On July 13-14, Prof. Vickers took a group of Kyushu University students (including many overseas exchange students) to Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, to attend the annual Koxinga Festival. This year, the festival was held out of doors at the Koxinga Shrine in the village of Kawachi, Koxinga’s birthplace. Once more, delegations from both Tainan (Taiwan) and Nan An (Fujian) attended.
Koxinga’s statue at his shrine in Kawachi village, Hirado
Priests officiating at the Koxinga Festival in Kawachi
Tanabata decorations by students from Ikitsukishima Elementary School at the Koxinga Shrine, Kawachi
Student participants in the 2026 Hirado field trip