故・松本晃氏（IFCA代表長兄）への追悼文
In 1962 my late wife and I met Akira Matsumoto in Seattle, where we were then living. He was an official at the Japanese Pavilion during Seattle's 1962 World's Fair. My wife and I had visited Japan many times and were fascinated with its culture. Solely as our favorite hobby, we had become major collectors of Japanese arts and handicrafts.
Aki had quickly noted our intense interest in what we were viewing at the Pavilion. He then introduced himself and graciously escorted us during the remainder of our prolonged visit. We in turn frequently invited him to visit our home, as an honored guest, during the remainder of his mission in Seattle.
During our next visit to Japan in 1964, Aki invited us to dinner at his family's wonderful home in Tokyo. There he introduced us to his parents and to his brother and sisters.
In 1933, after had completed his very extensive university studies in the United States, Aki's father, Mr. Toraichi Matsumoto (1902-1979) established International Friendship House in Japan, an educational institution. The Second World War forced International Friendship House to suspend its activities, and its foreign students returned to their native countries.
In 1974 Mr. Toraichi Matsumoto and his daughter, Michiko C. Matsumoto, established International Friendship Culture Association (IFCA), and he served as its first President. After her father passed away, Michiko Matsumoto has served brilliantly as Chief Executive Officer of IFCA. IFCA's objectives are two-fold: to provide, with amity, opportunities for Japanese of many ages to study the cultures of other nations; also to provide opportunities for persons from other nations to study the culture of Japan.
In addition to many of his other activities, Aki followed in his father's footsteps for advanced studies in the United States. In the early 1960s he attended Transylvania University in Kentucky. Later he became an interpreter for the State Department of the United States. He was very active in IFCA's Foreign Student Center. He arranged with Father Toshiaki Koso, Chancellor of Sophia University in Tokyo, to accommodate Sophia's foreign students in IFCA's dormitory.
Aki also served as President of the Nagasaki Singapore Malaysia Society. He was deeply involved in the Society's plans for a major conference in the autumn of 2012. The conference featured a meeting of thirty medical doctors from Singapore with doctors of Nagasaki Medical University. Aki's sudden heart attack proved to be fatal, and he passed away on November 3, 2012.
Of course, Akira Matsumoto's passing away in the prime of his life is a time for sadness. But of equal importance, it also is a time for celebration of his many achievements. He lived his life to its fullest with outstanding contributions to his entire nation, and especially to the cities of Nagasaki and Tokyo where he and his family resided.
Ave atque vale, Aki-san ! " Hail and Farewell ! "
Robert O. Kinsey, President of IFCA
IFCA会長 ロバート O. キンゼイ
米国国務省通訳官時代（右2人目）
中央はロバートケネディ司法長官（当時）夫妻
松本晃氏がIFCAの前身である国際フレンド会館について寄せている文章がこちらにあります。