The Sôgmô has visited the Kumano Jiritsu Nation for the second time during his reign, along with his Sanôba Consort, on the sixth anniversary of the Creation of Sandus on 26 May 2015. This is the first state visit for the Sanôba Consort. The previous state visit was in August 2013.
The Royal Couple arrived shortly before 10:00am in Kumano, where they were met by the head of government, Hatsu Ryuho. Hatsu gave the Royal Couple a tour of the agricultural work of the Kumano Jiritsu Nation, including a chicken coop and a large horticultural space, along with the head of state, Hatsu Kenji. The tour then continued to a formal garden in the style of a Japanese garden with beautiful murals of waterfall surrounded by mountains and of Mt. Fuji; the tour concluded with a visit to Buddhist and Shinto shrines around the country.
A Shinto ceremony took place before the shrine of Inari, a Shinto rice god, where Hatsu Ryuho blessed the Royal Couple in their attendance at the official meeting between Sandum and Kumanoese counterparts.
Following the ceremony, the Sôgmô and Hatsu Ryuho discussed developments in the two nations since the last joint meeting held in April and work done presently for the Commission for the Command Economy; both also discussed triannual meetings between Sandus, Kumano, and Überstadt to build firm relations between Sandus and the other socii civitates. Next, gifts were exchanged between the two leaders. The Royal Couple received artfully written kanjis, made by Ryuho, and literature of the Buddha and Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi; the Sôgmô gave a mug with a blossom and a ripe red apple, similar to the mug given to King Adam I during his state visit in July 2014. The blossom represents the Foundation of the State of Sandus, which occurred in April 2010 when blossoms are in bloom, and the apple represents the Sörgel family, who own a large apple orchard north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Finally, the Sôgmô and the Kumanoese heads of government and of state signed the 2013 treaty of Sociliva statehood, granting Kumano the ability to enter into partial Sandum citizenship. In a short remark, the Sôgmô thanked the Hatsu family for hosting the Sandum delegation on such an auspicious holiday as Sandum Independence Day and for formally signing the treaty which has been de facto effective since October 2013. The state visit concluded shortly after 12:00pm GMT-5.
The state visit by the Sôgmô represents the strong and firm cooperative bond between Sandus and Kumano, as the visit took place on the occasion of the sixth anniversary since Sandus’s creation and independence in 2009; it also represents the Sanôba Consort’s growing understanding of micronationalism and his growing dedication to royal responsibilities in Sandus.
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