As part of Japan in DC’s ongoing efforts to unveil DC’s deep connections to Japan. I’m fortunate enough to live on a street whose name has great significance in the history of US-Japan relations: MacArthur Boulevard.
Walking to school every day, I always wondered how the name MacArthur Boulevard came to be. Living on this street I have so much love for the community I am a part of, the high school (MacArthur High School) I go to, and the people I am surrounded by. So when I discovered the rich history of this small community I was shocked. Long before MacArthur Boulevard was named after the American General Douglas MacArthur, it was simply named Conduit Road. Now one must wonder “Why was the street name changed?”
The actual answer is simple, drum roll please… war hysteria and patriotism were the cause. But, let’s back up even further to the year of 1859. The capital of the nation had just finished building another fresh water pipe that traced the route of the Washington Aqueduct and named the street above it Conduit Road. At that time, the only people living on or using this street were the people repairing the pipe, and it was like this for nearly a century.
Yet this all changed in the 1930s when a new community started to be built, the Palisades, which turned farmland into the suburbs of DC. Residents of the Palisades believed that the name “Conduit Road” was unflattering for a road that was turning into a desirable area to live in. However, at this time their push for a new name was ignored by officials.
Luckily for the Palisades community, an opportunity appeared to rename the street. In the midst of World War 2 after Pearl Harbor, the new name was put in front of Congress by a man named Chauncey Carter who suggested that Conduit Road be renamed to MacArthur Boulevard as a way to honor the rising American war hero Douglas MacArthur.
The Arkansas-born West Point graduate Douglas MacArthur was in the Philippines, leading the most grueling defensive stand in American military history against the Japanese invasion force. MacArthur was completely unaware of the bill that was being passed to rename the Washington DC street after him. During this time President Franklin D. Roosevelt had just ordered Douglas MacArthur to evacuate the Philippines and head to Australia to regroup. While there he wrote on the back of a letter to the press “The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines… for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary objective of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through, and I shall return.”
Nearly two years later, on October 20, 1944, during the Allied invasion of Leyte Island, in the Philippines, MacArthur broadcast his now iconic message: “People of the Philippines: I have returned.” After the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as Japan’s surrender in 1945, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was placed in charge of building the new State of Japan which was now to be a pro-democracy and Western-adjacent nation.
Funnily enough, in 1951 President Harry Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination, yet the street name stayed the same.
MacArthur Boulevard is a perfect reflection of how Americans see the war hero Douglas MacArthur: A champion of American ideals and democracy. Today, MacArthur Boulevard runs from Georgetown through the Palisades all the way to Great Falls National Park in Maryland. It holds some of the best parts of Washington DC like Mac’s Market, MacArthur High School, Sibley Memorial Hospital, and my home.
*SPEAKING OF RENAMING: In August, 2026, at the beginning of the new school year, MacArthur High School itself was renamed for John Thompson Jr, long-time winning basketball coach at nearby Georgetown University and DC native.
Note from the Program Director: On Thursday morning, July 23, our students had the opportunity to visit The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation to meet with the organization’s President and CEO, Frank Jannuzi. The Mansfield Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to promote understanding and cooperation between the United States and Asian nations, including Japan. It runs the prestigious Mansfield Fellowship Program, and organizes many different exchanges, policy discussions, research projects, and publications. Frank Jannuzi informed and entertained our students with stories about the too-little-known Mike Mansfield and his wife Maureen, and about the work of the Mansfield Foundation. He inspired students when he talked about his own career trajectory, including time in the US Senate and US Department of State, and gave us a lot of time to ask questions afterwards. The visit provided excellent insights into the US-Japan and Asia relationships – and how nations work to promote peace and avoid conflict. The discussion was lively and covered a lot of topics and concerns. Here are some of our students’ reflections afterwards.
Morgan: Mike Mansfield became the US Ambassador to Japan, and is the longest serving Ambassador plus the longest serving Senate Majority Leader. He helped to pass so many important laws pertaining to the civil rights and the Voting Rights Act while he was in the Senate. He was basically a bridge between East Asia and America, and yet was incredibly humble. His tombstone looks like any other army man’s tomb, nothing extravagant or special. I can’t believe he isn’t talked about at all.
