#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.

The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.

The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

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Exhibitions

I LOVE SUSHI

Japan Foundation Traveling Exhibition

July 14 – August 15, 2023

Established in 1972, the Japan Foundation creates global opportunities to foster friendship and ties between Japan and the rest of the world through culture, language and dialogue. The foundation runs programs in arts and cultural exchange, Japanese language education abroad, Japanese studies, and intellectual exchange. We are pleased to present the new cultural exchange program and traveling exhibition "I Love Sushi" with the theme of sushi - the emblem of Japanese cuisine in the world.

In 2013, washoku (Japanese cuisine) was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, its symbol being sushi. Refined and healthy, pleasing to the eye and taste, sushi is a dish found today on menus all over the world. Originally from Southeast Asia and Southern China, sushi arrived in Japan more than a thousand years ago. From then until today it has gone through radical changes taking advantage of the abundance of natural resources in and around the Japanese islands, the application of new knowledge in the field and the continued desire of the Japanese to prepare tasty food. At the present time, the most famous variety of sushi is undoubtedly nigiri-zushi, which appeared about two hundred years ago in Edo (today's Tokyo).

Sushi is currently a widely spread and appreciated dish outside of Japan. But despite its popularity, there are few who know all its qualities. This exhibition aims to provide an in-depth visual guide to sushi, from its origins and how it arrived in Japan, the changes it underwent over time in the process of adapting to the natural environment, culture and lifestyle of each region in part, to the celebrity it knows today and its great potential as a food of the future seen from the perspective of the food problems facing the contemporary world. The exhibition also includes a simulation of a visit to a specific Japanese restaurant. Those who know a thing or two about sushi will be delighted by the exhibit, and die-hard fans will find it fascinating. At the same time we hope that sushi will become a means of popularizing Japanese history and customs.

Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Hibino Terutoshi, who coordinated the preparations for the exhibition, as well as all the individuals and organizations whose tireless efforts ensured its success.

The "I Love Sushi" exhibition will be open to the general public from July 14 to August 15, 2023, in Hall 1, ground floor, of the National Museum of History of Moldova, str. 31 August 1989, 121A.