Kickoff Event for the 1st Installment of Kitahiroshima City's 30th Anniversary Projects! Screening of a Movie Featuring Hiroyuki Morisaki & Talk Show to be Held!

[What are the 30th Anniversary Projects?] Since enacting the city administration on September 1, 1996, the year 2026 will mark a 30-year milestone. To express our deep respect and gratitude to the virtues of our predecessors who have cultivated the town since settling from Hiroshima Prefecture in 1884, and hoping for the future development of Kitahiroshima City, we will commemorate the 30th anniversary with our citizens by conducting commemorative ceremonies and turning city projects into anniversary events.

[About the Kickoff Event] In the history of Kitahiroshima City, the promotion of agriculture is deeply involved. In the early Meiji era, in the areas north of southern Hokkaido where rice farming was considered impossible due to the cold climate, a man named Kyuzo Nakayama succeeded for the first time in the stable cultivation of rice using "Akage rice." By distributing the seed rice to pioneer immigrants for free, rice farming spread throughout Hokkaido, making this city the birthplace of cold-region rice farming. For this kickoff event, we have invited Hiroyuki Morisaki as a guest. He appears on the agriculture-themed TV program "Agri Kingdom Hokkaido (currently Agri Kingdom Hokkaido NEXT)," which has been broadcast since 2008. We will screen the movie version of Agri Kingdom, in which he served as the navigator, and hold a talk show. As this work is an independently distributed film, it will be a rare and valuable screening opportunity. We planned this event so that everyone can reflect on the wonders of agriculture and the identity of Kitahiroshima City through watching the movie, and also to envision the future of the city together with the bright and positive talk of Mr. Morisaki, the leader of "TEAM NACS," a group that also celebrated its 30th anniversary in March 2026, just like Kitahiroshima City.

[Introduction to the Movie Version of Agri Kingdom Hokkaido] The television program "Agri Kingdom Hokkaido NEXT," themed on Hokkaido's agriculture and livestock industry and continuously broadcast on Hokkaido Broadcasting (HBC) since 2008, was made into a movie in its 18th year, 2025, and premiered at the Hokkaido Foodie Festival. Centered around five traditional vegetables passed down in Sapporo—Sapporo Ki, Sapporo Taikyu, Sapporo Midori, Sapporo Daicho Nanban, and Sapporo Shiro Gobo—this documentary records the rich land of Hokkaido and the passion of its producers. The navigator is Hiroyuki Morisaki (TEAM NACS). Appearing as a chef is Hiroyuki Tsukada, a renowned chef from Sapporo. Chef Tsukada visits producers, picks up vegetables in the fields, and while traveling around Hokkaido, encounters traditional vegetables, Shihoro beef, and Furano vegetables, blending them all to complete the "ultimate single dish." It is a "food story" that not only conveys the appeal of the ingredients but also packs the producers' thoughts, the land's history, and hopes for the future into one plate. Through the screen, it is a movie that allows you to rediscover the blessings of Hokkaido's land and the value of its food culture.