Jaylen: I thought the visit was nice but I do wish there was even more time for questions. The part that stuck out most to me is the part where Frank was talking about Mike Mansfield and the fact that he was so humble about all the things he had done and how he has really no recognition. A life lesson I took away from Frank’s presentation is to stay humble and don’t let life get the best of you. And I did really like the view.
Demetris: The part of Frank’s presentation that had the biggest impact on me was how grateful he was and how persistent he was, and I want to keep going and work hard just like he did, because I want to learn more about the world like he did. I felt really surprised that he had many interactions with Senator Biden, which all were funny, but really I liked how more motivated I was and interesting it was. I love how Frank got hired in the Senate, and he told the story of Biden saying, “If someone is too proud to admit that they’re wrong or don’t know, and if I go up and say the BS you said, then I look stupid, and you need to find a new job.” So saying “I don’t know” is the best answer to give if you don’t know at all. So stay humble and don’t pretend you know everything, because YOU! DON’T! AT ALL!
Madisen: Frank’s talking about Mansfield’s life interested me because he grew up with little money and ran away from home. Mansfield even joined the military at 13 and dealt with government and international affairs over many decades. Despite his impactful life, he died with no fortune of money, which shows how Mansfield wanted to serve the common good, rather than get rich and earn a fortune. Life lesson: “Don’t pretend you know stuff, because then you’re going to give me a BS answer and I’ll tell that BS answer to other people.”
Pippa: I thought it was really cool to meet Frank because he had some really important roles in the government and worked with really important people. I thought the Mansfield Foundation was so interesting, especially when Frank said that at the very tables we were sitting at, they had just had a nuclear energy discussion with international groups. I think I would be interested in future internship opportunities there. The part that had the biggest impact on me personally was his response to my question about the intersection between sustainable energy and international affairs. It was impactful for me because I’m really interested in learning about that and hearing that the US and Japan are doing a lot of collaboration based on nuclear energy was really cool to hear about. The main lesson I take away is that you should choose a career relating to your interest, but your exact job doesn’t have to be set in stone. Frank had worked in a lot of settings and gained valuable experiences before going to Mansfield, so having variation in the work you do can actually be a good thing.
Christian: My feelings about the visit were positive and I felt like I gained a lot of knowledge – from Japan to China and how nations are moved to action through Fear. Frank speaking about his time in the State Department along with Joe Biden impacted me. The way he humanized and spoke truly about his time made the stories amazing. An important lesson I will take away is people can never be fully understood. Nations are the same, and with enough pressure can be forced into doing things they normally wouldn’t do.
Note from the Program Director: On Friday morning, July 24, Japan in DC had the honor to meet with Mary Murakami to hear the story of her experience as a teenager living through one of the darkest chapters of American history – the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Mary was accompanied by her daughter, Kimi Murakami, who provided additional information and context.
Mary was 14 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, leading to the entry of the US into the war, followed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, which led to the incarceration of approximately 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent – most American citizens. Mary described to our students in great detail what happened to her and her family before, during, and after her incarceration at Topaz Camp. Despite unbelievable hardships and disruptions to her high school education, through persistence Mary went on to attend the University of California at Berkeley, to earn her degree in public health/microbiology, and have a successful career as a microbiologist. We are so grateful that Mary has become a regular visitor to Globalize DC’s Japan programs. Mary is now 99 years old. She is a masterful storyteller. Her unrelenting commitment to sharing her experience and wisdom with younger generations is awe-inspiring, and our students felt the impact of this experience. Here are some of their reactions. Special thanks to Jackson-Reed High School and Assistant Principal Marc Minsker for hosting this program, and inviting students from the school’s Academy of Global Studies and Diplomacy to join us as well.
Lauren: The part of Mary’s story that made the biggest impact on me was at the start when she told us she was around our age going through this. Especially when she said she eventually could not attend school. I can’t imagine not being able to go to school, having to move into a camp in the middle of nowhere with my family and having to sell everything I couldn’t take with me. That part of her story impacted me most. A few feelings I have about Mary and the overall experience is proud, empathetic, and disappointed. I felt proud hearing Mary’s story, because even though she is 99, she is still able to go out and tell her story so that the next generation can carry it on. I felt empathetic because even though African Americans weren’t put into camps like Japanese Americans, they were still treated as badly, so hearing her side of the internment camps made me feel very empathetic. Lastly, I felt very disappointed with the US government because the US might not have been that diverse then, but people still should have been taught to treat others with respect no matter their gender or race. A life lesson I would probably take away is what she said at the end, “Remember your civil rights.” That is so important especially with what’s going on right now with ICE and deportation.
