Our Stories

On Friday, March 13, your Fox Cities Performing Arts Center welcomes DRUM TAO, a thrilling, globe-trotting production of Japanese music and culture. Ahead of its visit, we spoke with Joette Bump, Special Projects Coordinator for Kanonji Appleton Partnership, or KAP. Since 1988, KAP has worked to introduce Appleton residents to the culture and language of our sister city, Kanonji, Japan. Joette’s answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Can you share a bit about your role on the KAP board and what drew you to the organization?

I’ve had many roles since I first got involved with KAP almost 20 years ago. I’ve hosted dozens of Kanonji students and adults during the summer exchange, been host family coordinator, done marketing and fundraising, community collaboration, served as President many years and now am special projects coordinator. I knew about the Appleton’s sister city relationship with Kanonji but did not get involved until after I returned from my job with the JET Program teaching English in Japan. 

How did KAP come to be, and what was the original vision behind its founding?

KAP was formed with the help of the late Mako Bice and her son Brian, who was attending high school in Appleton. Mako, who grew up in Japan, and her husband, Burt, owned the former Mako’s Japanese Restaurant. Brian and his aunt in Kanonji, Japan, researched and proposed the idea of a sister-city agreement between both cities. On Dec. 18, 1987, Mayors Dorothy Johnson and Yoshikazu Kato signed the Official Sister City Agreement, federally recognizing the new relationship between Appleton & Kanonji. 

Until 1998, mostly adults including physicians, lawyers, business professionals, teachers and local government employees participated in traveling to Kanonji. In 1998, the Appleton Boychoir was invited to Kanonji to sing. In the summer of 1999, a group of students from Kanonji arrived in Appleton to do a home stay with members of the Appleton Boychoir and other volunteer host families. Since then, KAP has held a 2 week summer exchange where students and adults from both cities are able to homestay with families in their sister city.  As our agreement states, the original vision was to cultivate cultural interchange and economic cooperation by furthering international relations and develop mutual understanding via cultural and economic exchange.  

KAP focuses on cultural exchange between Appleton and Kanonji. How do these exchanges enrich our local community?

Hundreds of Appleton adults and students have returned from visiting Kanonji filled with a multitude of new ideas, international friendships, and often a greater sense of confidence, to say the least. Students with this greater world view often get more involved in community events and leadership opportunities. When the Kanonji students are in Appleton, they provide a direct link for our citizens to ask about how things are done in another country. The interactions between the people of the Fox Cities and Kanonji lead to greater cultural understanding and a unique learning opportunity.  There is also a tourism boost, as our Kanonji visitors explore the area and purchase gifts to take back to Japan. But what I think is the greatest enrichment that the exchange brings to our community is friendship and diplomacy: KAP builds lasting relationships that promote peace and cooperation.

What’s one memorable experience from KAP’s programs or events that really stands out to you?

I’ve had so many fantastic experiences that it’s hard to pick just one. I’d have to say that the thing that always makes me smile and feel a sense of pride is a moment during each exchange when I see the Kanonji and Appleton participants realizing that there are more similarities between us than differences, and that the bond of friendship can grow very strong in a short time without being dependent on the same languages or same nationalities.

Drum TAO brings traditional Japanese drumming and performance to our area. How do you see this performance connecting to KAP’s mission of cultural exchange?

The exhilaration of experiencing a traditional Japanese drumming performance will spark more interest in the music culture of our friends in Kanonji, Japan. Audience members that would like to learn more about taiko, den den Daiko, and other musical instruments first hand, can do so by participating in the exchange and either traveling to Kanonji or hosting a Kanonji student. In Kanonji, drumming is a traditional part of summer festivals. During a homestay there, a taiko lesson could be arranged.

For someone new to KAP or interested in Japanese culture, what would you say are the most exciting opportunities to get involved?

Of course, the 2 week home stay in Kanonji is the most exciting way to experience Japanese culture by living like a local along with your Japanese host family. Another opportunity, being a host family and inviting a Kanonji student into your family, allows people to learn about Japanese life along with explaining American life.  

But maybe the best way is to become a board member or volunteer. KAP is a great nonprofit organization in need of people with a variety of backgrounds and talents. As a volunteer board member or general volunteer, people will learn about not only Japanese culture, but also international exchange and travel. These volunteer positions are essential to the growth of the sister city organization by helping with tasks such as: fund raisers, recruiting, marketing, event planning, special events, correspondence, community outreach, history, record-keeping, finance, travel planning, and much more. Volunteers can also assist with the language and culture training for exchange participants. 

How do partnerships like KAP and local arts organizations enhance global understanding through the arts?

The arts are a part of all peoples’ everyday lives and culture. When we join together to allow people to experience new music, crafts, theatre, etc., we celebrate global traditions, foster creativity, and bring communities together in unforgettable ways. Many years ago, a KAP participant collaborated with the Trout Museum in sharing the Compassion Project with our partners in Kanonji.  In 2020, Cory Chisel traveled to Kanonji to team up with local students to create a special song. Efforts like these, along with working with the DRUM TAO event at the Center, are ways that KAP’s partnerships with the arts have helped people attain a greater world insight. 

If you could encourage our readers to experience one aspect of Japanese culture, either through KAP or DRUM TAO, what would it be and why?

Japanese drumming is a great place to start an adventure into Japanese culture. Taiko drumming goes back into ancient Japanese history, where it has been used in ceremonies, festivals, agriculture, religion, battles and sports displays. Follow the story of the drums and it will lead you to the accompanying of the samurai troops going into battle and more recently to the Kanonji Yoimatsuri (the evening festival) where the beat of the drums gives power and strength to the dozens of people carrying heavy, elaborately decorated, gold floats. Taiko drums are not just musical instruments; they are a powerful symbol of cultural heritage and community spirit in Japan. I dare anyone not to move to the beat of the taiko drums! 

DRUM TAO arrives at your Fox Cities Performing Arts Center on Friday, March 13. Get your tickets today.