[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MONTEREY BAY AND MINAMIBOSO OF THE 
                        BOSO PENINSULA OF JAPAN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 26, 2006

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Eshoo and I rise today to honor the 109th 
Anniversary of the Abalone Connection, a treasured connection between 
two Pacific regions, the Monterey Bay and Minamiboso of the Boso 
Peninsula of Japan. Both regions are centrally located on the Pacific 
Coasts of their respective regions and share not only the beautiful 
scenery of the Pacific Rim, but also the abalone fishing culture and 
the business that developed because of the abundant marine life found 
in the sea along their coastlines.
  In 1897, Gennosuke and Nakajiro Kodani of Minamiboso, and Alexander 
M. Allan of Monterey partnered to create the first successful deep-
water abalone diving business in the East Pacific. Mr. Allan firmly 
defended his Japanese partners and employees through the tense period 
of anti-Japanese sentiment in California during the early part of the 
20th century.
  Their partnership brought a steady stream of highly skilled 
Minamiboso abalone divers back and forth across the Pacific, bringing 
Japanese technology and culture to the Monterey Bay Region and taking 
back American culture to Japan.
  Furthering the connection between Monterey Bay and Japan, in the 
1990s, historians on both sides of the Pacific began reconnecting the 
ties between the Monterey Bay Region and Minamiboso that were 
interrupted by World War II.
  In recognition of these connections, on September 3, 2005, the 
citizens of the Boso Peninsula held a Symposium, titled ``A Bridge 
Across the Pacific: The Spirit Connecting the Southern Boso Peninsula 
and Monterey Bay, California,'' which was dedicated to ``giving a 
peaceful world to our children''. It exemplified the ongoing historic 
relationship of cooperation begun by the Gennosuke and Nakajiro Kodani 
and Alexander M. Allan.
  Inspired by the Boso Peninsula Symposium, a group of Monterey Bay 
Region residents decided to hold a similar celebration in Monterey, 
California to celebrate the 109th anniversary of the connections 
between the Boso Peninsula and the Monterey Bay Region, as well as the 
contributions made by the citizens of each region to the history of the 
other.
  Mr. Speaker, we're proud to honor the Abalone Connection as it 
celebrates its 109th anniversary. After more than a century, the 
Abalone Connection remains a source of pride for the Monterey Bay 
Region.

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