The Grand Marshal is a symbolic figure who leads the parade as a leader.
Every year, we ask someone who has made an outstanding contribution to Japan-Ireland exchange, and this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of the parade, the Grand Marshal will be Ms. Mitsuko Ohno, professor emeritus at Aichi Shukutoku University, and her husband Mr.Ryuzo Ohno.
Ms. Ohno had received the Irish President’s Merit Award in 2020 for their contributions to the promotion of Irish literature in Japan.
Professor Emeritus, Aichi Shukutoku University

Contributed to the dissemination of Irish literature in Japan as a researcher, educator, and translator, and received the Irish President’s Merit Award (2020)
Written works include “Women’s Ireland” (Heibonsha, 1998), “Yeats and the Tradition of Anglo-Irish Literature”(Kyoto Shugakusha, 1999),
co-translated works include “Pharaoh’s Daughter: Noura Ní Gónór Poems” (Shichosha, 2001), “As if by Magic: Selected Poems of Paula Meehan” (Shichosha, 2021), On Two Shores, Mutsuo Takahashi (Dedalus Press, Dublin, 2006), Sky Navigation Homeward, Mikiro Sasaki (Dedalus Press, 2019), and others
IASIL A founding member and past president of JAPAN (International Association of Irish Literature, Japan), a member of the Japan Yeats Society and the Japan Ireland Society

The theme of this year’s parade is “The Fusion of Tradition & Innovation,” the same as the Green Ireland Festival.
Although the parade has been canceled a total of four times due to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022, the theme was chosen in hopes of further development, building on the various bonds of friendship between Japan and Ireland that have been cultivated over the 29 times of the Tokyo Parade’s history, and adding new strength.
This year’s logo, which commemorates the 30th anniversary, was designed by Ms Tamiko Kashiwamura of the ICF (Intercollegiate Celtic Festival).
It is a wonderful design that features an arrangement of a portrait of St. Patrick against a background of the number 30 with a Celtic pattern in the center.