Prelude to the Hiratsuka Sister Cities agreement
September 1986
The Lawrence City Commission, headed by Mayor Sandy Praeger, appointed Marnie Argersinger and Carol Shankel to organize a sister cities steering committee. The Commission asked them to do two things: first, to study and recommend an organizational structure that could implement one or more sister city relationships; second, to find a sister city in Japan.
June 16, 1987
The Lawrence City Commission passed an ordinance creating a Sister Cities Advisory Board. They stated preference for a city of reasonably comparable population size to Lawrence, with a university, and with interest in cultural and educational activities.
The Sister City Advisory Board selected Hiratsuka based on the recommendation of University of Kansas chemistry professor Ted Kuwana, a colleague of Professor Shizuo Fujiwara, science director of Kanagawa University. Buford Watson, former Lawrence City Manager, introduced Carol Shankel to the head of the Japan Municipal League of International Friendship, who accompanied her to Hiratsuka to meet with Deputy Mayor Yoshino and Chief Secretary Yoshimi Tomita to propose a sister city relationship.
1990
February 1990
A six-member delegation from Hiratsuka led by Deputy-Mayor Yui visited Lawrence to meet Advisory Board members and city officials, and get acquainted with the city. They returned home to recommend to their Sister City Committee and City Council that their first foreign sister city be adopted. Read the Lawrence Journal-World article about the visit.
April 1990
The Lawrence City commission passed a resolution in support of forming an association with Hiratsuka.
May 1990
Carol Shankel and George Woodyard led a small delegation to Hiratsuka to discuss mutual interests with Hiratsuka city officials and visit with Kanagawa University leaders about an exchange agreement between “KU West and KU East”. Read a Lawrence Journal-World article about the trip.
August 1990
Fifteen selected junior and senior high students and three adults sent by Hiratsuka enjoyed getting to know Lawrence and their homestay families.
August 1990
Four professors from Kanagawa University visited the University of Kansas to pursue the possibilities of student and faculty exchanges.
September 21, 1990
Twelve delegates from Lawrence traveled to Hiratsuka to formalize Lawrence’s 2nd Sister City relationship. The Sister City Agreement was signed by mayors Shirley Martin-Smith of Lawrence and Kyoichi Ishikawa. More than 50 city, state, and national representatives attended the ceremony.
A Kansas landscape painted by Lawrence area artist Louis Copt was gifted to Hiratsuka at the signing ceremony.
Page 1 of the formal sister-city agreement between Lawrence and Hiratsuka.
Page 2 of the formal agreement pictures Mayor Kyoichi Ishikawa of Hiratsuka and Mayor Shirley Martin-Smith of Lawrence.
Page 3 provides the English summary of the agreement.
October 1990
Mayor Kyoichi Ishikawa led a 15-member delegation of city officials to Lawrence. For most of them it was their first trip to the U.S.
Mayor Itsuo Yoshino led a group of nineteen Hiratsuka delegates to Lawrence to further the sister city relationship. They had a full schedule of meetings.
November 1991
Mayor Bob Walters, City Manager Mike Wildgen, Chamber of Commerce Director Gary Toebben, and several Lawrence businessmen conferred with city officials at the HIratsuka Industrial Fair.
May 1992
Twelve University of Kansas students, accompanied by professor Fumiko Yamamoto, studied Japanese language, culture, and business at KU-East.
With support from a Fulbright grant to the University of Kanas School of Education, twelve educators from KU, Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City, KS public schools took part in an in-depth study of Japanese education. This program resulted from the KU deans’ trip last fall.
September 1992
Tim Shaftel, business professor at KU spent the fall semester at Kanagawa University doing research and visiting Japanese business firms with KU ties.
November 1992
A law professor from Kanagawa University and two social service professionals came to Lawrence to learn more about facilities for the aged.
Shonan Cable Network (Hiratsuka) and Sunflower Cable TV (Lawrence) exchanged programs: “Hiratsuka TV” and “Silhouettes.”
June 1993
Seventeen University of Kansas students attended a Summer Institute at Kanagawa University enrolled in business, language, and culture studies. The institute is coordinated by G. Cameron Hurst and Elaine Gerbert.
Seventeen students, four teachers, and other adults spent a busy week in HIratsuka and its environs on the youth exchange.
August 1993
Sixteen students and three adults enjoyed a successful homestay visit to Lawrence.
October 1993
Five city councilmen from Hiratsuka enjoyed a brief visit to Lawrence.
