Happy Vietnamese National Day!

Cepelinai or didžkukuliai, a traditional Lithuanian dish of stuffed potato dumplings. *Photo from Wikipedia February 16 is Restoration of Lithuania’s Statehood Day, celebrate the independence of Lithuania from Russia and Germany in 1918. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe; present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were the territories of the Grand Duchy. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772–95, with the Russian

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   GYPSY QUEEN Musical group When we heard that they call themselves “Asian band”, we wondered why they didn’t say they are a Japanese band. But they said with a laugh. “Japan is part of Asia, isn’t it?” Absolutely! But it’s not the only reason for it. They’ve performed in 10 countries so far, such as China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia and Japan. Such an “Asiatrotting” band has tons of stories but we were limited in time so they picked the stories of their first tour in China.

Maseru, the capital and largest city of Lesotho. *Photo from Wikipedia October 4 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Lesotho from the United Kingdom in 1966. The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basutoland joined other tribes in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828. Subsequent evolution of the state was shaped by contact with the British and Dutch colonists from Cape Colony. Territorial conflicts with both British and Boer settlers arose periodically, including Moshoeshoe’s notable