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The party, hosted by the French ambassador, was a huge success, with attendees including TV personality Debi and opera singer Masashi Akikawa.
At the time, Masashi Akikawa was an unknown opera singer who was being trained by Devi, but after that, he became famous overnight with the hit song "A Thousand Winds" and participated in the Red and White Song Battle. Let me tell you about the party.
The French Ambassador and his wife Michelle Henry giving their greetings. Galerie Adeka Takeda.
I prepared the party while discussing with the French Embassy. The welcome party for Michel Henry was an official event of the French Embassy, so the expenses were covered by the French Embassy. The French Embassy prepared all the champagne, wine (no beer or sake) and snacks such as hors d'oeuvres, but since the party was held at 7pm and no food was provided, I hosted a dinner party for the people who came from other regions after the party, sponsored by Galerie Adeka, and arranged for them to stay in a hotel.
Michel Henry, Madame Debi, Masashi Akikawa, Professor Ogasawara
There were about 100 guests in attendance, including clients of Gallery Adeka, which operated at the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry exhibition hall at Ikebukuro Sunshine until 1999, and Gallery Vingt de France at Karuizawa Prince Hotel, as well as department stores such as Mitsukoshi, Daimaru, and Tenmaya and their customers, Seibu and Parco, which are connected to Karuizawa Prince Hotel, the mayor of a Hokkaido town hotel whose interior is decorated with paintings by Michel Henry, the Kobe Franco-Japanese Society representing the governor of Hyogo Prefecture and an advisor to the Michel Henry Friendship Association, members of parliament, and former Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro, who had connections with the museum, were also scheduled to attend.
Original print (limited edition with silkscreen artist's autograph )
In Japan, parties and meetings are conducted by a master of ceremonies, and many important people give boring speeches, while the participants applaud the boring speeches and listen to the long-awaited toasts, and then finally get to enjoy drinks and food. I had planned to do the same, but the ambassador wanted to leave out the unnecessary speeches.
French parties are simple. There is no need for a host. The host (ambassador) greets the guests and then there is a toast. After that, everyone drinks and eats as they please, chats with the people next to them, and then the time comes to disband.
Michel Henry original silk screen print "A Window in Venice"
However, in the end, the party was held in a Japanese style. Since Kobe Governor Kaihara could not attend, he sent a message, and since former Prime Minister Mori was also scheduled to attend, we decided to have a moderator to introduce them, and I was the moderator. The ambassador introduced Michel Henry, who gave a speech, and the message from Hyogo Governor Kaihara was read by the vice-president of the Kobe Franco-Japanese Society. Since former Prime Minister Mori ended up not being able to make it due to time constraints, Hyogo Prefecture House of Representatives member Okutani, who was also in attendance, gave a toast.
Representative Okutani of Hyogo Prefecture giving a toast
When everyone finished their greetings, Mrs. Debi arrived a little late. Her entrance was overwhelming. She appeared in a long dress accompanied by Mr. Masashi Akikawa, an opera singer whom she trains. There was no announcement of her entrance, but everyone felt the glamorous aura she emanated, everyone knew she was coming, and made way for her to move forward. She walked straight to the back of the venue and gave Michel Henry a kiss in greeting. Everyone was looking at her and Michel Henry.
From the left: Masashi Akikawa, Michel Henry, Mr. Ishii (pianist living in France), and Mrs. Debi.
Her companion, Masashi Akikawa, is an opera singer, but he moved everyone by singing the canzones "Santa Lucia" and "Return to Sorrento" without any accompaniment.
Opera singer Masashi Akikawa singing passionately
Michel Henry and Debi posed for photographs at the request of various groups and were the center of conversation everywhere, keeping the party lively and seemingly endless.
Participants of the party
It was getting close to 9 o'clock and the party was still going strong with no one wanting to leave, so I had no choice but to announce the end of the party and bring it to a close.
Afterwards, we had dinner at the Roppongi Prince Hotel, inviting Michel Henry, Dewi Sukhumbu, Masashi Akikawa, the mayor of the town in Hokkaido where the hotel is located, the vice-president and his wife of the Kobe Franco-Japanese Association, and the managing director of Okayama Tenmaya. Here too, Dewi Sukhumbu was at the center of the conversation and created quite a lively atmosphere. As expected, Dewi Sukhumbu was favored by the Indonesian president and became his wife, and was accepted into Parisian high society during her exile in Paris. She was fluent in French to a certain extent, had interests and opinions on many things, and was insightful.
Madame Debi and Michel Henry at the prestigious Etienne Sasy gallery in Paris
On TV, Madame Dewi Sukarno appears to be a celebrity and a funny lady, but that is probably just her way of getting by. When she was in Paris, she lived a lavish life on Sukarno's fortune, but she has now spent it all and now has to earn her own money. She makes her living as a comedian. She said that whenever she says something sensible on TV, it is cut out and only the parts where she snaps or says something silly that could be used for laughs are aired. In reality, that is probably the impression we have of her, but it seems that she is actually involved in a variety of cultural activities.
Michel Henry and his wife Debi at a restaurant in New York A Parisian art dealer and publisher of Michel Henry's original prints
In November 2021, the Michel Henry Japan Exhibition was scheduled to be held at Chiba Mitsukoshi, Ikebukuro Mitsukoshi, and Iwaki Daikokuya as the main event for the 100th anniversary of the opening of the store, but Daikokuya went bankrupt in May and the exhibition at Daikokuya was canceled. Since it was not possible to plan exhibitions at other department stores in time, an exhibition was also held at Parco in Shibuya. The art department of a department store usually decides on the dates and starts preparations about a year in advance. In particular, exhibitions with a strong impact such as the Michel Henry Japan Art Exhibition are decided at an early stage. Parco does not decide on event plans so early, so we brought in the plan in June and were in plenty of time.
Thanks to the party at the French ambassador's residence, both Michel Henry and Galerie Adeka gained credibility, and from the following year onwards, Michel Henry's exhibitions in Japan became more prestigious and continued to be held every year in various parts of Japan until 2009.
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