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Portland and Sapporo, Japan, are quite similar cities, I've found out today:
- Both cities are the pivot of metropolitan areas numbering about 2.7 million residents.
- Both cities are near the 45th Parallel: Portland, a s'kosh north, Sapporo, a s'kosh south.
- Both cities area the economic and cultural centers of a large frontier region (Sapporo's prefecture encompasses the entire island of Hokkaido; Oregon is the 10th largest state)
- Both cities inhabit memorable natural surrounds and have a remarkable river running through them
- Both cities built their legacies on exploiting the natural resources of their hinterlands and displacing the indigenous peoples (it is what it is).
It was perhaps natural for the two cities, early in the era of the sister city, to choose each other. The Portland Sapporo Sister City Association dates from 1959, and has just notched its 60th anniversary.
There's a monument to this at the southeastern corner of the Oregon Convention Center. Overlooking the intersection of NE MLK Jr Blvd with Lloyd Blvd, and sheltered by a pergola with a glass roof, is a rather large Japanese bell.
This bell has a significant history of its own. It was gifted to the city of Portland in 1986 and, as part of a renovation project at the OCC culminating in 2019, the bell was rededicated, celebrating its more than 30 years of being here.
The ceremony was meaningful, not only featuring Sapporo's Mayor Akimoto and our Mayor Wheeler and 90 delegates from Sapporo but also including members of the local indigenous community (Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Cowlitz and Chinook Nation) as well as centering the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido.
It's in the open there at the corner of MLK and Lloyd, and you can walk right up to it and enjoy it for the work of art that is, and all that it means, and can mean.
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