Midori Ippai Project Activities LINE 124"Afuhi Project" - Planting of Hollyhocks Back at Their Natural Home May 24, 2015 NTT West Head Office
The 5th NTT West Group Afuhi Project Planting Activity was held on May 24, 2015.
Hollyhocks are used for decoration at the Aoi Festival, which originated some 1,500 years ago. In the past, wild hollyhocks used to grow everywhere including the precincts of the Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine. However, due to global warming and changes in the natural environment, and particularly damage in recent years caused by deer that feed on them, they can no longer be found in the shrine or in the nearby forests and surrounding areas.
It was against this backdrop that we began since February 24, 2011 to engage in planting and host family activities as part of the "NTT West Group Afuhi Project" together with AFUHI Project and Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine.
Under this project, employees of NTT West Group and their family members would adopt hollyhocks and grow them at their workplace or home. Grown-up hollyhocks are then multiplied by root division around this period every year and planted in the hollyhock forest in the precincts of Kamigamo Shrine. So far, we have a total of about 2,800 participants who have taken up the role of a hollyhock foster parent.
Marking the fifth year of the activity in 2015, we have an increasing number of foster parents who have brought many hollyhock plants back to their natural home. Among them are Mr. Tsukamoto from the Kansai region, Mr. Kobayashi from Okayama and Ms. Takezaki from Miyazaki, who have returned a large number of hollyhocks all by themselves. We are able to keep this activity going, thanks to the enthusiastic foster parents who have been giving their support, such as the families from Kyoto and the Kamite, Konno and Harimoto families from Nara and Hyogo who have been attending the activity every year.
According to the earlier forecast, weather conditions would be adverse up till the start of the planting activity, but fortunately the sky cleared up, thanks to the prayers of the participants.
After the purification ritual in the shrine, the participants visited the main shrine, followed by planting 553 hollyhock plants, including 253 that were grown by NTT employees, while making wishes on behalf of all the foster parents, such as "we will come back to visit you again next year" and "grow healthily."
We will continue to promote the "Midori Ippai Project" activities so that the precincts of the Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine will be filled with hollyhocks again. We also hope that more people will learn to appreciate the importance of the earth's environment through this activity.
We would also like to thank AFUHI Project and Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine for their support up till the tree planting day.
AFUHI Project URL: http://www.afuhi.jp/
Outstanding Foster Parent Award (Achievement in Past 3 Years)
| Mr. Makoto Tsukamoto NTT West Assetplanning, Kansai Branch | 180 plants |
|---|---|
| Mr. Hideyuki Kobayashi Chugoku Company, Okayama Business Unit | 85 plants |
| Ms. Mariko Takezaki Kyushu Company, Miyazaki Business Unit | 18 plants |
- Organizing company
- NTT West Head Office
- Venue
- Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, Kita-ku
- No. of participants
- 85
