The partnership Tilburg Minamiashigara

The partnership Tilburg Minamiashigara started in 1989. The partnership is realized by the Vereniging (or Association) Tilburg Minamiashigara (VTM) in Tilburg en its sister assocation in Minamiashigara. The City of Tilburg supports the association with a yearly appreciation subsidy.

The occasion of the partnership was the arrival of Fuji Photo Film in Tilburg. The first preliminary contacts between both cities started in 1985. Requested by the former Mayor of Tilburg, Henk  Letschert, the Director of the Fuji production compound in Tilburg, Kenzo Tatsuuma, surveyed Minamiashigara on its interests in establishing friendly ties with Tilburg. The Japanese response was positive.

The partnership evolves

In 1988 the first delegation from Minamiashigara comes to our city. Both parties are very positive about the encounter and soon hereafter the decision is made to start an official city paprtnership. In 1989 a delegation, headed by Mayor Gerrit Brokx and the later first chair of VTM Jan Melis from Tilburg, makes a counter visit. On Sunday, June 10, 1989, during this visit both mayors, Brokx and Ando, sign the official papers of the partnership treaty in a formal and festive meeting in the city auditorium in Minamiashigara. The offical city partnership Tilburg Minamiashigara is a fact. Since than numerous exchange programmes, delegations from and to Japan and other activities are taking place withing the framework of the partnership Tilburg Minamiashigara.

Aim of this partnership is to advance friendship and mutual understanding between both cities and contribute to the well-being and welfare of its citizens by a regular exchange on the fields of education, culture, sports, ecology, and corporate business. With this, we believe, the ties between the Netherlands and Japan will be strengthened. We aim to attain our goals by organizing exchange vistis, organizing local activities and supporting other activities focused on enhancing the konowledge about Japan.

Beyond the delegation, several personal friendships have evolved in the course of time leading to structural private visits here and forth, in the past and up to this date.

The city Minamiashigara is located in the East of Japan, about 100 kilometers from Tokyo, near Mount Fuji, and has about 40.000 inhabtants. One can get there most easy by taking the Shinkansen (high speed train) in Tokyo to Odawara. When in luck, half-way, you may see Mount Fuji to the right in the distance. Usually, especially in summer, this mountain is invisible because of clouds. In Odawara one can change to a local train on the Daiyuzan line, that connects Odawara with Minamiashigara, the end of the line. The distnace is only 10 kmilometers. This part of the trip takes about 25 minutes. This train trip allows one to get a good first impression of the hilly landscape. Likewise to most places in Japan, the inhabitated areas are densily populated. Still, this does not prevent Minamiashigara to have lots of surrounding space, including mountains and marveluous forests. The very beautiful National Park Hakone is closeby.

Japan is familiar with the story of the boy "Kintaro" who was raised by a bear. Legend has it that this symbol of irrestructable youth is from Minamiashigara district. In town they celebrate the Kintaro Festival. Arriving by train in Minamiashigara, almost the first thing you see when leaving the station is Kintaro sitting on the back of a giant bear.

Minamiashigara is a modern city with a large mall at the station that, as is found all over Japan, is forming an inseparable and integral whole with the station.

In 2003 the Board of VTM compiles a policy plan in close cooperation with the City of Tilburg. This policy plan is the basis for activities in the future. Organizations and associations in Tilburg are explicitely involved in advancing the broadening of activities focused on Japan. In this process the VTM plays a facilitating and supporting role. In 2006 the Board decides, again in consultation with the City of Tilburg, to more strongly build policies based on these points of departure. The activities of the association concentrate on two tracks. The first track has the partnership with Minamiashigara as its basis and is aimed at developing activities that allow citizens of Tilburg and Minamiashigara to meet one another and each one's culture.

The second track concentrates on sending delegations on the basis of a theme directly aimed at exchanging and enhancing knowledge. The delegations will expand their focus beyond both cities.The key starting point of the choice of themes is that the themes have relevance for the City of Tilburg. In 2005 a start with this second track was made by organizing an exchange on the theme of elderly care. In 2006 a counter visit from Japan was welcomed on the same theme.  

Besides sending delegations, the association organizes members' evenings once or more a year. A fixed part of these association members' evenings is a members' meeting. The core aim of these evenings, however, is for members to keep in contact with other members. Also, an activity focused on Japan and Japanese culture is part of these events. All members have some relationship with Japan: they have been there or are interested in Japanese society. In the past, lectures - among other things - have been organized on the history of Japanese gardens, on the distinctive styles that have emerged during the course of centuries, on Deshima, the island of the coast of Nagasaki from where the Dutch traded with the Japanese for centuries.

During these members' evenings central attention is given to the delegation coming to Tilburg or going to Minamiashigara and to the theme of the respective delegations.

Since 1997 our associtation publishes a News Letter for its members. 

Since 2000 our association has a website www.tilburgjapan.nl. The website was unavailable for a short period, but is back and up to date again.

The Board Members of our sister association in Japan, with VTM Board Members, May 2007

MSCA News Letters
(with translation)

"Vereniging blad No 9, augustus 2007"

Furthermore...

Throughout the year our association organizes activities that in some way relate to Japan, such as Japanese cooking lessons, Japanese language and culture courses, etc. Accompanying the welcoming of delegations, it also organizes several activities. In 2005, for instance, the Japanese photopgrapher Mr. Nanba, with the support of VTM, exhibited pictures in the public library Koningsplein of the Korakuen garden in Okayama.