Dec. 17 - Our guest blogger today, Dale Largent, writes about the relationship between two sister cities - Duluth and Isumi. Dale is the Cultural Affairs Officer at the Embassy in Tokyo.
Jim
A Tale of Two Cities - Duluth and Isumi
Mayor Don Ness of Duluth and Mayor Hiroshi Ota of Isumi ring the American-Japanese Friendship Peace Bell in Isumi
Sister city relationships come in all shapes and sizes. I recently represented the Embassy at the 20th anniversary celebration of one sister city relationship built around a unique story and a well-designed exchange program that engages citizens on both sides of the Pacific.
The cities of Isumi, Chiba and Duluth, Minnesota came together through a chance historical encounter involving a 17th century Buddhist temple bell. Although this bell was destined to be melted down for scrap during World War II, somehow it survived. American sailors discovered it after the war, took it on board the U.S.S. Duluth and eventually presented it to the city for which the ship was named.
In the mid-1950s, the far-sighted mayor of Duluth returned this bell to its rightful owner - a local temple in Chiba. In 1954, a U.S. Naval vessel carried it home and received a warm reception at the port, where a large crowd turned out to welcome the bell back. It now stands in a hilltop park in Isumi and is renamed the American-Japanese Friendship Peace Bell. Isumi citizens, in turn, presented a replica of this bell to the city of Duluth, where it stands in another hilltop park, a lasting symbol of their friendship.
The town of Duluth, Minnesota (population 86,319) lies at the western end of Lake Superior.
That's not where the story ends though. To develop the values of international friendship in their children, citizens of Isumi and Duluth have sent dozens of junior high students on annual homestay exchanges since the early 1990s. A rigorous selection process along with language and cultural training build the foundation for positive experiences for both the young people and the families that host them.
At the recent ceremony, I heard stories of how these early opportunities to travel and experience a foreign culture have inspired some young people to broaden their horizons and look for other chances to study and live abroad.
Congratulations to citizens of Isumi and Duluth for making the most of your chance encounter to build lasting ties and pass them on to the next generation.
- Dale Largent
Dear Jim,
I was interested in your blog about a sister city pair. Urayasu, Chiba will be hosting guests from Orlando, Florida Feb. 3-8, 2011 in an ongoing sister city cultural exchange that has included running in a half marathon in each city by visiting members of their respective running clubs. The visit by the Orlando Runners Club members in 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the Tokyo Bay Urayasu City Marathon, to be held on Feb. 6. Each year, four guests (male and female over 40 and under 40) are sent from Orlando to run in the Urayasu event. Similarly, the Urayasu Runners Club sends four runners to participate in the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) Half Marathon in early December. I participated as a guest in the 2009 half marathon, and I am returning for the milestone of the 20th anniversary. If the Tokyo Embassy would like more information on this program, I could direct you to it.
Regards,
Bob Butterfield
Many thanks for sharing information about this wonderful exchange program.
I am Secretary of the San Jose (CA) - Okayama Sister City Organization in the US. I would like to reprint the blog entry regarding Duluth and Isumi in our Web page.
The story is interesting and the relationship dates back to the time when we establlished our relationship with Japan in 1957. It was only the third such relationship. Now California alone has 97 or 98 relationships with Japanese cities.
We are also involved with the Santa Clara (CA) relationship with Izumo.
Happy Holidays, Bob