October 1993
Five elementary and junior high school teachers came to learn about American curriculum, teaching techniques, and teacher-student relationships in Lawrence schools.
An exhibit at the Lawrence Public Library consisted of 79 photographs by Hiratsuka photographer Mr. Hideo Suzuki, as well as crafts and toys on loan from Lawrence exchange students. The photographer and his wife attended the opening reception. The exhibit was facilitated by the Lawrence Photo Alliance.
April 1994
The Shonanza Puppet Theater of Hiratsuka presented a noon demonstration for school children and an evening performance for the public. Events were cosponsored by the University of Kansas.
July 1994
Nineteen students and six adults from Lawrence participated in the youth exchange. Their 8-day stay included attending school, a soccer game, visiting cultural sites, and Mt. Fuji.
Lawrence Mayor Jo Anderson and her husband visited city officials.
August 1994
Sixteen students and three adults from Hiratsuka participated in the youth exchange. They enjoyed Lawrence homestays and a variety of activities.
November 1994
Douglas County Senator Sandy Praeger led 12 midwestern legislators on a study tour to Japan. The purpose was to study details of their health care system. The Hiratsuka City Council hosted the delegation for an afternoon and evening, which included visiting a long-term care facility and the local hospital and hospital staff. The evening included a traditional dinner in a 300-year-old farmhouse. The visit was a highlight of the trip due to the wonderful hospitality shown by the Hiratsuka hosts.
1995
The year began with election of a new Friends-of-Hiratsuka board which included both new and returning members.
Presidents - Mickey and Berta Woolard; Vice-Presidents for Student Exchange - Al and Sue Hack; Vice-President for Communication - Etsuko Kuribayashi; Vice-President for Cultural Exchange - Andrew Tsubaki; Vice Presidents for Membership - Randy and Linda Swain; and Secretary - Shirley Sicilian.
March 1995
Kanagawa University (Hiratsuka & Yokohama) sent eighteen students for a five-week exchange to the University of Kansas.
June 3, 1995
Del and Carol Shankel, George Woodyard, and Fred Conboy met the newly elected mayor, Itsuo Yoshino, and other city and Kanagawa University officials in Hiratsuka. The mayor announced plans to visit Lawrence in the fall. The Lawrencians attended a prefectural Soroptimist Club dinner. In Tokyo they met with enthusiastic Kansas University students studying at Kanagawa University for six weeks on the university exchange.
June 1995
Fourteen junior high school students, accompanied by the Mickey and Berta Woolard and John and Carol Dobbins families visited Hiratsuka for the annual exchange. They toured junior and senior high schools and a chocolate factory. They enjoyed badminton, rope jumping, and fireworks with Hiratsuka Youth culture Circle. During their 8-day stay, they had 3-day stays in private homes.
Summer 1995
Leaders of the youth exchanges met in Lawrence. Two families from Hiratsuka, the Hosonos and the Ozawas were hosted by Al and Sue Hack, Jahn and Carol Dobbins, and Mickey and Berta Woolard of Lawrence. The ten of them had been involved in youth exchanges the past few years and enjoyed the opportunity to discuss issues concerning those programs.
The Curator of the Hiratsuka Museum, Hideyuki Morita, came to Lawrence with his wife and son to meet John Teramoto, curator of the Asian Art collection at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas. Ted and Jane Kuwana escorted the Morita family to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
October 1995
Hiratsuka Mayor Yoshino and Mrs Yoshino,, Mr Kato, chairperson of the Municipal Assembly and Mrs Kato, Mr. Matsukami, President of the Chamber of Commerce and his daughter, Mr. Tomita, Director of Planning, and Mr. Inoue, the Chief Secretary visited to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the founding of our sister city relationship. The delegation toured Lawrence, the KU campus, Packer Plastics, USD 497 public schools. They met with the Rotary Club, the City Commission and the Kansa City area Counsel General of Japan. A tree-planting ceremony added five cherry trees to Watson Park. The delegation presented a gift of $5000 to help create a Japanese garden in Lawrence.
October 1995
The city of Hiratsuka initiated a Friends of Lawrence group; it is primarily volunteer with some city input. They immediately recruited 200+ members! They enthusiastically began planning to send a delegation to Lawrence in the coming year.
1996
May 1996
Yoshiki Suzuki, 25 years old, accountant intern for the city of Hiratsuka, began a year in Lawrence. He attended classes at the University of Kansas, lived in McCollum Hall, and interned with the City of Lawrence. He investigated topics such as the role of volunteers in social welfare agencies and helped welcome other Japanese guests to Lawrence.
