By Paula Scott
This week Bluffton High School welcomed University of Findlay professor Hiroaki Kawamura and 2022-23 Ohio Saitama University Scholarship recipient Yuki Miyahara to meet with students and the school board to introduce the community to a new partnership between the high school and Ogawa High School in Japan.
At the March 20 school board meeting, school superintendent Greg Denecker thanked Kawamura for inviting the Bluffton Exempted Village Schools to create a new relationship with the Japanese high school and its students. Some 24 Bluffton High School students have signed up to participate.
At the meeting, Miyahara made a presentation about Saitama Prefecture, the region where Ogawa High School is located. She is currently a student at the University of Findlay with a major in Religious Studies and interests in calligraphy and learning languages.
Miyahara compared Saitama prefecture to Ohio, pointing out that the population of 7.32 million is three-fifths the population of Ohio–this number resides in an area about one-thirtieth of the area of Ohio. Among other details, Saitama is known for being the #1 producer of ice cream in the country and for producing one of Japan’s best green teas. It has the largest watershed area in Japan (161 rivers), and hosted several events for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, as well as the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Ogawa Township is known for handmade Hosokawa-shi paper and sake (rice wine) brewing. Both products benefit from the excellent and abundant water in the township.
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There has been a connection between Ohio and Saitama since 1985. The Ohio-Saitama University Scholarship Program has brought 69 students to Ohio from Japan. In 2018 Findlay and Kawaguchi City officially became friendship cities.
Next, Kawamura explained that in 2020 they began to explore how the exchange program could be expanded to include K-12 education. This year Bluffton became one of three Ohio high schools taking part in this new phase.
He introduced the audience to Ogawa High School, providing photographs and information about his recent visit there. The school has 560 daytime students and 40 evening students. Kawamura brought Bluffton Pirate items to the school, including t-shirts and a YouTube video of 2020 Bluffton graduation celebrations–the wild celebrations made the Japanese students laugh. He noted that you could probably hear a pin drop during Ogawa graduation ceremonies.
Kawamura showed photos of Ogawa teachers and students with their Pirate spirit wear. He commented that he was very impressed by the enthusiasm of the five English teachers who were part of the visit. Explaining that he isn’t a city person, the professor said he enjoyed the surroundings of the school, including rice paddies, mountains and blooming plum trees. Kawamura concluded that when you have great students and teachers who are excited about the program, something good is bound to happen.
Just that day, Kawamura had met with three Bluffton High School students and asked them if they had ever met a Japanese person before. All said no. The experience reinforced his belief that this will be a very important experience for all involved.
