Reprinted with permission from
Dolls of Friendship, 2nd Edition,
copyright 1997, Sidney L. Gulick, 3d

  
Ambassador Matsudaira's Speech

 
The following is an excerpt of the address of Tsuneo Matsudaira, Japanese Ambassador to the United States, to welcome the Japanese Friendship Dolls to America. Speaking of the doll ambassadors, he said:

The name seems quite fitting, as they aim to fulfill the important task of binding the hearts of our children to those of yours by the silken cord of peace and love. Personally I am particularly delighted to welcome them, because from now on I shall have no less than fifty-eight fellow ambassadors to assist me. They can do what I cannot. They will have an unrestricted entrée to the beautiful world of innocent happiness, disinterested fellowship, an unaffected fraternity--the world of childhood, the doors of which are but slightly open for diplomatic officials. The sympathetic understanding thus fostered in young minds is sure to contribute to international peace and friendship. These dolls are silent, they do not talk, but sometimes silence is more eloquent than speech. When one's heart is filled with emotion, one often loses speech. So these dolls silently but eloquently tell you of the friendly feeling which the children of Japan entertain for the children of America. The important thing is the spirit in which they are sent. This, I take it, is the great significance of this unprecedented exchange of dolls between the children of our two countries. Let me express my sincere hope that these messengers of friendship and goodwill from the children of Japan may be taken into the hearts of the children of American, and may discharge their sacred duties among them in the same manner in which the American dolls which traveled to our shores last year are fulfilling their noble mission in our minds.

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