July 1996
Twenty-one junior and senior high school students traveled to Hiratsuka on the youth exchange. They were accompanied by four adult chaperones: Russel Blackbird, Kathy Stuntz, and Gary and Karen Vespestad.
August 1996
Twenty-five Hiratsuka students made a seven-day visit to Lawrence on the sixth annual youth exchange and were hosted by families here.
October 1996
A delegation of 43 people from Hiratsuka visited Lawrence, 29 of whom were members of the Tanabata Taiko drummers. They performed at the Lied Center and the Riverfront Mall and were joined by the drummers and singers from Haskell University at the Homestay Potluck. What a delightful exchange of cultures!
October 1996
To find quilt friends in Lawrence, a quilter in Hiratsuka made “Hiratsuka Quilt” and presented it to Friends of Hiratsuka. She also gave them a set of Japanese fabric pieces to be given to Lawrence quilters, to promote a cultural exchange. Carol Shankel contacted the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild, which developed interest in collaborative projects
May 1997
Kenichi Arai, student/intern of Hiratsuka arrived for a one-year internship for the city while studying environmental studies at the University of Kansas.
July 1997
Eighteen students and five local educators, Ted and Judy Juneau, Harley and Janet Broers, and Trish Bransky, visited Hiratsuka for ten days.
August 1997
Friends of Hiratsuka hosted an exchange visit of twenty Japanese students.
Traveling Quilt Show
Carol Shankel served as ‘liaison’ between a Hiratsuka quilt group, the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild, and Friends of Hiratsuka. The Hiratsuka quilt group sent a packet of Japanese fabric to the Kaw Valley quilters to foster a collaborative project. A quilt by Yuko Terai was displayed at the Lawrence Arts Center in the summer and at Watkins Museum in October.
October 1997
Four teachers from Hiratsuka enjoyed a 5-day visit to the Lawrence community and schools.
June 1998
Twenty Lawrence junior and senior high students traveled to Hiratsuka for a 10-day visit. Activities included planting rice, exploring traditional food, dance, crafts, and a tea ceremony. Lawrence educators accompanying the students were Sue Hack, Karen Cochran, Lisa and Jeff Harkin, Andy Woolard, and Al Hack.
July 1998
Lawrence hosted 20 junior and senior high students and three adults from Hiratsuka for 10-day homestays into early August.
September 1998
The Friends of Lawrence Quilt Circle created Tanabata Festival quilt, commemorating the annual decorative lantern festival for which Hiratsuka is famous. City staff wear Tanabata shirts as their uniform during the July festival. The design changes every 5 years. They collected six different designs to make a picture quilt. After being displayed at the festival, the quilt was sent to Lawrence to display in Watkins Museum.
October 1998
Friends of Hiratsuka participated for the first time in the Japanese Festival of Greater Kansas City, held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. FoH solicited donations from citizens of Hiratsuka to display and sell. More than 1,000 items were donated.
October 1998
Four elementary and junior high teachers from Hiratsuka visited Lawrence. They got acquainted with Lawrence over the weekend and visited schools for two days. They also enjoyed spending a day in Kansas City and took in the Japanese Festival.
March 1999
After visiting several potential locations and discussing the merits of each, a site was chosen for a new Hiratsuka/Lawrence Friendship Garden. It will be located in Watkins Park on the north side of Watkins Museum, 11th and Massachusetts streets. Hiratsuka gave Lawrence $5000 in “seed money” which was matched by the Lawrence City Commission.
March 1999
Three quilts from the Hiratsuka quilt group were displayed at the Lawrence Public Library Auditorium as part of an ongoing project involving Hiratsuka Quilt Circle, Kaw Valley Quilters Guild, and Friends of Hiratsuka.
May 1999
Momoko Munakata arrived as the fourth city student/intern from Hiratsuka. She visited elementary classes to talk about Japan and completed social work and education classes at the University of Kansas in the fall. During the spring semester (2000) she worked in special education classes at elementary and junior high schools in Lawrence.
June 1999
The 9th youth exchange sent 24 Lawrence students and their chaperones to Japan. Activities continue to provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences: attending school and after-school clubs, visiting the island of Enoshima, visiting shrines and Buddhist temples in Kamakura, learning crafts and dances at the Hiratsuka International Exchange Association (HIEA) and a tea ceremony dressed in kimonos. Homestays over a weekend laid the foundation for many friendships.
