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"The Garden of Friendship", 1982
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The Japanese physician Choei Ishibashi (1893-1990) and the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, share a long friendship. Ishibashi is a leading expert in pediatrics and nutritional biology. His career takes him to the top of numerous medical institutions, including the University of Tokyo, Tokyo University of Agriculture, and the Dokkyo Medical University which he founded.
His work is not limited to just Japan. As president of the International Medical Society of Japan and chairman of the Japanese-German edical Society, he builds bridges between nations and promotes intellectual and intercultural exchange in science.
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The earliest evidence of this friendship dates back to 1958, when Choei Ishibashi visited Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, together with a delegation of Japanese students.
Pharmacist Leopold Lerch, who supervised the visit with his good knowledge of Japanese, and Karl-Ludwig Natho (Head of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in Japan) help ensure that this connection never breaks despite the physical distance.
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To create a lasting monument, in 1982 Choei Ishibashi gifts the company a large natural stone boulder from Japan. Japanese characters are carved into the roughly one meter wide, 555- kilogram heavy stone. Read from left to right, they mean: "Garden of Friendship".
The journey of the natural stone from Tokyo to Darmstadt proves adventurous. On October 15, 1981, it is shipped to Germany by employees of 'Merck Japan Ltd.' Crossing the ocean on the "Transworld Bridge", the boulder reaches Hamburg on November 22, where it is stored for almost half a year.
It is not until March 17, 1982 that the journey continues. The goods reception in Darmstadt commissions the transport to the company headquarters.
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When Choei Ishibashi visits Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for the 33rd time (!), on August 27, 1982 numerous guests gather under the magnificent chestnut tree in front of Building A3, where the monument is unveiled in a ceremonial ceremony.
Jan Thesing (Member of the Executive Board) emphasizes the significance of the event at the ceremony: "This stone will tell future generations of the warm connection of our house with the scientists of Japan." The boulder is now located in the entrance area of Corporate History in front of Building A3/121.