Kanreki: Celebrating 60 Years of Boston-Kyoto Partnership
In 2019, the City of Boston and the City of Kyoto, Japan will mark 60 years as Sister Cities.
What is kanreki?
In Japan, 60 is a significant number. According to tradition, a person turning 60 has gone through the years of the Chinese zodiac five times and returned to his or her birth zodiac. This is seen as a rebirth (kanreki).
Therefore, our two cities are planning a series of events throughout 2019 in order to signify this rebirth of partnership and collaboration.
Events
EventsSister City History
Kyoto became Boston's first Sister City in 1959.
The two cities have in common a great wealth of history, education, culture, commerce, and strong neighborhood identities.
In 1979, the City of Kyoto gifted the Boston Children's Museum a "Japanese House Exhibit" in honor of the two cities' 20th Sister City Anniversary. It was brought to the United States piece by piece and rebuilt at Boston Children’s Museum, where it still stands today.
Recently, Mayor Walsh hosted students from Horikawa High School in Kyoto who make an annual visit to Boston on a school trip.