Christian: The lessons I learned are that civil rights and the American dream should be something that nobody should be able to stop – not the government or any person. And lives may seem hard but will get better through will and hope.
Jaylen: The part of Mary’s story that made the biggest impact on me was the part where she was answering a question about question 27 and 28 of the loyalty questionnaire. This really impacted me because she talked about families being separated and that is such an important thing to me because putting myself in their shoes, being around my age, being as clueless as I am, it would be really scary and I am not sure if I would have been able to do it. Beyond the story, I felt that this experience, similar to Gerald Yamada, was a great thing because it shows (no offence) that the history from back then is fleeting and we might not have much more time with these people so we should cherish our time with them. I think cherishing our time and listening to our elders is actually good for us and so that we can carry on the legacy of the past generations.
Malia: The part of Mary’s story that had the biggest impact on me is when she talked about how her dad didn’t believe that Japan and the US were at war. It shows that the most unexpected things can have big impacts. I feel like it’s good that she is able to share her experience so that people can make an effort so it won’t happen again. A life lesson I will take away is to always try to protect my civil rights. Because you never know when they can be taken from you.
Pippa: The part of Mary’s story that made the biggest impact on me was when she talked about how it was really difficult for her to receive an education, because even though it seems like she was really bright, she experienced a huge obstacle that stopped her from fulfilling her potential and living a normal life, and I think that goes for everyone in the camps, not just school kids. On the other hand, I thought the fact that she was still able to get into college was very uplifting. I thought it was interesting how she said, “at this point, this experience is a very small fraction of my life, but it still stays with me.” It shows that even though some historical events like this only lasted a short amount of time, the actual impact they have on people’s lives is immeasurable. I also thought Mary’s perseverance throughout it all was admirable. The life lesson I take away is, like she said, it’s important to protect civil rights. Her experience shows what can happen when they are ignored and so it’s really important to be active in defending and fighting for civil rights even now.
Blessing: The part of Mary’s story that made a big impact on me is how her education was very difficult for her and she missed her 9th grade, but did not give up on her education and still tried to find a way to go to the university after World War II. I feel like she is a strong woman because of the way and circumstance that she was living as a teen was very bad. I observed that she is a person that gets the thing that they want and has a strong family that did some of the things to help them survive during the time they were in the camps.
Madisen: Mary’s story of returning back to society after being incarcerated made the biggest impact on me because of how difficult it was to continue her life. Mary had only just received her diploma and chose to return to California, only to face racial discrimination. Because the government chose to negatively represent Asians, many Americans did not like Asians or Asian-Americans or want them in their community. This impacted me because of how unfair it must’ve been for Asian Americans continuing their life in America. I observed that Mary hadn’t been particularly depressed during this time in her life. Although she explained that her time at the camp was rough and often violent, she didn’t let that deter her. Mary had also described how fortunate her family was to receive rooms and overall be with each other, unlike many families who were separated. A life lesson I may take from Mary’s presentation is to preserve your education. When Mary and her family were incarcerated, she had to stop school for a time, and even before the camps she couldn’t go to school because of the curfew put on Japanese people. However, the incarceration camps did not stop her from trying to get her education.
Aston: I was deeply inspired when she had told us about the daily life of the kids in the camps because it showed me that you and the people around you can enjoy yourselves within dark times. From the overall experience I felt determined to take this knowledge and use it to try to prevent this from ever happening again. The life lesson I’ll take away – that even when you find yourself in a dark time, you can still come back stronger.
Liam: The part of Mary’s story that had the biggest impact on me was when she talked about her life before the camps, especially when she talked about how the FBI would go through Japantown and the Army blocking off streets. I’m not really sure why but that stuck with me. The life lesson I took away from Mary’s story is when she said “strive to do right without violence” at the end.
