AKP Phnom Penh, February 05, 2025 --

A Japanese NGO, Caring for Young Khmer (CYK), led by its Director Ms. Harumi Sekiguchi, has handed over 40 pieces of Hol Pidan, to the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts to be displayed at the National Museum of Cambodia. 

The handover ceremony took place here at the National Museum of Cambodia on Feb. 4 under the presidency of H.E. Dr. Phoeurng Sackona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts and H.E. UENO Atsushi, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia.

The donation is aimed to ensure the sustainability of the preservation, care and promotion of the exquisite and unique heritage of Khmer silk weaving, as well as to provide access and convenience to Cambodian silk weavers who wish to study the forms and designs on silk fabrics, said the Ministry of Culture in a news release.

In 2014, Ms. Harumi Sekiguchi handed over Hol Pidan to the National Museum of Cambodia twice – the first time with 23 pieces and the second time with 2 pieces.

“The museum sincerely hopes that the public will consider the possibility of donating other artifacts to the museum as national treasures, as the Japanese team did today, as these artifacts will become living documents for the dissemination and study of the intangible heritage left behind by our Khmer ancestors,” read the news release.

Last year, residents of Prey Kabbas district in Takeo province donated three pieces of Hol Pidan to the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Asian Traditional Textiles Museum in Siem Reap province.

Hold Pidan generally depicts stories and patterns that hold cultural significance in Cambodian society.

By C. Nika