Although separated by the Pacific Ocean, Mendocino, California and Miasa, Japan have a close relationship spanning decades. Miasa, located in the Nagano Prefecture, sits about 150 miles northwest of Tokyo. In the 1980, Mendocino and Miasa became Sister Cities, a long-term partnership between two communities in different countries aimed at promoting cultural and commercial ties.
This relationship can be traced back to William “Bill” Zacha, founder of the Mendocino Art Center. In 1964, Bill and Jenny Zacha traveled to Japan, where Bill painted and met Toshi Yoshida, a woodblock artist. In 1971, Yoshida taught printmaking at the Mendocino Art Center, returning to Japan the following year to establish an art center in Miasa. The Bunka Center opened in 1979,
In 1980, the local governments of Mendocino and Miasa formalized the Sister City relationship. Miasa Mayor Takemoto Nakamura wrote to Norman de Vall, chair of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, on March 28, 1980. The letter informed de Vall that the Miasa Village Council unanimously approved a resolution to “establish an educational, cultural, social, and economic relationship with the Town of Mendocino, promote goodwill and understanding each other, and be known as Sister-Unincorporated townships.”
Later that year, a group from Miasa rode in a white convertible during Mendocino’s annual Fourth of July parade. A bright blue banner ran along the side of the car with “Mendocino Miasa Sister Cities” written in English and Japanese. The occupants waved the American and Japanese flags.
Two years later, a larger Japanese group traveled for the Independence day festivities, walking in the parade. During the visit, a Peace Plaque was unveiled on the Mendocino headlands, which read “Behold the sea… the citizens of Mendocino and Miasa, Japan dedicate this plaque to the peaceful pursuits of the peoples of the Pacific Basin and to the protection of its environment that all living things there-in may exist in perpetual harmony.” An identical plaque was placed at the Miasa School.
The Mendocino Sister Cities Association (MSCA) joined Sister Cities International in 1992 and became a nonprofit the following year. MSCA pioneered the “youth exchange” program, which organizes groups of students from Mendocino and Miasa to visit each location. The trips take place nearly every year, with the location switching between Mendocino and Miasa. Students stay with host families and tour local cultural and historical sites, in addition to participating in artistic projects.
In 2006, the township of Miasa was incorporated by Omachi. Miasa-Omachi is considered the new Sister City name.
Averee McNear is the curator at the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino, Calif.