Morgan: The part where Mary said she originally wanted to answer “No. No” to question 27.28, but her family made a group decision to answer “Yes. Yes.” Those two questions sparked many fights and deaths inside the camps, and separated families because people who answered “No. No,” “Yes. No,” or “No. Yes” were considered disloyal and were relocated. I might take away the fact that sometimes you have to make do with what you have, because life will not always be kind to you. Also, to live is to keep going, even in the face of adversity. $25 and a train ticket . . . and she became a biochemist!!
This Japanese print is from the National Museum of Asian Art. It represents the true story of two brothers, Soga Sukenari and Soga Tokimune, who spent eighteen years planning to avenge their father’s murder that happened in 1176. In the end, they successfully killed their father’s murderer in 1193. During the attack, the older brother, Sukenari, died in battle, while the younger brother, Tokimune, was captured alive. Their story became a very popular subject in Kabuki theater, and many artists created prints showing actors performing scenes from it. Through the Japan in DC program, I learned that many Japanese artworks are based on historical events, legends, and often depict famous theater performances. This also helped me to understand why stories like this are so important in Japanese culture and how artists used their prints to keep these stories alive. I found this story especially interesting because the characters were memorable. I also really enjoyed learning about their journey and listening to the story from our tour guide, Ru Fan.
On Friday, July 17, we visited the National Museum of Asian Art. We were given a tour of the Japanese art collection. During the tour, I ended up being really surprised by the amount of influence that other cultures had on Japan, and how those influences could be seen just by looking at their art.
To begin the tour, we saw a wooden guardian figure from the Kamakura period. We learned that these types of statues were placed at the front of shrines to ward out things that weren’t compatible with Buddhism and let in those that were. Our tour guide, John Brennan, explained that Buddhism and Shinto were the most prominent religions of Japan for much of its history. But the religions were not practiced separately. Instead, many shrines served both as Buddhist and Shinto shrines, and it became valued in Japan to follow and coexist with both Buddhism and Shinto. This was really interesting to me, because I’ve never heard of two religions being practiced together – it seems to go against the idea of devoting yourself to a religion in the first place, especially thinking about it in the context of the Abrahamic religions that most of us are used to. But thinking about what I’ve learned about Buddhism and Shinto in the past, it actually makes sense. Neither Buddhism nor Shinto has a “God.” In fact, neither religion includes the idea of any sort of all-powerful, universal creator. Therefore, you can worship both without having to “choose” a God. Additionally, I’ve learned before that Shinto doesn’t even have a central text, making it easier to combine it with Buddhism. In the end, we were told that during the Meiji restoration, most “foreign” things and ideas in Japan became taboo, and Buddhism, having originated from India, was pushed out. But to this day, we can still see Buddhist influences in Japan reflected in these art pieces.
Chinese Influences
While looking at the art and being told its history, one thing became clear — Chinese art was one of, if not the most prominent outside influence on Japanese art. Mr. Brennan was the perfect person to tell us about this. He had studied both Chinese and Japanese for a long time, had lived in Japan and China, and knew their history well. Through the art piece below, we learned that a long time ago in Japan, there was a certain writing style that used only Chinese characters and was comprehensible to both Japanese and Chinese speakers. I thought this was really interesting, because when it comes to spoken Japanese and Chinese, they are completely different. Yet, since Chinese characters are used to convey meaning in both written languages, using written language can actually produce something that can be understood on both sides. As far as I know, there’s no other pair of languages that have this attribute. The text in this specific art piece wouldn’t be very easy to understand for Japanese speakers today, but it’s still fascinating to know that there was a time when the written language worked this way.
Below are more Japanese art pieces that were influenced by Chinese art. As our tour guide stated, although the inspiration is clear and the pieces show a lot of similarity to traditional Chinese art, none of them are exactly the same as their inspiration. For example, while the porcelain plate appears very similar to the well-known Chinese blue and white ceramics, its design is actually based on a board game played long ago in Japan. In the other picture with 3 pieces of pottery, the piece on the very left uses a pottery shape popularized in China. But rather than being a flawless, smooth and evenly glazed work, as these types of pieces usually were, it is purposely made to look imperfect, conveying the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi (meaning to see beauty in imperfection). It goes to show that while many cultures, and evidently Japanese culture, have taken in many outside inspirations and influences, they often change to reflect the culture itself, despite being something originally foreign.
