Japanese friendship dolls

Viscount Eiichi Shibusawa with two dolls

Japanese friendship dolls (友情人形 jūjō ningyō) or Japanese ambassador dolls and the American blue-eyed dolls (青い目の人形 aoi me no ningyō) were programs of goodwill between Japan and the United States. American Sidney Gulick, a missionary in Japan, initiated an exchange of dolls between children as a way to ease cultural tensions in 1920s. Japanese Viscount Eiichi Shibusawa responded by initiating a program to send 58 dolls to American museums and libraries.

Overview

The Immigration Act of 1924 prohibited East Asians from immigrating to the United States, which increased tension between the US and Japan. Dr. Sidney Gulick was a former missionary who spent time in Japan between 1888 and 1913. He was familiar with how important dolls are in Japanese culture, and to promote goodwill between the countries he initiated a program to send dolls from the US to children in Japan.[1] Gulick participated in forming a group called the Committee on World Friendship Among Children. In 1927, the first project was to organize the sending of 12,739 friendship dolls, also known as American blue-eyed dolls to Japan. These dolls arrived in time for Hinamatsuri, the annual Japanese doll festival.

Inspired by this act of goodwill, Viscount Eiichi Shibusawa led a collection in Japan to reciprocate for this gift. The best doll makers in Japan were commissioned to produce 58 friendship dolls. Each doll was 32-33 inches tall and were dressed in beautiful kimonos made of silk. Each doll also came with unique accessories. These Japanese friendship dolls represented specific Japanese prefectures, cities or regions. The dolls were sent to libraries and museums throughout the United States.

Denny Gulick, grandson of Sidney, has tried to revive the doll exchange idea.[2]

List of friendship dolls

Over the years, a few dolls were lost or are missing, but many are still on display today. Those whose locations are known include:

American Blue-eyed dolls

In 1927, children in the United States sent over 12, 000 dolls, to Japanese elementary school children as a gesture of friendship. These are some of the few 331 dolls, once had displayed at a school with great care with their own passport, which later survived the WW2, now are preserved with best care in Japan.

Blue-eyed doll, Elena, Yokohama, Japan. Yokohama Doll Museum
Blue-eyed doll, Laura Margaret, Summer 2015, Tsurugi Library, Hakusan-city, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. See the picture ditails for more Info.

References

  1. 1 2 "Moifa - About the Collections - Miss Yamaguchi Japanese Ambassador Doll".
  2. "Denny Gulick,Ph.D". East Asian Scient and technology web site. University of Maryland. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  3. "Japanese Friendship Dolls" (PDF). St. Joseph Museum (St. Joseph, Missouri) web site. July 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  4. http://www.mpm.edu/exhibitions/featured/friendshipdoll/
  5. "Birmingham Public Library - Miss Iwate".
  6. Gian Carlo Cervone. "[RMSC Collections Department] Nagasaki Tamako".
  7. "Rochester Museum & Science Center—Rochester, NY".
  8. Jennifer Messmer. "The Secrets of Our Collection - The Children's Museum of Indianapolis".

External links

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