William S. Clark - Legacy

Legacy

Although he is almost forgotten in his home state of Massachusetts, Clark remains a national figure in Japan. His influences on the agricultural and economic development of Hokkaido were significant, but it is primarily his cultural message that still resonates today. According to historian Fumiko Fujita, Clark's phrase, "Boys, be ambitious!" is "almost immortal in Japan." The Japanese National Tourism Organization describes the slogan as "famous" and often quoted throughout the country. Historian John Maki wrote that many Japanese school textbooks "have carried brief accounts of work and his slogan", and that Clark's name appears on "schools, buildings, shops, confections and countless tourist souveniers."

Clark's missionary activities produced the Sapporo Independent Christian Church in 1882, founded by students of SAC. It was one of the first cells of Christianity in Japan after the Meiji Restoration. Eventually, ten of the signers of Clark's "Covenant in the Believers of Jesus," raised funds to build the William S. Clark Memorial Church in Sapporo in 1922. The church was demolished in 1962, but rebuilt in another location and still houses the original "Covenant" as well as several Bibles Clark brought to Sapporo.

In the United States, Clark's primary legacy is one of ongoing cooperation between the two colleges he founded, now the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Hokkaido. Student and faculty exchanges were informal for many years until, according to journalist Daniel Fitzgibbons, the early 1960s when "the U.S. State Department contracted with the University to help strengthen the agricultural curriculum at Hokkaido. Through that program, 11 UMass faculty went to Sapporo and 52 Japanese faculty and students received advanced training in Amherst." Both universities maintain exchange programs through various academic departments.

In 1969, Professor John H. Foster of the Center for International Agricultural Studies designated the collaboration between the institutions as "the oldest technical assistance relationship between a U.S. university and a foreign university." In recognition of this fact, and of Clark's role in establishing the two colleges, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Hokkaido became sister universities in 1976. On February 7, 1990, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the prefecture of Hokkaido became sister states.

One of the first public works of art in honor of Clark's legacy was a bust placed on the campus of the University of Hokkaido in 1926 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of SAC. The original bust was melted down during World War II, but reconstructed in 1947. To mark the 100th anniversary of Clark's arrival in Sapporo, the statue of Clark at Hitsujigaoka observation hill was built in 1976. Etched on the base of the statue are Clark's famous words, "Boys, Be Ambitious." The site is a popular tourist destination. Finally, on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the William Smith Clark Memorial, a 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) stone and sculptural garden, was dedicated on October 17, 1991. It is located on the former site of Clark's house at the peak of Clark Hill. The memorial was designed by landscape architect Todd A. Richardson.

Buildings named after Clark include Clark Hall at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, originally constructed in 1905 to house the Department of Botany, and the Clark Memorial Student Center, built on the campus of the University of Hokkaido in 1960, the first and largest western-style collegiate student center in Japan.