MUA Salon Gathering with Mr. MORIMURA Shunsuke, Director of MUA

Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Venue Minato City Life Long Learning Center

Mr.MORIMURA’s response to the question on the reason for his repeated visit to Africa was that he loves the great nature there where he can observe the vivid appearance of animals. He talked not only about the beautiful sunrise over the horizon and the great nature as far as the eye can see but also what he observed during his visit to over 100 countries displaying photos he took.

He started his talk by touching on the photos of the ecology of wild animals. He found that Africa is filled with charm which could alter his view of life. He first visited Africa with his family which eventually brought the repetitive visits. What he loves most is the sunset in savanna. He is deeply charmed by listening to the call of animals in the cool breeze at the sunset. The animal he loves most is cheetah. Its appearance at the time of hunting is beautiful. One of the reasons he loves cheetah is it never attacks human. Lions and leopards follow.

Lycaon a member of the dog family is also his favorite which performs hunting in a group after a ceremony of dancing. They are good hunters. Gnus crossing rivers in a huge group is very impressive, thereby avoiding the possible attack by crocodiles. Sometimes they encounter the tragedy. (Participants were surprised by a photo that took the very moment of the tragedy.) The way elephants protect their children in savanna exhibits the love of family. He also encountered with buffalo, mongoose, gorilla, chimpanzee, giraffe, etc. He not only encountered with wild animals but Masai people. He visited Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Ethiopia and many other countries on African continent.

Asia: He visited India in an effort to see tigers which he cannot see in Africa. He got on the back of an elephant when he moved in the center of meadow where automobile cannot be used, and when he went down to the bottom of valley. He visited Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, North Korea and soon.

North Pole: He visited the North Pole on a Russian icebreaker. He jumped into the Arctic Ocean. He was confident of his cardiopulmonary function. A glass of vodka warmed his body. Many people were moved by his courage and he was even given a certificate of commendation. He enjoyed watching polar bears, walrus and whales. Other than those countries and places mentioned above, he visited Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Greenland, Iceland, Kamchatka, etc.

Birds: You can see various kinds of birds in Africa. Ten times more than you can see in Japan. Some examples among many are flamingo, vulture, ostrich, stork, etc. There are many people who visit various places in the world just to enjoy bird watching. He found a mythical bird “Quetzal” in Costa Rica. He was moved by its beautiful green wing, red belly and lovely eyes.

Marathon: He participates in marathon events in various countries. 100 times so far. What he values most is to finish the competition and not the time. He participated in a 200km marathon event held in Korea. He successfully finished the competition though he walked at last.

Mr. MORIMURA handed out his latest book “A sequel to the travel to 100 countries”(left photo) to all the participants . We sincerely express our appreciation for his very interesting talks about his vast experience obtained during his visit to many countries.

Brief profile of Mr. MORIMURA: Born in 1951. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Keio University. Took the office of president, chairman and currently Advisor of Morimura Bros., Inc.
which is the business entity being a parent organization of Noritake Company, Ltd., TOTO, NGK Insulators, Ltd., NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd., Morimura Gakuen, and so forth.