In honor of the 584th anniversary of the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi’s birth, a flower-laying ceremony was held in Japan at his monument on Soka University’s campus.

The event was attended by the Ambassador of Uzbekistan Mukhsinkhuja Abdurakhmonov, representatives of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist organization, the leadership of Soka University, professors, faculty members, staff of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, representatives of Japanese media, and Uzbekistan students studying in Japan.

Flowers were placed at the Alisher Navoi monument during the ceremony, which was installed on the university grounds in 2004. Participants expressed their appreciation for Navoi’s rich and multifaceted literary legacy, emphasizing its significance not only in Uzbek literature but also in world literature.

It was emphasized that the monument has become a symbol of friendship between the Uzbekistan and Japanese peoples, historically connected by the Great Silk Road.

Uzbekistan’s Ambassador expressed profound gratitude to the university representatives for their longstanding respect and careful preservation of Navoi’s monument. It was also noted that the poet’s invaluable teachings and ideas play an important role in instilling virtues such as patriotism, spirituality, and tolerance in the younger generation.

Soka University Rector Suzuki Masashi quoted the words of Soka Gakkai founder Daisaku Ikeda: “The monument to Alisher Navoi at Soka University serves as a symbol of humanism and our nations’ shared aspiration for spiritual unity, cultural development, and education”.

UzA