Kirkintilloch’s Rita Cowan, the Mother of Japanese Whisky

That the Parliament notes that 14 December 2026 marks 130 years since the birth in Kirkintilloch of Jessie Roberta (Rita) Cowan, who is remembered in Japan as Rita Taketsuru, the Mother of Japanese Whisky; understands that she attended Lenzie Academy and that, while living in the town, met Masataka Taketsuru, a young chemistry student who had come to Scotland to learn how to make whisky; further understands that the couple married in January 1920 and made their life in Japan, where, in 1934, with Rita’s support, Masataka established the distillery at Yoichi in Hokkaido from which Nikka Whisky was established; recognises that, in their memory, Strathkelvin District Council and Yoichi entered into one of the first twinning arrangements between the UK and Japan in 1988, a link that continues today; welcomes the visit to Kirkintilloch on 24 September 2026 by the Consul General of Japan in Edinburgh, Katsutoshi Takeda, who was taken by the Provost of East Dunbartonshire to the places in the town connected to Rita, including Kirkintilloch Town Hall, where her kimono and obi, a gift from Yoichi, are on display, and the William Patrick Library, which stands on the former grounds of her family home, Middlecroft House, and preserves stained glass from it; encourages people to visit Kirkintilloch Town Hall and the Auld Kirk Museum to learn more about her story, and wishes the friendship between Kirkintilloch and Yoichi, and between Scotland and Japan, well for the future.