In Modern Times
Seeing these cultural exchanges through Japanese art made me think about how these same cultural influences happen even in the modern day. Take Jazz, for example. It’s one of the most important genres in American music, and it is fully American-born. However, I’ve always found it interesting that Jazz is also extremely popular and has a large presence in Japan. Apparently, this phenomenon starts from the early 1900s, at the very beginnings of Jazz. During World War 2, Jazz was banned by the government, being considered “enemy music” because of its American origins. But despite this, it continued to flourish, especially after the war and beyond. And just like what I talked about when it came to the porcelain and pottery, this movement of Jazz to Japan didn’t just mean that they took an American genre and popularized it there – instead, they’ve developed and molded it into “Japanese Jazz,” having a distinct sound from what the music originally came from. There are lots of other examples of this sort of movement of culture, from America to Japan, Japan to America, and all countries, all throughout history, as shown in the art we saw.
I’m really glad we got to have a tour of the exhibition and I learned a lot!
Ever since 1952, when the US occupation of Japan after World War II officially ended, the USA and Japan have been improving their friendship more and more over time. In 1954 the Governor of Tokyo gifted the Stone Lantern which you can see at the Tidal Basini to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Commodore Perry’s mission to Japan, and this year, in 2026, the Japanese government made a gift of 250 cherry trees in honor of our country’s 250th birthday. On top of that, Japanese culture has had a large impact on DC with things like the Sakura Matsuri Japanese street festival and the Tanabata Festival. All of this Japanese involvement sparks many peoples’ interest in Japan. Some may even want to learn the language, but they might not know where to start, so I am here to help.
There are different ways to learn Japanese in DC, and it doesn’t matter what kind of person you are because I’m sure there’s something out there for you. Sadly, out of all the public schools in DC, only one has an actual Japanese class, which is CHEC (Columbia Heights Education Campus) and that is it. So unless you are switching high schools, or are planning on going back to high school, you are out of luck. But if you are a high school student, you could be in luck because of a little thing called the Japanese Plus Program which is a Japanese learning program that meets twice a week and provides a full Japanese learning experience, with language classes, cultural workshops, and career exposure! Did I mention that it’s free? Because it is.
Now, if you are not in school or don’t live in DC, there are many different ways to learn different languages. Some well known ones are Duolingo, Mango, Tandem, HelloTalk, and Japanese music/podcasts. While Duolingo is a language learning app, it is way more useful for learning words and meanings, and maybe phrases, but actually speaking, it’s not very good. Another great resource is something called Mango. You need nothing but a library card to start learning! Mango helps with grammar patterns, pronunciation, practical vocabulary, cultural etiquette and more, but it is not as great for learning kanji. For more experienced Japanese learners, Tandem and HelloTalk are apps that can help a lot with actually having conversations with other people who know Japanese, but it can also be very humbling. Lastly, listening to Japanese podcasts or listening to Japanese music with captions is a pretty good way to pick up phrases or words, and it helps with conversations, singing, etc.
After reading this, I hope that you learned a lot about different ways to get started on your journey to learn Japanese, and I hope this helps.
NOTE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Our week, focused on World War II and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, continued with a visit on July 15 from Karin Tanabe and Victoria Kelly, co-creators of the documentary, Atomic Echoes: Untold Stories from WWII. This film, which is currently airing on PBS, tells the story of the impact of these horrific bombings on the lives of both Japanese residents and American veterans who lived the experience. Through the personal stories of survivors from both the US and Japan, Atomic Echoes shows the deep and long-lasting effects of the use of nuclear weapons, and the responsibility of the current generations to remember and learn from the past. Karin Tanabe is a first-generation American, and an author of historical fiction and a journalist. Victoria Kelly is also an author and poet, and granddaughter of an American atomic veteran. Karin and Victoria see their film as a “tool for peace” that can be used for discussions in school classrooms or community settings like ours. Our students had strong reactions to what they learned this day.
Pippa: I liked how Karin and Victoria covered a variety of topics surrounding the bombing. They talked about both the human stories, political side, moral arguments, and health effects of the bomb. The part that had the biggest impact on me was hearing about the picture that they described of the boy by the crematorium. Hearing about that made me very emotional and made me think about how beyond all the deaths that happened, a lot of pain also happened through what the survivors had to deal with, both through grief for their loved ones and the lasting effects of radiation on human health. Life lesson: Always think about the people that may be affected by your actions.
