikada Prize
Akito Arima	Haiku poet
Shin Kyong Rim	4th winner of the Cikada Prize
Moon Chung-hee	5th winner of the Cikada Prize
Bei Dao	Poet
Kazuko Shiraishi	Poet
Toriko Takarabe	Poet
Mutsuo Takahashi	Poet
Gozo Yoshimasu	Poet
Aki Sagawa	Poet
Tian Yuan	Poet
Han Sung Rea	Poet, Translator (including the work of 3rd Cikada Prize winner Ko Un）

The symposium opened with an overview of the Cikada Prize from Ambassador His Excellency Vargö followed by a talk from Chancellor Mizuta on the poetry collection Aniara by Harry Martinson―Swedish poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature―which formed the inspiration for the Cikada Prize. The symposium then moved into panel discussion divided by the following three topics:

Panel 1	Cikada as the Encounter between Poets of Northern Europe and East Asia
Panel 2	Experiences in Foreign Countries and Poetry and Expression
Panel 3	The Future of Poetry in East Asia

Panel 1 addressed theories of poetry, translation, and poets based in East Asia, extending it to the rest of the world. Panel 2, taking foreign countries as its theme, related the direct experiences of poets abroad to discuss the extent to which these experiences are heightened by poetic expression. In Panel 3, each panelist offered their words on the future of poetry in East Asia followed by a poetry reading conducted in each poet’s native tongue, yielding a deep emotional reaction from the audience.
　 In closing, musician Shigemi Yoshioka gave a vocal performance of poetry to her own musical accompaniment. Ms. Yoshioka performs piano to vocals comprised of poetry from tanka and Japanese women poets such as Misuzu Kaneko, Akiko Yosano, and Noriko Ibaragi in a way that deeply moves the hearts of anyone who listens.
　 To celebrate the Cikada Prize, Ms. Yoshioka performed a solo rendition of a new poem of Chancellor Mizuta’s entitled, “The Unwritten Love Letter,” while the Josai Kioicho Mixed Chorus performed a four-part harmony specially arranged by Yasuhide Ito to the enthusiastic applause of the audience.