DIGITAL EBOOK EDITION
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Prince Tokugawa during the 1920s and 1930s incorporated Lincoln Essay Writing Contests into all Japanese Public Schools and Colleges to Combat Racism while Honoring the Humanitarian Values of President Abraham Lincoln.
This bronze sculpture honors three great individuals.
Men of Peace who promoted Human Dignity and Racial Equality.
President Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)
Prince Iyesato Tokugawa (徳川 家達, August 24, 1863 – June 5, 1940)
An Exciting Upcoming Biography: Teddy Roosevelt’s Secret Mission to Japan
INTRODUCTION
The people we choose to honor, shape and inspire our future
Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) a Man of and ahead of his Time.
Prince Tokugawa’s Pivotal Role in Establishing the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.
Prince Iyesato Tokugawa guided the Japanese gifting of the cherry blossom trees to the U.S. Capital in 1910 and 1912 into becoming an international token of goodwill which is now officially known as the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival – His behind the scenes role in accomplishing this diplomatic success was discovered while researching for the illustrated biography on Prince Tokugawa, titled: THE ART OF PEACE.
Welcome!
The illustrated Blog posts on this website focus on U.S. Japan relations and Japanese history.
Katz was a Specialist in Rare Books and Ephemera when he acquired the personal papers of a Master Spy, Colonel Sidney Forrester Mashbir (1891-1973). These fascinating materials, combined with his passion for history and many years of research resulted in the exciting historical novel THE EMPEROR AND THE SPY, followed by a sequel, an illustrated biography titled: THE ART OF PEACE.
THE ART OF PEACE: the illustrated biography of Prince Iyesato Tokugawa – Introduction
For centuries, the Shoguns ruled over a relatively isolated feudal society. Prince Iyesato Tokugawa aka Prince Tokugawa Iesato was to become the next shogun, but when that dynasty ended, he instead creatively guided an emerging Japan onto a modern, interconnected world stage.
Description of the book cover photo:
Colonel Sidney Mashbir’s widow Alice gifted her husband’s portrait of General MacArthur to his good friends Marine Captain William Warren and Marine Colonel Robert F. Warren…Robert and William shared their personal experiences with their friend Sidney.
Having studied and written about Colonel Sidney Mashbir, it was my good fortune when Robert Warren and his son William Warren contacted me in 2018 to discuss their close friendship with Colonel Mashbir many years earlier.
William and Robert generously shared various historical materials linked to Colonel Mashbir (1891-1973). This blog post will present a number of those items, as well as Robert and William’s recollections of Colonel Mashbir. Also included is biographic material about Robert and William Warren, who being younger than Mashbir, were inspired and influenced by Colonel Mashbir’s heroic dedication to our nation.
Captain Sidney Mashbir’s successful 1922 secret mission prevented a potential war in Asia. However, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 again destabilized Japan – During the challenging first months following that major disaster, Mashbir spearheaded a U.S. Medical Relief Effort to assist many of the injured Japanese.
In 1922, Mashbir completed a dangerous mission in Vladivostok, Russia, preventing the outbreak of a regional war between Japan, China, and Russia, which might have expanded further!
The following year on September 1, 1923, the most destructive natural disaster in modern Japanese history occurred, The Great Kantō Earthquake (関東大震災, Kantō daishinsai), a Japanese natural disaster in the Kantō region of the island of Honshū. This earthquake destroyed Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and approximately 140,000 people died. During the challenging first months following that major disaster, Mashbir spearheaded an American Medical Relief Effort to assist many of the injured Japanese – As part of this humanitarian process, Mashbir created the first English – Japanese Medical Translation Dictionary that was used by English speaking health care workers while treating Japanese speaking patients.
The Japan Society of New York City Honors the Visit of Prince Iyesato Tokugawa – Recently Discovered 1934 Photo
Here is an important moment in history, when the leader of the Japanese peace and democracy movement met with his counterparts in the United States during a challenging period of U.S. Japan relations. This rare, perhaps one of a kind photo presents the Japan Society’s Annual Dinner event honoring Prince Tokugawa on Feb. 27, 1934 – This diplomatic goodwill gathering took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. [Source of photo: TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com archives – The actual photo is 14 x 22 inches in size.]
1920 – An Important Event Encouraging Good US / Japan Relations. Recently discovered Photo – Frank A. Vanderlip, a leading US business figure and president of the Japan Society of New York City meets with Shibusawa Eiichi and representatives of Mitsui & Co., and other Japanese leaders.
Above is an original 1920 photo (far right segment) of the larger photo shown just below. It presents an exciting moment in international business relations, an early U.S. Japan trade/economic alliance being formed, while at the same strengthening U.S. Japan political and cultural relations. This gathering took place at the home of Baron Shibusawa (seated front row, seventh from the left in the below photo).