Santa Rosa - Kagoshima Student Exchange Program

(January, 2009)

In the Bicentennial year 1976, Santa RosaJunior College published several booklets about local history. One was "The Baron of Fountaingrove" by Gaye LeBaron. It told the unusual story of Kanaye Nagasawa, a Japanese Samurai from Kagoshima who once owned Fountaingrove Ranch, and built the Round Barn.

That year we moved to Santa Rosa from Berkeley where we had been very active in the Berkeley-Sakai Sister City Association and the Saki-Berkeley Student Exchange. The relationship between those cities came about when Mayors met at an international conference. With the booklet, we learned that Santa Rosa and Kagoshima have an historic tie - Nagasawa.

That same year, Sakai student Masaki Harima was here visiting universities to determine where to study for his Masters Degree. We gave him a copy of the Nagasawa booklet and asked that he look for more information when he went home. He wrote that the Sakai library had no information.

Masaki got his first job and it was with Suntory Distillery IN KAGOSHIMA! He remembered our request and visited the library. The librarian knew Professor Akira Kodota, the Nagasawa scholar in Japan. Kadota's book, "Satsuma no Gunzo", is the story of Nagasawa and fourteen students who were sent to England by the Daimyo of Satsuma (Kagoshima). We corresponded with Professor Kadota, and in 1979 he came to Santa Rosa, visited Fountaingrove and met people who had known Nagasawa.

We agreed that a relationship between our cities should exist. In 1983 with the cooperation of friends, Professor Kadota formed the FSRA, Friends of Santa Rosa Association, and we formed the FKA, Friends of Kagoshima Association. Durring the next four years FKA members were pleased to welcome Kagoshima visitors, including two City Mayors and the Prefecture Governor.

Professor Kadota learned that in 1966 the Southern Japan Broadcasting Company (MBC) began a High School Exchange program. Students were hosted in Athens, GA., Plymouth, MI. and Shenandoah, Iowa. Kadota convinced MBC to add Santa Rosa to the itinerary because of its historic tie with Kagoshima. Students were hosted by Santa Rosa families every August from 1980 to 1985 when MBC ended the program.

Rotarian Dan Lambert's family had hosted MBC students. He felt the Student Exchange should continue. In 1987 he convinced the Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary Club to sponsor the first Santa Rosa Kagoshima Student Exchange Program - SRKSEP. Six students and 2 chaperones traveled for one week in Japan. En rout to Kagoshima, the Hiroshima Rotary Club hosted them for a night. Members of the West Kagoshima Rotary Club hosted them for a week. The following year, the West Kagoshima Rotary Club sponsored SRKSEP '88. Fifteen students and 2 chaperones traveled for one week en route to Santa Rosa, where they were hosted for a week by members of Sunrise Rotary and the FKA. FKA and FSRA have helped financially. The program continued with Dan as SRKSEP Chairman, followed by Bob Scott, followed by Steve Amend, followed by Shauna Lorenzen.

This annual Exchange has given 113 Santa Rosa students and 20 chaperones - 118 Kagoshima students and 11 chaperones the opportunity to travel and live in another culture.

Exchanges such as these make a valuable contribution to World Peace. Many thanks to all for contributing to sponsor the Santa Rosa - Kagoshima Student Exchange Program.