Lauren: Hearing Karin Tanabe talk about the effects the atomic bomb had on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was so saddening to hear. Even though it has been a long time since then, so many people are still affected. What shocked me the most was finding out survivors that had kids later on, their kids have radiation in their DNA, which I believe can be passed on still.
The part of Karin’s presentation that impacted me was finding out the US government wanted to keep the effects on Japan after the atomic bomb a secret from the public because first, they knew it was wrong and inhumane, and second, they knew it was so graphic and that many people died. They didn’t want people to know that people who lived in Hiroshima were affected more than the rumbled and almost gone buildings that were the only thing photographed after the bomb dropping, and what would be the only thing released to the public on the bomb dropping until the 1990s. Almost 50 years later.
The one thing I took away from what Karin spoke to us about is that all countries should get rid of atomic bombs as a whole. Everyone should be taught about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, and world leaders should recognize the effects and the amount of deaths that came out of one bomb and decide that nuclear bombs shouldn’t be a thing.
Aston: The biggest impact that the meeting with Ms. Karin and Ms. Victoria had with me would be their description of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the experiences of the survivors due to how traumatizing and unbelievable the event seems. I felt shock and pity for the fallen victims throughout the visit. The information I learned here directly tied to the information we learned at All Souls Church and their Hiroshima Children’s Art project. Life lesson: Keep pushing forward even when it seems impossible.
Blessing: The part of the program that had a big impact on me was the photograph of the boy who was holding his little brother on his back and did not know that he was dead. I feel so bad because they did not have to drop this bomb. They could find another way to fix things. Life lesson: We do not have to create a war for a misunderstanding. We can act like humans who are smart and think before doing something.
Kamaya: Listening to this presentation made me realize that the impact of the atomic bombings went far beyond the destruction of all buildings in the area. I learned that survivors that didn’t just die right away suffered lifelong problems mentally and physically. The radiation did more than anyone realized. This made me think of the millions whose lives were destroyed.
Madisen: When the United States dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they thought little of it and celebrated, while Japanese citizens were viciously killed in the explosion and lost everything. Hearing about the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies collaborative promotional campaign (“Barbenheimer”) and how it was disrespectful towards the Japanese showed me how insensitive people can be towards traumatic events if they don’t directly affect them.
Karin and Victoria turned out to be celebrities! Demetris, Liam, Jay, and DeVonte getting autographs after a very meaningful session.
Cherry blossom trees are an important gift for many people from all across the states and the world to enjoy the beauty of, but cherry blossoms are more than just a beauty. They are a great symbol of friendship between the United States and Japan. In my opinion, cherry blossoms are a great show of growth from the tensions of the U.S. and Japan into their blooming friendship. Even after a brutal war. Before that, we need to know the story behind the trees. Who and what helped to bring these here?
Cherry blossoms were first introduced by Eliza Scidmore. Eliza was a writer and photographer who was also the first woman on the Board of Directors for the National Geographic Society. She had been to Japan before and had developed a big interest in the cherry blossom trees. Amazed by these trees, Eliza proposed the idea to the President and every Superintendent of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds over two decades to get the trees into D.C. After the many denied proposals, she turned her efforts into gaining traction with the trees. Eliza went on to host a cherry blossom viewing party in 1905. By doing this, it happened to catch the eye of botanist David Fairchild.
Though Eliza was the first to actively make an impact to get cherry blossoms to the U.S., David Fairchild played a very key role in the story of the cherry blossoms. Fairchild was a pioneering American botanist and plant explorer who also grew a liking to these trees. The following year after Scidmore’s party, in 1906, Fairchild did a test of planting cherry blossoms to see their ability to survive in other soil, leading to a success. He would later go on to promote the trees and later in 1907 ordered 300 trees. Afterwards, in 1908, he would share his plans at the Franklin School in downtown D.C. He would go to give a speech at the school on Arbor Day and gifted seeds to the children to have them plant in their school yards and at Franklin Park with Mrs. Scidmore in attendance.
After the many successes of getting cherry blossoms around D.C., in 1909, Eliza decided to try to raise money to purchase and donate the trees to the city, proposing her idea to First Lady Helen Taft. Mrs. Taft had lived in Japan before and had a fondness of the idea and decided to plant them along the “speedway” near the Potomac River instead. The day after, Japanese chemist Dr. Jokichi Takamine heard of Mrs. Taft’s idea and went to help with a donation of two thousand trees with the help and approval of the Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki.
