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The Japan American Society in Dallas (JASD) formed the Dallas/Japan Sister Cities Committee andbegan the search for a Japanese sister city in 1991. The city of Sendai was quickly selected, and afterseveral visits on part of representatives from both cities, the agreement proceeded. Dallas and Sendaienjoyed a number of exchanges long before the International Sister Agreement was officially signedn 1996. There have been a number of business partnerships created between the two cities since 1991. For the past seven years, Dallas has sent a delegation to Sendai, Japan to participate in the city's Annual Half Marathon. The delegation typically includes a City Council member, two runners, and a representative from the Office of International Affairs, now Dallas Protocol. The most memorable event between these two cities was the "Sun and Star 1996" festival that introducedJapanese culture throughout major cities in Texas in which special arrangements were made for Dallas tosuccessfully organize. A Sendai citizen's delegation composed of 100 members visited Dallas late in thesummer to introduce Sendai's culture through the festival. Many local companies collaborated with theCity of Dallas in order to make the celebration spectacular. Most recognizable was the Dallas Museum ofArt (DMA). Developed collaboratively with the DMA, Mitchell's Fine Arts Day took advantage of Sunand Star 1996, North Texas Japanese art and culture festival that lasted for 100 days in the fall of 1996 Aprimary goal of this concerted effort was that all students from all grade levels at the school visited the'DMA s exhibition of Japan's Golden Age: Momoyama. The exhibit of artworks created during Japan'sMomoyama period (1568-1618) included ceramics, lacquer ware, painted screen and scrolls masked weaponry. The DMA was the only venue in the world for this monumental exhibition that included many Japanese National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.  For more information about the Dallas/Sendai Friendship City relationship or to become more involvedplease contact Anna McFarland at anna@jasdfw.org or Mark Berry at mark.berry@fnc.fujitsu.com. Explore the City of Sendai
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