This month, DSA held its Monthly General Meeting (MGM) at the Residence of Japan, hosted by Mrs Rosa Maekawa, wife of the Ambassador of Japan.
H.E. the Ambassador and other members of the Embassy welcomed us dressed in traditional Japanese attire – the Kimono – with the wish to introduce us to an important part of Japanese culture and tradition and, at the same time, to make us feel as though we had been transported to Japan.
The meeting began with an introduction to the different parts of the traditional Japanese attire, their names, and the occasions on which particular types of Kimono are worn, including weddings, festivals and tea ceremonies.
In addition to this cultural presentation, we were also treated to a cooking lesson featuring one of Japan’s most famous and internationally recognised specialities – Sushi. Most of us have certainly had the opportunity to taste Sushi, but thanks to the chef at the Residence of Japan, we had the special opportunity to learn how to make Maki Sushi ourselves.
Following the chef’s instructions, several DSA members successfully mastered the art of making Maki Sushi and proudly took home the specialities they had prepared. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, followed by a selection of other delicious Japanese dishes served during a relaxed and friendly gathering. We enjoyed the warm hospitality of our hosts, the pleasant atmosphere, the beautiful Japanese interior and the wonderful examples of Japanese art surrounding us.
During the working part of the meeting, the President welcomed the new members, Ebi Ikurusi from Nigeria and Natalia Artemova from Russia, as well as our other guests – Tomoko, Chika, Yukari, Monika, May Ly, Jean-Marie, Jay Govindan and Emily – and wished everyone a warm welcome and a pleasant time together.
Special appreciation was also expressed to our dear Yang, wife of the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, who had to leave Zimbabwe at very short notice, leaving us without an opportunity to say goodbye to her personally at the meeting.
The members were briefed on DSA’s activities and support provided to charity organisations, as well as on the ongoing preparations for the most important annual DSA event – the DSA Bazaar 2026.
All members were invited to participate actively in the preparations for the Bazaar and to volunteer their time and support so that all necessary activities could be successfully completed.
The concept of the Cultural Postcard was also presented. Through this initiative, all participating Embassies will have the opportunity to showcase their national traditional costumes and attire, dances, festivals, traditional musical instruments and landmarks of their cultural heritage.
A special “thank you” goes once again to our dear Rosa Maekawa for introducing us to the traditional Japanese costume and explaining the beauty and elegance of the Kimono, which is wrapped and secured with an Obi belt. She also introduced us to the traditional Zori and Geta sandals, as well as Tabi socks, characterised by their distinctive separate section for the big toe.
We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to the chef at the Residence of Japan for teaching us how to prepare one of the most recognisable dishes of Japanese cuisine around the world – Maki Sushi.
Just as the Japanese word maki means “to roll”, our members enthusiastically “rolled” their Sushi, while the rest of us watched, learned and enjoyed yet another wonderful experience of discovering the rich and fascinating ancient culture of the Land of the Rising Sun.
