SALEM — As Salem commemorates the 400th anniversary of its founding this year, it also celebrates another important milestone with the 35th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Ota, Japan.
Since 1991, over 3,100 Salem and Ota residents have traveled back and forth bridging cultures and forming lasting friendships between the two cities with annual visits, scholarship programs, art and gift exchanges, social events, and trips to popular landmarks. With Salem marking its 400th anniversary, Ota commemorating its 80th anniversary, and the two cities coming together to mark 35 years of cultural exchange, this year’s recent visit from Ota students was highly celebrated.
Over the nine-day trip, students from Ota met with Mayor Dominick Pangallo and city officials at Winter Island, toured the Salem Police and Fire Stations, sailed on the Ardelle schooner in Gloucester, toured the Peabody Essex and Salem Witch Museums, met Senator Joan Lovely and State Representative Manny Cruz for a tour of the Statehouse, and participated in the city’s Heritage Days Parade, giving them a chance to become immersed in the culture and history of the North Shore.
On their last day of activities on Sunday, students and their host families gathered at the Peabody Essex Museum to introduce Ota culture with presentations teaching Japanese schoolyard games and a traditional folk Obon dance, which host families and Peabody Essex Museum visitors had a chance to participate in. The presentations took place in the Peabody Essex Museum’s Morse Auditorium, named after Dr. Edward Sylvester Morse, the third executive director of the museum who planted the first seeds of the relationship between the two cities in 1877.
Morse traveled to Japan in 1877 to study brachiopods, contributing significantly to the field of Japanese archaeology and anthropology with his research. Morse would later be appointed the first Professor of Zoology at Tokyo Imperial University, writing extensively on Japanese culture and customs. His grave in Salem’s Harmony Grove cemetery remains a pilgrimage site for Japanese visitors, who traditionally lay wreaths there in his honor.
“Morse is the father of archeology in Japan,” Peter Dolan, Salem-Ota sister city coordinator said. “He also helped them extensively with marine science. Very few people in Salem know who he is, but his relationship with Ota goes back to the 1800s. In 1991, the Peabody Essex Museum and the Ota Folk Museum became sister museums, and later we became sister cities.”
Now, some 35 years later, organizers of the cultural exchange in Salem and Ota hope to continue growing the relationship by expanding offerings for the students and adults who travel to each city, and facilitating programming year-round.
“We want to engage in more ways,” Dolan said. “For instance, Ota Ward Assembly Chair, Takayuki Suzuki, was just here meeting with the consul general in Boston for Japan, Seiichiro Takahashi, discussing how we can get some Japanese companies to come to Salem and open up shop here. And we’re also looking at possibly bringing companies from Salem over to Ota. It’s only initial discussions, but we’re now delving into that area as well.”
Salem hosts like the Perez-Frye family said that the exchange program has been an exciting way to learn about Japanese culture that has inspired them to take the trip across the Pacific themselves.
“I have an only child, and when I started to hear about Ota I thought it would be a great opportunity,” said Janet Perez-Frye, who has hosted two students from Ota last year and this year. “It was an amazing experience for my son, and it was great to learn about the culture and language from two amazing boys.”
At the end of their visit, students from Ota shared presentations on different aspects of Japanese culture with their families.
“This morning, they shared their presentation about chopsticks,” Perez-Frye said. “That was amazing because I learned about how to hold them, what’s bad manners, their history, and we even got a demonstration with cup noodles about how to eat with them.”
Next week, Perez-Frye’s son Eli will travel to Ota and use the knowledge he learned from hosting exchange students to better immerse himself in Japanese culture.
“I’m really excited,” Eli Perez-Frye said. “I’m looking forward to just being in the culture and actually using the chopsticks for their food this time. I really want to see Mount Fuji and the Hiroshima Museum.”
At the Peabody Essex Museum on Sunday, the Ota students’ principal, Keiichi Sato, thanked host families and program organizers for their time in Salem.
“My students have had a wonderful time with their host families,” Sato said. “I am sure that this experience will be the first step toward making their dreams come true. Thank you so much for taking such good care of them. We will be leaving soon, but we will never forget your kindness. We all love you and your city. We hope to see you again some day.”
On Nov. 14, at the courtyard of the National Park Visitor Center and the flag poles of the Peabody Essex Museum, the 35th anniversary of the sister city relationship will be further celebrated with a flag raising, musical performance, and ceremony. The consul general of Japan, elected officials and staff from both cities, Peabody Essex Museum dignitaries, residents from Ota with their homestay families, and Salem Ota Cultural Exchange members will be in attendance. RSVPs are required by contacting Peter Dolan at otasalem@cs.com by Oct. 1.
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202