On April 2nd, the final round of the "38th Hirosaki Castle Miss Sakura Contest" was held at the Hirosaki Culture Center (Shimoshiroganecho, Hirosaki City).

This contest selects a woman who matches the image of the cherry blossoms of Hirosaki Castle, which carries out PR activities for Hirosaki City. In the final examination, one Miss Sakura Grand Prix and two Miss Sakura will be selected from those who passed the document screening. This year, 12 people were selected because one person declined on the day of the event. The venue had an audience for the first time in four years, and the contestants were on stage without masks, and I was able to see their nervous expressions and radiant smiles.

The judging will consist of a 1-minute self-introduction speech and a 2-3 minute Q&A session. Seven of the 12 people were students, and there was even a scene where the judges smiled at their naive failure at a part-time job.

Yua Murai, a third-year student at Hirosaki University, won the Miss Sakura Grand Prix. I belong to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and am studying linguistics. In his speech, he gave a greeting to tourists in Chinese, which he started at university. A judge commented, "I don't know what you're saying, but it's amazing," and the venue was filled with laughter. After winning the Grand Prix, he announced the meaning of the Japanese word, saying, "Hirosaki is a city with delicious apples and beautiful cherry blossoms. I hope you will come and visit Hirosaki and learn about its charms." Mr. Murai has many opportunities to talk with international students on a regular basis.

Bankai Kobayashi and Koto Mori were chosen as Miss Sakura. Kobayashi is a third-year student at Hirosaki University and belongs to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. From the new semester, she will major in Japanese classical literature. In his speech, he read a tanka poem by Narihira Ariwara and said, "I want to convey the feeling of trembling in my heart when I see the cherry blossoms in Hirosaki." When Miss Sakura was selected, she said with a smile, "Since I was chosen, I want to take responsibility. I asked my mother not to come to the venue because she was embarrassed, but I want to tell her first."

Mr. Mori is a sophomore at Hirosaki University and is from Aomori. It is said that Hirosaki was familiar to him, such as going out with his family from an early age. I entered Hirosaki University as my first choice and belonged to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Mr. Mori, who himself struggles with his daily studies and extracurricular activities, said that Hirosaki is "friendly to students and tourists." As Miss Sakura, she expressed her desire to convey her charm with a smile like the cherry blossoms of Hirosaki.

Mr. Murai said, "I want to do more than just promote the cherry blossoms. I want to do activities that let people know about the people who support the cherry blossoms in Hirosaki and their efforts. told.