July 1999
Twenty youth from Hiratsuka were hosted by last year’s Lawrence participants in the youth exchange. They visited the state capitol, the Kansas Museum of History, the University of Kansas, and Worlds of Fun. The mayor, the vice mayor, a commissioner, a firefighter and two policemen welcomed them to city hall.
September 1999
Seven members of the Friends of Lawrence Quilt Circle received a warm welcome from Friends of Lawrence. They were feted by Kaw Valley Quilt Guild at a potluck dinner and were honored guests at the opening reception of the Guild’s annual quilt show at Watkins Community Museum.
2000
June 2000
A delegation from Lawrence traveled to Hiratsuka to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the sister city agreement. The visit was scheduled to coincide with Hiratsuka’s lantern festival, which annually attracts 3.5 million people. The delegation was led by Jim Henry, mayor, and Mickey and Berta Woolard, co-chairs of Friends of Hiratsuka.
Taiko drummers performed at the 10th anniversary reception in Hiratsuka.
September 2000
Approximately 50 delegates from Hiratsuka traveled to Lawrence to celebrate the 10th anniversary. The 5-day visit was packed with events and tours.
A welcome reception was held at Haskell University hosted by Karen Swisher, HINU President, and Haskell ambassadors. The welcome was extended to Hiratsuka Mayor Yoshino (left) by Lawrence Mayor Jim Henry (center), interpreted by Andrew Tsubaki (right).
September 2000
The new Japanese Friendship Garden in the pocket park next to Watkins Community Museum was dedicated.
In 1995, the City of Hiratsuka, presented a gift of $5,000 to the City of Lawrence in recognition of their five year anniversary. The City of Lawrence matched that amount, and over $15,000 of additional funds were raised by volunteers, partially via an event called the “Sister City Garden Gala.”
Hiratsuka City representatives, local committee members including Faye Watson and Andrew Tsubaki many other volunteers met with the city Parks and Recreation Department staff to help design, plan and develop the garden. The City of Hiratsuka shipped two major pieces from Japan, a lantern and a 15′ stone tower to ornament the garden. Further details are available here.
September 2000
The 10th Anniversary Party at the Holidome included performances by the Haskell dancers.
September 2000
To commemorate the 10th anniversary, a “Friendship Quilt” was completed by the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild and Friends of Lawrence Quilt Circle members. KVQG had provided patterns symbolizing Kansas; similarly styled patterns were created for Japan. Both groups helped complete pieces from the patterns; blocks were assembled and quilting completed by the Quilt Circle in Hiratsuka.
2000
Rebecca May created a scrapbook of the first 10 years of the Hiratsuka Sister City relationship (1990-2000) for her Girl Scout (Troop 459) Gold Award project. It includes photos, news articles, and programs describing events that have been integral to the partnership. She presented it to the Sister Cities Advisory Board.
2001
July 2001
Taishi Takanashi spent one year as a student intern in Lawrence (ending in May of 2002). He interned in the City of Lawrence Human Resources Department focusing on diversity training of city employees and ways to support visitors from Japan. Upon his return home he was assigned to the Domestic and International Friendship Exchange section of the City of Hiratsuka, responsible for sister city programming.
September 2001
The Taiko Drum group of Kanagawa School of Deaf, Hiratsuka, was scheduled to participate in the Japan Festival for Greater Kansas City on September 15. Friends-of-Hiratsuka had planned to host them in Lawrence, arranged visits to the Lawrence schools and the University of Kansas, and a performance at the Lied Center. Four girls, four boys, and three teachers flew as far as Vancouver, Canada, then were delayed five days due to the tragic attacks on September 11. They were forced to return to Japan. The Festival was postponed until March 2002, but the Hiratsuka group could not travel at that time. All plans were put on hold indefinitely.
August 2002
Lieutenant Takeihiro Suzuki from the Hiratsuka Fire Department came to train with Lawrence/Douglas County Fire and Medical Department. His goal was to become familiarized with equipment and techniques used in American fire fighting.
2011
July 2011
Eighteen Hiratsuka students were introduced to Lawrence during the latest sister cities exchange. The Lawrence Journal-World reported on August 3.
photo - Lawrence Journal-World, 8.3.2011
2019
July 2019
The Lawrence Youth Exchange delegation of 19 students and 2 chaperones traveled from Lawrence to Hiratsuka on June 27-July 7. Participants were: Henry Adams, Hamidat Asuku, Ella Barkley, Josephine Dee, Olivia Goeser, Hayden Houts, Maya Huang, Giuliano Lule-Paredes, Arbor Mulligan, Tess Nichols, Karsyn Robertson, Lilly Schmitz, Ben Skillman, Helena Stafford, Andrea Trevino-Maack, Paige Unekis, Evan White, Sophie Wirth, and Trevor Yates. Chaperones were Dave Cornelius and Heather Madgwick .
Eating with chopsticks takes some practice, but everyone gets comfortable with it eventually.
July 2019
A delegation of 15 students and 3 chaperones traveled from Hiratsuka to Lawrence on July 25-August 4. Participants were: Saena Iriyoshi, Chiharu Kawabata, Anzu Kikuchi, Yuka Kurosaki, Komi Sasao, Yuki Takeda, Serina Hasumi, Marine Hatcho, Kokoro Suto, Hiyori Takahashi, Sawa Yasuike, Mitsuki Gotou, Sunao Suzuki, Ginnosuke Terado, and Ryo Hotta. Chaperones were Kenichi Arai, Shotaro Okuma, and Ayame Hashimoto.
Hiratsuka Youth Exchange members were given an up-close look at Lawrence-Douglas County fire-fighting equipment at the Union Pacific Depot.
October 2019
A letter to Hiratusuka from Mayor Larsen expresses concern after a typhoon hit Japan.
September 2020
The city issued a proclamation commemorating this 30th anniversary of the agreement with Hiratsuka. On September 21, 1990, Lawrence Mayor Shirley Martin-Smith and Hiratsuka Mayor Kyoichi Ishikawa signed the enduring agreement which has resulted in numerous exchanges of students and adults between the 2 cities for 30 years.
December 2020
The Hiratsuka Mayor sent greetings to Lawrence.
2022
January
Posters of the Japanese Friendship garden, built on the north side of Watkins Museum in a collaboration between the city of Lawrence and the Friends of Hiratsuka committee of Sister Cities Lawrence are for sale from Parks & Green Spaces.com. The artist is Torren Thomas.
The Parks and Green Spaces art project evolved out of feature articles written by Mary R. Gage for Lawrence Magazine and Topeka Magazine, published by Sunflower Publishing. Project director Mary Gage asked local artists to celebrate outdoor public spaces in Kansas. Artists create contemporary artworks in the distinctive style of the WPA Federal Art Project National Park travel posters from the 1930s and 40s. These vivid new artworks … inspire the community to visit, experience, treasure and explore their local parks and green spaces. The Japanese Friendship garden, is one of eight posters included in the “Douglas County Series”. The artwork also serves as the cover of the 2022 Douglas County Newcomers Guide.
April
The Sister Cities Lawrence governing board bought the poster described above and sent it to Friends of Lawrence in Hiratsuka. It was immediately added to the display in the Sister City Lawrence’s room there in city hall.
Friends of Lawrence in Hiratsuka chose new officers. Hiroko Matsui was elected chair and Nobuo Hasegawa vice chair at their meeting on Monday, April 18. Both have been active in the sister city program for many years. Ms. Matsui has visited Lawrence 4 times; Mr. Hasegawa has visited here 3 times. (This news was posted by Yoshimi Tomita on the Facebook page “Lawrence Sister Cities Hiratsuka Site” on that date.)
April 24
Two years of the Covid-19 Pandemic have made normal sister cities exchanges and celebrations between Lawrence, Kansas, USA and Hiratsuka, Japan impossible. On Sunday evening, April 24, (actually Monday morning in Japan), a Zoom meeting was held between Lawrence Sister Cities “Friends of Hiratsuka” committee members and our contacts in Hiratsuka. The purpose of the ZOOM meeting was to discuss and plan for the 30th Hiratsuka/Lawrence ZOOM celebration, which has been postponed since 2020. Additional discussion focused on 2022 and 2023 student exchange trips.
Participants were James Hilliard, FOH chair; Hiratsuka City Youth Section Leaders and members of HIEA (Hiratsuka International Exchange Association); and Friends of Lawrence officers.
October 21
After a two-year delay because of the Covid pandemic, the 30th Anniversary of Lawrence and Hiratsuka becoming sister cities took place virtually on Sunday, October 21 at 7 p.m. in Kansas and Monday, October 22 in Japan. Co-hosts on Zoom were James Hilliard, chairman of Friends-of-Hiratsuka in Lawrence, and Hiratsuka’s section manager of Culture and Exchanges. Interpreters assisted at both locations. Read more.
November
“With Kansas Elections Approaching Fast I Searched for Peace in this Tranquil Hideaway”, by Clay Wirestone, Kansas Reflector, Nov. 7, 2022, opinion piece.