In 1987, Maqsooda Shiotani opened Rubina in Kanazawa — the first authentic Indian restaurant in the Hokuriku region. At the time, India was spoken of in Japan as a hot, poor country of curry. She wanted her own country to be understood better. That was the whole reason for opening.
Food is a gateway to culture. The restaurant worked like a port, carrying different segments of culture into the city.
One of her guests was Mr. Watanabe, a member of the Japan-India Association in Tokyo. At his suggestion she joined, and then asked him, again and again, whether the same thing might be possible in Ishikawa. In June 1990 the Ishikawa Japan-India Association came into being, with Masao Okabe as its first president. Its founding statement reads, in part: more than economic exchange, we need exchange of art, of culture, of the heart. Exchange between politicians and businesspeople alone will not get us there. Real understanding and respect are born when one person opens their heart to another.
When the Ambassador of India first visited the prefecture, the women members welcomed him in saris. The Ambassador and his wife were delighted — they had never seen so many women in Japan wearing the sari — and he gave Maqsooda a phrase to keep: “Keep the India Flag High.” That is where it all begins.
Helping people in Ishikawa come to know India.
Culture lectures, cooking classes, the Asia exchange festivals. The years that built a doorway to India in Kanazawa.
Helping India come to know Hokuriku — Ishikawa, Toyama and Fukui.
After the 50th anniversary of Japan-India relations, the direction reversed. The first foreign company brought to Ishikawa, 2.4 million yen sent to Kashmir, and naan baked for survivors of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Carrying both of those efforts further.
More students, more companies moving in both directions, and a new era of tourism. Exchange that is closer to everyday life.
Every International Day of Yoga since the very first one.
From the first in 2015 to the twelfth in 2026, with one year lost to the pandemic — every June, a day of yoga in Ishikawa.
The original aim was simply “please get to know India.” It became cultural exchange between Japan and India, and today it reaches further still, into business and education.
The number of Indian students at JAIST, Kanazawa Institute of Technology and Kanazawa University grows every year. More companies in Ishikawa are establishing a presence in India. With the Shinkansen, there are new opportunities to introduce Ishikawa to Indian visitors. To everyone who has supported these thirty-six years: we will keep going, together.
The years 1990 to 2014 are based on the commemorative volume Twenty-Five Years as a Bridge between Japan and India — The 25 Year Journey of the Ishikawa India Association, published by the Ishikawa India Association. From 2015 onward, the record draws on the Association's annual activity reports and event files.