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| Miss Ishikawa [Photo by Alan Pate, MHS Museum Accession X1928.01] |
Nose: medium. Mouth: small. Eyes: black
This is how the
Montana Historical Society’s "Miss Ishikawa" is described on her 1927 passport. Eighty-seven years ago this month, Miss Ishikawa arrived in San Francisco
aboard the Japanese ship, Tenyo Maru. She is one of fifty-eight "Friendship Dolls" presented to the people of America
by the people of Japan in November 1927, in response to a similar gift from the
United States earlier that year.
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| Blue-Eyed Doll sent to Japanese children |
The Friendship Doll exchange began in March 1927 with the shipment of over 12,000 American dolls to Japan as a gesture of goodwill during a time of cultural and political tension between the two countries. Known to the Japanese as “Blue-Eyed Dolls,” these small ambassadors were received with great fanfare and appreciation. In return, the Japanese government commissioned their own specially made dolls as gifts to the children of the United States.
The doll exchange occurred just three years after the United
States passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which prohibited immigration from
Japan based on an established quota system. At this time, Japanese immigrants
living on the West Coast experienced systematic and institutionalized discrimination
and physical intimidation.
As anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S. and anti-American
sentiment in Japan increased, Reverend Sydney Gulick, a former American
missionary in Japan, developed the idea of smoothing relations between the two
countries by fostering cultural understanding and forging friendships among the
countries’ children.
Gulick, founder of the Committee on World Friendship
Among Children, obtained overwhelming support in the United States to gather
and ship American dolls to Japan as a first step in improving relations. Children from across the country dressed the dolls and wrote letters of
greeting to accompany them.
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| Rev. Sydney Gulick |
In response, the Japanese government commissioned the fifty-eight
Friendship Dolls—each named for a Japanese prefecture, city, or colony—to act as
diplomatic ambassadors. Baron Matsudaira, Japanese ambassador, stated in 1927, "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 tell you of the
friendly feeling which the children of Japan have for the children of America."
Miss Ishikawa and her peers were treated as VIPs, both in
Japan and upon arrival in the U.S. They held first-class seats on the ship and
on trains as they traveled the United States, met dignitaries, and
attended special receptions in their honor.
However, the goodwill generated by the dolls proved
short-lived. The children who participated in the doll exchange in 1927 became
some of the same adults to fight against each other during World War II. The imperial
Japanese government labeled the American dolls spies and mandated that they be
destroyed. Today, relatively few Blue-Eyed Dolls remain, but forty-six of the
original fifty-eight Friendship Dolls have been located.
In recent decades, there has been a renewed interest in
both sets of dolls as historical artifacts and artistic expressions of
cultural awareness. Organizations in
both the U.S. and Japan have planned reunions and homecoming exhibitions, as
well as new doll exchanges. The Blue-Eyed and Friendship Dolls continue to
represent the promise of friendship and peace, a commendable sentiment that
will always be relevant.
Miss Ishikawa joined the Montana Historical Society’s
permanent collection in 1928. She was first displayed in the basement of the
Capitol, where the museum once resided. She and her extensive collection of
beautiful accessories are now on display at the Montana Historical Society as
part of our Montana’s Territorial Legacy
exhibit, open through April 2015.
