"My childhood was spent on Hami Avenue, so I felt deeply touched when I saw old pictures of it. I do appreciate Mr Hisayoshi Kondou for providing us with precious photos of old Tianjin,"said Liu Zhe, deputy head of the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, after seeing photos donated by Hisayoshi Kondou, a Japanese man who dedicated his life to studying Tianjin's history. 

On Sept 24, Hisayoshi's collection of over 180 photos, newspapers, and books on Tianjin went on display in Tianjin in an exhibition called Tianjin, My Hometown. At the same time, he was posthumously awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of Tianjin".

Since 1989, Hisayoshi came to visit Tianjin from Japan more than 30 times, collecting historical materials and studying the city's history. He held four Tianjin history exhibitions in Japan and twice in Tianjin.

These precious materials vividly represent life in former Japanese concession in Tianjin, as well as the lives of Japanese immigrants in China, serving as first-hand information for the study of the history and culture of modern Tianjin.

Born in Tianjin in 1932, Hisayoshi spent his youth in the port city and developed a deep connection to it. He once said in an interview: "Tianjin is my first hometown, and I love Tianjin."

In 2009, Hisayoshi donated more than 1,000 original copies of collected materials to the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences. "Mr. Hisayoshi Kondou has only one requirement when donating materials - that is, these materials must be exhibited so that more people can understand the history of Tianjin." said Wan Lujian, an associate researcher at the institute.

Hisayoshi died in Japan in June this year.