|
Main Page
Children's Page |
|
1927 Doll Exchange
Historical Background Dr. Sidney L. Gulick Eiichi Shibusawa Mission of Friendship Preparations in US Receipt of Dolls in Japan Preparations in Japan Receipt of Dolls in US |
1927 Doll
Exhange
Eiichi Shibusawa
|
|
|
Eiichi Shibusawa holding |
Eiichi Shibusawa, a senior Japanese business leader, was the Chairman of the Japanese Committee on World Friendship Among Children in 1927. Shibusawa had served for many years as a member of the Committee on Japanese-American Relations as he tried to promote activities to strengthen ties between Japan and the US.
When the American Blue-eyed Dolls were received in Japan in 1927, the 88-year-old Shibusawa, as a representative of the Japanese people, gave a speech thanking the Americans for their kind gift. He discussed "the inseparable relation between children and dolls, and emphasized the thought that the goodwill and friendship thus cultivated in the hearts of children is lasting." He pointed out that the development of mutual understanding and friendship among the children of both nations in the future will be not only a tie between Japan and America, but good news to the whole world.