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Sister
Cities:
Tosashimizu and
New Bedford/Fairhaven
A
magnet for Japanese visitors
The New Bedford/Fairhaven area is today an important destination
for tourists from Japan, who are attracted by the historic sites
related to the life of Manjiro Nakahama,
the first Japanese national known to have been educated in the
United States before he returned to Japan in the nineteenth century.
A family connection
When a whaling captain,William Whitfield, rescued a shipwrecked
boy from a bleak island off the coast of Japan and brought him
home to the New Bedford/Fairhaven area, he initiated an international
relationship between families and nations that has survived for
over 150 years.
After his American adventure, Manjiro returned to Japan where
he raised a family and worked as a translator, interpreter, and
teacher, as well as shipbuilder and whaler. After both Manjiro
and Capt. Whitfield died, their families continued to correspond.
A samurai sword on the Fourth of July: Dr. Toichiro Nakahama,
Manjiro's eldest son, presented an ancient samurai sword to Fairhaven
on July 4, 1918. A year later, the Japanese emperor honored Marcellus
P. Whitfield with the Sixth Order of the Rising Sun, in recognition
of his father's kindness to a Japanese subject.
A bicentennial visit
In May 1976, Manjiro's great-grandson visited the places where
his grandfather learned English, navigation, and the whaling trade.
Eleven years later, the Japanese Consul-General in Boston suggested
a formal sister city relationship between Tosashimizu, Manjiro's
birthplace, and New Bedford/Fairhaven.
An imperial visit
The then Crown Prince and Princess, now Emperor Akihito and Empress
Michiko, honored the new sister cities by visiting New Bedford/Fairhaven
on October 4, 1987. Among the speakers on that festive occasion
were the great- grandsons of Manjiro Nakahama and William Whitfield.
Cultural exchange: Today, the cities maintain ties through exchanges
of students and baseball teams, and participation in the bi-annual
Manjiro festival.
Other Sister Cities
Horta, Fayal, Azores and New Bedford; Povoacao, Saint Michael,
Azores and Dartmouth.
Visit The Portuguese
Connection for more information on these sister city relationships.
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