Sheboygan reaffirms connection with sister city Tsubame, Japan, with first visit in 13 years

SHEBOYGAN – The city will host a delegation from sister city Tsubame for the first time in 13 years at the start of August.

The seven-person delegation, visiting Sheboygan from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6, will participate in a tree-planting and will be formally acknowledged by Mayor Ryan Sorenson at the Aug. 5 Common Council meeting.

"We are honored to welcome our friends from Tsubame, Japan, as we celebrate 28 years of our Sister City partnership,” Sorenson said in a news release. “This visit marks a significant milestone in our relationship, and we are grateful for the opportunity to strengthen our cultural and social ties.”

The Mayor’s International Committee helped organize host families for the delegates.

“This hospitality is the cornerstone of our cultural exchange, strengthening the bonds between our communities,” a news release said.

Tsubame delegation includes seven people

The delegation will include four students and three chaperones. Here’s who is part of the group:

• Masako Kobayashi
• Masaru Yoshizawa
• Yoichi Miyajima
• Ayuka Ohashi
• Hiyori Honda
• Yukari Shimizu
• Ryutaro Tanabe

Tree-planting ceremony near Peace Park will honor partnership

City staff and Friends of Peace Park will host a ceremonial tree-planting near Peace Park, on the west side of North Third Street from 1 to 2 p.m. Aug. 1.

Seven Halesia Carolina “U.Conn Wedding Bell” trees will be planted to honor the two cities’ “shared values and friendship while underscoring our commitment to a greener, more connected world,” according to a news release.

Development updates: Howards Grove schools, Wells Fargo, 52 Stafford: The latest on several Sheboygan County projects

Sheboygan and Tsubame sister city connection goes back nearly 30 years

The official partnership between the two cities began in 1996, though the first visit from Tsubame residents happened five years earlier when director of planning and finances for Tsubame Jiro Suzuki came with a nurse, rice farmer and engineer to visit Sheboygan with the goal for knowledge exchange, according to a Sheboygan Press clip.

In addition to touring Horace Mann Middle School and Kohler Company and meeting with former Mayor Richard Schneider, Suzuki met with his counterpart, Sheboygan’s development director Robert Peterson. The pair, according to the 1991 article, discussed similarities and differences in staffing, budgets, downtown nightlife and the size of available land for development.

“We people, by talking and breaking bread together, can do more for peace in the world than anything else,” Mayor Schneider previously said about the partnership.

Following that, delegations from both cities took turns visiting, and Sheboygan began a student exchange program. In a summer 1998 visit, the Tienko Drum Team performed at Fountain Park and participated in the Fourth of July parade.

Different artifacts and cultural tokens have been displayed at the Sheboygan County Museum and Mead Public Library in the past. The Mayor’s International Committee also allocated $2,500 in relief to support people living near Tsubame that were affected by a 2004 earthquake.

Get ready for 2024 Brat Days: Brat Days returns to Kiwanis Park in Sheboygan this weekend with a brat-eating contest, parade and more family fun.

Sheboygan Lutheran teacher fostered sister city connection

A Sheboygan Press clip greatly credits Gary St. Clair, a former Lutheran High School teacher, with fostering the connection with the Japanese community.

St. Clair lived in Tsubame from 1976 to 1980. He learned on a return trip in 1990 that one of his friends who worked in government was looking for a sister city. In a meeting with the mayor, St. Clair suggested Sheboygan. Talks about a partnership were delayed because of elections, but a letter received in 1995 showed an interest in rekindling the relationship.

St. Clair continued to take an interest in the sister city and Japanese culture.

He started a course at LHS called “Cultural Geography of Japan,” part of which he took 10 students on a tour of Wisconsin businesses in Japan. He fostered a student exchange program from 1992 to 1993.

LHS also formed a sister-school relationship with Meij Gakuin High School in Highashimurayama, Japan, near Tokyo.

Tsubame distinguished for metalworking

Tsubame is a city in Niigata Prefecture, similar to a state or province, on the northwest side of Japan. It has a population of about 77,300 people.

Though it doesn’t abut the Sea of Japan, Tsubame distinguished itself as a riverport community along the Shinano River and has become known for metalworking of cutlery and copperware.

Global connections also span to Esslingen, Germany

Sheboygan has been a sister city with Esslingen, Germany since 1967. The city was a sister city with Rivas, Nicaragua, from 1973 to 1979 before the Sandinista revolution.

Have a story tip? Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com . Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner .

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan reaffirms connection with sister city Tsubame, Japan, with first visit in 13 years