In Commemoration of the 16th National Athletic Meet [Board on the Pe
destal]
On October 8, 1961, the National Athletics Meet was opened in Akita with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress at Yabase Stadium. The top 14,000 athletes of the nation put on a display of dynamic competition until October 13. The National Athletics Meet in Akita was praised as the greatest success in the history of national athletics meets and established friendship with people from across the nation thanks to the people of Akita Prefecture who worked hard, following the motto, “health, bliss, kindness.” The statue was erected here in early autumn 1962 in commemoration of the great achievements of the National Athletics Meet in Akita and with the hope to consolidate the prefectural spirit for action, planning, and cooperation. Governor of Akita Yujiro Obata[Translated from the inscription in Japanese.]