After months of shipment, the cherry trees had finally arrived on January 6, 1910. Sadly, on January 19, after a deep inspection, the trees were deemed to be infested and diseased and it was concluded they needed to be burned to protect the other trees around. Despite this unfortunate act, after the Secretary of State delivered the news to the Japanese ambassador, Mayor Ozaki and others decided to make another donation of specially selected trees and also increased the amount to 3,020! This made me feel as though they could understand and realize how and why they made this decision and not feel offended for their gift being thrown away.
After that, the trees were then planted around the Tidal Basin with the remaining going to East Potomac Park. The first few trees were planted with a ceremony with Mrs. Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador.
Only a while after the trees were mature, many photographers and artists all around were drawn to the trees. Quickly, after the news of the trees spread, it became a very popular place for people all across America to come witness the gorgeous pink hues across the trees with people of all cultures and backgrounds coming to celebrate the blossoms. In 1915, President William Howard Taft (Helen Taft’s husband) sent a gift of dogwood trees to Japan in appreciation of the generous gift of cherry blossoms to D.C..From the impact of the trees, I feel that this shows the way that the friendship of the U.S. and Japan grew bigger and improved from gift giving between them.
Cherry blossoms even had so much of an impact on the people around that even the attempt to remove some had people in protest. In 1938, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved to clear the grounds near the Tidal Basin to construct the Jefferson Memorial, people were outraged at the thought of their precious trees being removed causing people to go as far as to tie themselves to the trees to stop the removal. Ultimately, the construction crew had to resort to removing them during the dead of night as the only way to go around this roadblock. Even after the impact of World War II and the high tensions, they still continued maintenance and improving the cherry blossoms and the US’s and Japan’s unity. This had shocked me seeing how quickly friendly relationships between the U.S. and other countries can change, but I feel it just shows how much of an impact gift can make and how special the trees had become.
Not long after, in 1954, Japanese Ambassador, Sadao Iguchi, presented a 300 year old Japanese stone lantern to continue the celebration of the 100th year anniversary of the first treaty of peace between the United States and Japan. Pushing along the tight friendship between the United States and Japan with the love and appreciation of Japanese culture in the States.
Clearly as seen, cherry blossoms were a highly loved and celebrated thing in the US as well as Japan with their many Hanami festivals consisting of music, cultural performance, traditional food, artwork, etc. And just like them, we too celebrate cherry blossoms with similar tastes. One popular event is the Bloomaroo, hosted at the Wharf with many places to watch and listen to many talented artists, to enjoy painting on canvas or on faces, and of course to explore many places to catch a break to eat the wonderful food around. I myself have gone with some family of mine and have loved the fun and lively experience from going, I enjoyed getting to see how decorated everything was from buildings to street stands as well as people. I overall enjoyed how people dressed for the occasion and the welcoming atmosphere of everything.
To this day, cherry blossoms are still a highly celebrated symbol of unity between Japan and DC. Both places share the joy of celebration with this shared tree. A beautiful display of a culture exchange that can come out of friendship.
If you’d like to learn more about the history of the cherry blossom trees in DC, check out these two links:
When you’re in a conversation about architecture, your brain immediately goes to metals, stones, or other generic foundation materials. Nobody expects to hear that someone is using paper tubes and cardboard to create living spaces. Going to the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) on July 10 was very eye opening. The speaker during the first part of our program was Gabrielle Headly, who we had met earlier in the program, and who now guided us through the exhibit and shared the history behind Shigeru Ban and his peculiar building ideas.
Ban’s style of architecture was an interesting one, beginning back in 1986 with experimentation, and humanitarian aid beginning in 1995. During that time, he worked on his first major project: designing low cost, easy to build houses out of paper tubes for Japanese disaster victims following the Kobe, Japan earthquake. These homes, despite being built of a widely known fragile material, were very sturdy, and allowed for sustainable living.
Ban’s style is a very intriguing one to me, because who thought one man could put together a whole organization solely for disaster aid, let alone with paper and cardboard?? Shigeru Ban is a huge inspiration for me to innovate and be more creative with my works, and I’d love to research more about him.
