Translation of the article about the 20th anniversary of sister city affiliation in the City Bulletin, Issue 11/2005, page 2 Messkirch, Germany Congratulations to the 20th anniversary of sister city exchange To mark the twentieth year of sister city exchange which has continued since the times of the former town of Unoke, a ceremony for the 20th anniversary of sister city affiliation was held on October 2, 2005, in Messkirch, Germany. It was attended by a Kahoku delegation of 26 headed by Mayor Aburano. As the former town of Unoke and Messkirch are connected by being the birthplaces of Nishida Kitaro and Martin Heidegger, the signing of the sister city affiliation took place in May 1985 (Showa 60) in Messkirch. After that, exchanges were adopted with the youth exchange and the adult exchange at the center and mutual visits almost every year. In May 1995, the ceremony for the 10th anniversary of sister city affiliation was held in the former town of Unoke. After the formation of Kahoku, we invited Messkirch’s Mayor Zwick in May 2004 and conducted the reaffirmation of the sister city affiliation. And now the 20th anniversary of sister city affiliation ceremony is held. In the past 20 years, the number of visits to Messkirch including this visit totals 18, and the number of visits to Kahoku (respectively the former town of Unoke) totals 13. An estimated 500 people took part in the mutual visits, as a very intense exchange has developed. Unveiling ceremony of commemorative objects and attendance at the anniversary event The anniversary event was preceded by the unveiling ceremony of the commemorative objects. In the castle garden of Messkirch Castle, a commemorative stone plate and the Kotoji stone lantern that Kahoku presented were installed and unveiled. In the evening, the 20th anniversary of sister city affiliation ceremony was held. Mayor Aburano mentioned in his oration that he plans to advance future exchanges in various fields, and City Council Chairman Imura named the cultivation of international-minded human resources as one aim of the exchange. Mayor Zwick mentioned in his speech that the 20 years have been the correct choice and that he is happy that this relationship could be continued despite the city merger. A delegation including the mayor of the other sister city of Messkirch, Sassenage in France, also attended the anniversary event and greeted by saying he wanted to build friendly relations to Kahoku as well. From the coordinators of international relations of the former town of Unoke, Sonja, Anemone, Matthias und Dorothea also came to the venue and acted as interpreters while renewing old friendships. For entertainment, Michiko Kamai, Shinichi Sakamoto and Kimiyo Hata from Kahoku performed Japanese dances, and the Kreutzer Choir and others from Messkirch performed. It was a gorgeous ceremony. Cross-cultural exchange Other than attending the anniversary event, during their stay in Messkirch, the delegation overcame the language barrier and cultural differences by a 5-day home stay. Also, a friendly soccer match was organized, and at a tea ceremony held at the same time the Messkirch participants experienced Japanese culture over the way of tea under the guidance of Yuka Kato. Visiting the Heidegger Gymnasium In Japanese parlance, a Gymnasium is a combined junior and senior high school. In the German education system, one graduates from elementary school after four years (at the age of 10), and if one plans to advance to university in the future, one will attend a 9 year-long Gymnasium. If one isn’t planning to attend a university but only wishes mandatory education, one will proceed to a five year-long secondary school, and if one wants to learn special skills, one will attend a 6 year-long secondary or commercial school. On almost all days, school finishes in the morning. In the afternoons, the students conduct club or volunteer activities. Besides that, the independence of the students is much accounted for, and the senior students look a lot after junior students. If a problem arises, the school, student council and parent's association resolve the issue on equal footing. By the way, through graduation from Gymnasium (a national exam for university entrance), one can choose the university and the faculty one wants to attend. This is one big difference to Japanese universities. Through this visit, one could become aware of the differences to the Japanese education system and the Japanese way of thinking.