West Bloomfield Library Hosts Japanese Mayor

For winning the National Medal last year, the got a visit from an international friend. Yasuhiko Kado, the mayor of Awaji City, Japan, was part of 10-person delegation of Japanese dignitaries representing the Awaji City Higashiura Public Library that was honored at the library Wednesday.

“(Kado) helped me and this library get our , because we quoted him in a letter he wrote us about the importance of cultural awareness and cultural sharing, and that was one of the questions that we had to answer in the nomination process,” Director Clara Bohrer said at a reception in the library to about 50 in attendance. “We are very fortunate.”

Kado joked that he had prepared a speech in English, but abandoned it in favor of speaking in Japanese to benefit students who were in attendance and spoke at the event as well. Kado said he was very appreciative of the opportunity to visit the West Bloomfield library, as well as other landmarks including and the

“We have been continuously exchanging goodwill for a long time,” Kado said through an interpreter. “We are not as powerful as you are, however, we have a gentle heart and a peaceful heart.”

The Awaji City Higashiura Public Library was paired with the West Bloomfield Public Library in 1999 as part of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Informational Science’s Sister Libraries program. As part of the program, the two libraries exchange quite a bit of information and hospitality, Bohrer said, including sending letters written by children from the communities to each other and Awaji City hosting her during a visit in 2002.

“Based on this good foundation, I think that more people from Japan and West Bloomfield try to learn more about mutual relations than they would otherwise,” said Kuninori Matsuda, the Consul-General of Japan who works in Detroit. “I hope that some of the younger generations are more interested in studying Japanese-American relations, especially in the field of business.”

Sylvester Griffin, a member of the Japanese Club who spoke in Japanese at the reception, said he was excited for the opportunity to speak with natives of Japan in a language he is studying at school. “I was mostly telling them about what I like to do at the library — rent video games and eat. It was nerve-racking, but fun,” said Griffin, who added he would like to study Japanese-American business relations.

WBHS AP Japanese language teacher Joe Nagashima said the visit represented a great learning opportunity for his six students in attendance. “In Japanese culture, you have to change the way that you speak to be more polite with people who are older or have a higher social status than you, whereas much of the speech they do in class is casual. So, this is a formal tone with leaders and dignitaries,” he said.

Others in attendance included members of the library’s bilingual book club. West Bloomfield resident Nikky Kumakura said that although she will return to Japan next year as part of a family working situation, she appreciated the opportunity to learn English at a library that has a close relationship with her homeland.

“It’s a good opportunity to us to learn about what’s happening in our sister city,” Miyata said. “It’s good for us to learn from people we know.”