SARANSK, June 19. /TASS/. Princess Hisako Takamado of Japan has arrived in Saransk, Russia’s Mordovia Republic, for the FIFA World Cup match between her national team and Colombia, and visited the Mordovian Erzia Museum of Visual Arts, the museum’s director Lyudmila Narbekova told TASS.
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado is in Russia as Honorary President of the Japan Football Association. Beginning from 1998, she has been visiting all FIFA World Cups to encourage her team. Princess Takamado's trip is the first over the past 102 years visit to Russia by a representative from the Japanese Imperial Family. Last time, a member of the Imperial Family visited Russia in 1916 as a representative of the allied power during World War I.
The Japanese Princess presented a pennon, which is dedicated to her official visit for the championship, to the museum’s staff. As a gift, she received two Mordovian silk headscarves, made by local painter Fedot Sychkov and the museum’s director Narbekova.
The Princess saw an exhibition of world-renowned sculptor Stepan Erzia, and also an exhibition of modern Russian art and the paintings of Mordovian artists and a temporary exhibition of works of Russian artist Nicholas Roerich from the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
"She watched Roerich’s works with great pleasure. She looked at all paintings very carefully, and she watched the technique of works very thoughtfully and meticulously," the museum’s director said.
"We spoke about the need to develop cultural ties between our countries. We are ready to consider any exhibition project: either to host [the works] of a Japanese painter here, or send the collections in which they are interested in to Japan," Narbekova said, noting that the Japanese Ambassador to Russia also took part in the discussion on the plan for cultural cooperation.
"Our museum was the first one on the schedule of her visit to the republic, and this was very pleasant. I knew that she does painting, I’m also a painter and we found common ground. She is a very nice woman who is interested in art," she said.
The Mordovia Arena hosts a total of four group stage matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The first match between Peru and Denmark (0-1) was held on June 16. The teams of Colombia and Japan will play on June 19, Iran and Portugal on June 25 and Panama and Tunisia on June 28.
Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. The matches of the 2018 World Cup are held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia.