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Monthly Meeting: Concord’s Sister City in Japan
February 16, 2020 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
THE CONCORD-NANAE CONNECTION
Sue Curtin, longtime resident and teacher in Concord, has been involved with this program for over 20 years and has taken over the leadership role of the Sister City program that her husband originally held.
THE CONCORD-NANAE CONNECTION started a long time ago. Soon after Admiral Perry opened the doors to Japan in the 1850’s, the new Emperor Meiji instituted a bold plan to westernize and modernize Japan, in part by relying on the expertise of “hired foreigners” (yatoi gaikokujin).
Many New Englanders were enlisted to help develop its northernmost island of Hokkaido, including Dr. William Clark, then President of Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts in Amherst). In 1876, Dr. Clark went to Hokkaido with three graduate students, including William Wheeler from Concord, to create Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University). Their primary mission was to introduce northern agriculture and dairy farming to the region.
The connections continue. Come hear how Concord and Massachusetts are keeping the relationship going and growing. Learn how the formal relationship has grown and what is anticipated for the coming years.