On October 18, 2025, the Okayama-Netherlands Association hosted the "Holland Oine Hana Matsuri" (Oine Flower Festival) throughout the Omotecho shopping arcade in Kita-ku, Okayama City.
The event was organized to promote cultural exchange, drawing on the deep historical ties between Okayama and the Netherlands: during the Edo period, Kusumoto Ine — daughter of the Dutch physician Philipp Franz von Siebold, who served at the Dutch trading post — lived in Shimo-no-cho (in the Omotecho area of Kita-ku, Okayama City) for six years, and later, in the Meiji era, Dutch engineers contributed to flood control along the lower Asahi River and to the development of Kojima Bay.
Oine is said to have trained in medicine in Okayama and gone on to become Japan's first female obstetrician.
At the Hana Matsuri, announcers from RSK Sanyo Broadcasting dressed as Siebold, O-Ine, and other historical figures to kick off a kimono parade.
The Kojima Obi team joined in as well, everyone wearing a Kojima Obi in tribute to Oine's era and in respect for those working in Okayama's textile industry today.
The station's newly hired female announcers also wore Kojima Obi as they walked in the parade.
The parade was covered live on radio and featured in television news segments, with camera crews hurrying ahead along the route to capture the procession.
Along the way, tulip bulbs were handed out to shoppers, and the shopping arcade stayed full of festive energy throughout the event.
The theme behind Kojima Obi: "Tying wings onto backs around the world."
The word "hane" (wing) carries images that all lead toward a smile — freedom, liberation, independence, flight, rising higher, moving forward.
The theme reflects a simple wish: that as more wings are tied onto more backs around the world, more smiles will follow.
Around 50 people, including local community members, walked through the shopping arcade together, celebrating the connection between Okayama and the Netherlands.
YYou can see the obi worn by RSK's new announcers and the Kojima Obi team during the parade right here.
