Blue-eyed Doll Welcoming Ceremony
| In the early spring of 1927, over 12,000 friendship messenger "Blue-eyed Dolls" were sent from America. A grand welcoming ceremony was held for the Blue-eyed Dolls at the Meiji outer gardens of the Meiji Shrine. |
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About 2,000 people participated. Many people attended, including Eiichi Shibusawa of the Japanese Committee on World Friendship Among Children, the Foreign Minister, the Education Minister, and the American Ambassador. The dolls were presented by the American representative Betty Ballantine to the Japanese representative Junko Tokugawa. After the crowded welcoming ceremony ended, the dolls were distributed to elementary schools and kindergartens throughout the country. These dolls received big welcoming ceremonies wherever they were distributed. |