Located in East Yamanashi, approximately 50 kilometres from Kofu, is the small city of Tsuru. Sandwiched between the more well-known towns of Otsuki to the North-East, and Fujiyoshida to the West, Tsuru is surrounded by mountains and, typical of Yamanashi, is abundant in natural beauty. Two of the surrounding mountains, Mitsutoge Yama and Nijurokuya San, are renowned for the beauty of their flowers and are rated among the top hundred such mountains in Japan. The chosen flower of the city is the plum blossom, and plum wine and plum juice are among its specialities. Both of these can be sampled, along with other local delicacies, at the annual local produce festival, which was held in September this year. Until the early twentieth century Tsuru was famous for its production of Koshu textiles and although this undustry has greatly declined, the annual produce festival offers a great opportunity to step back in time and examine some of these beautiful products.

The etymology of the city's name has two roots. In Japanese, tsuru can be written , which means vines, and in this case was remincscent of the vines that grew at the foot of Mount Fuji. However, another character with the same reading is , or crane. This bird is noted in ancient Japanese literature for its long life, and cranes can still be found in the habitat surrounding Tsuru city. Whichever origin is correct, the name tsuru was chosen, written , when city-status was awarded to the area in 1954. Although Tsuru city is now on the eve of its fiftieth anniversary, the history of the region stretches back much further.

During the late Edo period, theTsuru area was a castle town under the Feudal Lord Akimoto of the Yamura clan. At this time, an annual festival was held on the first of September to pray for a bountiful harvest.Each of the four districts of the town would parade their mikoshi (portable shrine) and carry their festival wagons, decorated with beautiful embroideries, through the streets. Seated on the wagons, young people would play music to call for a good harvest. Another feature was the lively Daimyou-gyouretsu (Feudal Lord Porcession) This festival, called Hassaku, still takes place in the same manner on the first of September every year, and the festival wagons used all date back to the late Edo era.
In 1682, Matsuo Basho, one of Japan's most renowned Haiku poets, came to stay in Tsuru with a disciple of his after a fire forced him to leave Tokyo. One night during his stay, he was struck by the beauty of the moon's reflection in a lake, as it rose above the mountains, and was inspired to write a poem. In commeroration of this, Tsuru city has held an annual Haiku contest since 1992, which each year receives as many as 3,000 applications. The poet's name has also been immortalised in the naming of an onsen in Tsuru - Basho-TsukiMachinoFu.

However, Tsuru is far from being a city which sits on its heritage. In fact, for a city of its size it has a suprising number of activites and institutions aimed at enriching the lives of its citizens, and offering them international experiences and friendships.

Tsuru University opened in 1960, and was one of few universities offering four-year courses at that time. Today, out of a total city population of approximately 35,000 people, roughly one in twelve is a student of Tsuru University. As well as offering a broad range of courses, the university also has exchange links with Hunan Normal University, in China, and the University of California, in the United States.
While Tsuru University offers students a chance to experience life abroad, Tsuru city offers each one of its citizens a similar, life-enriching experience. In 1979, a cultural mission from the Hendersonville area of Tennessee in the US visited Tsuru as part of a trip to various Japanese towns, and performed at the municipal hall. The performers then spent one night with Japanese families in the area, and felt so welcomed they returned two years later. The sister-city relationship finally became official in 1983, when a delegation from Tsuru paid a return visit to Hendersonville.
Over the years, communication and exchange activities have been fostered by friendship committees on both sides. To date, three delegations of children's envoys have traveled from Tsuru to stay with families in Hendersonville; in 1991, the Principals of Beech High School and Henderson Highville School, in Hendersonville, and Katsura High School, in Tsuru, signed an agreement that began a high school exchange program to benefit students. In 2003, both cities celebrated twenty years of international friendship and cooperation.

Tsuru city website:
www.city.tsuru.yamanashi.jp (Japanese only)

by Ben Morris