Something I’d like to briefly talk about is his Paper Partition System, used in Noto, Japan following their earthquake in 2024. The Paper Partition System provided privacy and homes for families who were victims of the earthquake. These systems were deployed all over workplaces, gyms, and community centers, allowing many people to be guaranteed to have a safe place to live while dealing with their circumstances.
Being an extension of Ban’s already innovative paper log houses, the PPS was already majorly impressive, garnering respect from not only the citizens of Japan, but many humanitarian aid organizations as well. Shigeru Ban was and still is an impressive architect, and his influence is still around today, you just have to look for it.
On July 7, 2026 in Japan in DC we had Mr. Gerald Yamada come in to present information on Japanese Americans during World War II. He was former President of the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA). He came to talk to us about the events that happened during and after Pearl Harbor, when the US entered the war, about Japanese Americans in incarceration (or what I call concentration) camps, and a little bit about his own family during this time. He went over how during World War II, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US government forced Japanese Americans from their homes and put them into concentration camps. Because the United States got attacked by Japan, the government believed that any Japanese Americans in America could be spies or try and affect America in the war that would lead to Japan’s and Germany’s victory. Next he went into the concentration camps and the conditions there. Also he discussed how there were Japanese American military units, like the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, that made a big impact during World War II. Mr. Yamada also talked about his own family life a little, like his mom and dad, and a person named Bob Fletcher, who agreed to take care of his dad’s farm while they were away. Bob Fletcher would give the farm back to his family after the war was over.
Visiting the peaceful National Japanese American Memorial near Union Station.
When Mr. Yamada was talking, the part that stuck out to me the most was when he was talking about the concentration camps. He was talking about how during World War II Japanese Americans were forced out of their homes, forced to sell their property, like their land, crops, etc., and leave their jobs. The only thing they were able to keep was the stuff that fit in their arms, like a suitcase, but not to mention they were also required to bring things like utensils, because the camps didn’t provide any of that. When Japanese Americans arrived at the camps, the place was big, but small, because the rooms were 20 by 25 and depending on whether you were single or a family, it determined how many people lived in each room. Roughly it was around 6-8 people in one room for single people, or for a family or even two families together, depending on their size. Also living in there was terrible. The places had no walls, so they had to use their blankets to cover the walls, no running water, no air conditioning, so it got really hot in there, because there were a lot of people sharing one room. There were terrible health conditions, so a lot of people died from sickness or something else. Also when it came to anything like going outside to get food, they had to go into lines which made everything longer and more tiresome, but the kids enjoyed it. I don’t know why, but they had fun while being there. But one thing that surprised me was that of course they had guards so no one leaves, but the thing was the guards weren’t facing outwards to stop anyone from coming in, they were facing inward so no one leaves, which surprised me the most about it. But while they were there, it was boring, so they did things for entertainment like singing, playing sports, teaching, and farming, because most of the Japanese Americans in there were farmers, teachers, and so on, so that was something they could do in the meantime while World War II was happening.
After the war was over and the victory of America, the death of Hitler, and the surrender of Japan, everything was over. All concentration camps for Japanese Americans were done and they were set free, and when that happened, it’s not like Japanese Americans got their property back. What they got was a train ticket back home and 25 dollars. When I heard that, it pissed me off, because I feel like they should have gotten all their things back. In 6th grade I remember reading a book (I forgot the name) about people escaping from concentration camps. Also I watched a video about a Japanese American girl in a concentration camp and it went into more depth about it and how bad Japanese Americans had it during WW2. Next in 9th grade we learned about President Roosevelt (FDR) and the good things he did, and how he made America great again after the Depression. After this, I feel he was never good. He never cared about colored and only white people. Learning about this changed my way of thinking about FDR and what he did.
Overall, I believe Japanese Americans are probably one of the top five races that went through terrible stuff and I wish none of these things happened to them. I learned at the FDR Memorial down at the Tidal Basin it doesn’t show anything about what he did to Japanese Americans. It’s like he never did it and he was all great even though he wasn’t any of that. It’s like they’re trying to hide the bad about America, or the President specifically, especially with Donald Trump trying to do that too.
Teammate Aston at the FDR Memorial at the Tidal Basin. No mention of Japanese Americans!
