A MEMORIAL FUND THAT ENCOURAGES PEACE, DEMOCRACY, AND A LOVE OF MUSIC.
Your suggestions are welcome.
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Prince Tokugawa Iesato (aka Prince Iyesato Tokugawa, 1863-1940)
Potential names for the foundation:
Tokugawa US Japan Memorial Fund: honoring the memory of Prince Tokugawa, promoting global peace and democracy, and a love for music in children.
Tokugawa Memorial Fund: honoring the memory of Prince Tokugawa, promoting global peace and democracy, and a love for music in children.
MISSION STATEMENT:
This non-profit memorial fund would emphasize the strong continuing alliance between the US and Japan, and the broader message of international peace and democracy. Grants would be given to organizations and individuals who have contributed to these admirable goals.
Based on Prince Tokugawa’s strong connections to the visual arts and music, the theme for this foundation might also go the route of supporting children’s access to the wonderful world of music. Prince Tokugawa encouraged the sharing of Japanese music with the Western world, and brought an appreciation to Japan of music from the West.
It is believed there would be strong support for this memorial fund from a wide array of individuals and businesses who encourage the ongoing amity between the US and Japan.
This memorial fund would give recognition to the educational / political affairs organization the San Diego World Affairs Council (SDWAC) and its national organization, the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA), the largest non-profit, non-partisan, educational/political affairs organization in the United States.
Prince Tokugawa held distinguished leading roles in many diplomatic organizations during his career, some of these organizations continue to this day. There are also other more recent Japanese and US Japan international goodwill organizations who might well have interest in assisting in the launching of a memorial fund that honors one of Japan’s great humanitarian statesmen.
Below is a growing initial list of organizations in the fields of education/diplomacy/cultural exchange, who would be contacted.
–Japan Society of New York
–America-Japan Society headquartered in Tokyo.
–Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
–East West Center
–Praemium Imperiale: Honors the memory of Prince Takamatsu (who was the nephew of Prince Tokugawa).
–Tokugawa Art Museum in Japan
–Tokugawa History Museum in Japan
-National Museum of American Diplomacy – A Museum in Development. Located at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., the National Museum of American Diplomacy is a public-private partnership between the State Department and the Diplomacy Center Foundation. For the first time, visitors will have a unique experience at the only museum in the United States dedicated to the subject of diplomacy. No other museum brings diplomatic history to the forefront in its exhibits; no other institution is solely dedicated to collecting the artifacts of diplomacy.
POSSIBLE DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS FROM THIS FOUNDATION
– 50% would on a yearly basis go to a non-profit organization such as Classics For Kids, which is an educational performing arts organization dedicated to inspire children through the experience of live music, generate creativity, academic success, and cultural understanding. Classics For Kids would oversee the Tokugawa Memorial Fund.
– The other 50% would on a yearly basis be gifted to non-profit organizations and/or individuals in recognition of their efforts to promote better international understanding, peace, and democracy. A ceremony honoring the recipients might be part of this gifting process.
For instance:
*10% might go to US Japan international goodwill organization, such as a student exchange program between Japan and the U.S.
*10% going to the World Affairs Councils of America to support their ongoing efforts to promote better international understanding.
*10% going to the San Diego World Affairs Council, a local chapter of the World Affairs Councils of America.
*10% going to the San Diego Diplomacy Council.
*10% going to a different nonprofit goodwill organization each year. Chosen by the administrators of the memorial fund.
Overview of some of Prince Tokugawa’s leadership positions and noble achievements
Prince Iyesato Tokugawa (1863-1940) was a Renaissance man, an adept diplomat and politician, who shared his passion for the arts, music, science, and nature to create cultural and political bridges between the East and the West, while also promoting mutual respect within Asia. He is was in many ways the leading diplomatic face of Japan during the first four decades of the 20th Century. Tokugawa befriended six US presidents and many other world leaders in the pursuit of peace. If not for his untimely passing in 1940, Japan would not have become an adversary of the Allies in WWII.
However, during the aftermath of WWII, there was a joint US Japan political goal to expediently leave the war years behind them and reestablish a strong US Japan Alliance. And in that process, Prince Tokugawa’s amazing legacy has been forgotten and almost erased from history. It is hoped that by honoring the memory of this great statesman that it will result in a reduction of international tensions in Asia that are still linked to Japan’s role in WWII.
A man ahead of his time, Prince Tokugawa supported higher education and a greater voice for women in public affairs, and despite his powerful influence, he maintained his humility, often working behind the scenes, remaining unrecognized for many of his significant achievements.
Based on his adept domestic and international leadership skills, Prince Tokugawa would make a fine role model for our current leaders dealing with the urgent issues of today that require international cooperative efforts to solve. Below is a list of some of his prominent positions and accomplishments:
–President of the Upper House of the Japanese Congress for thirty years.
–President of the Red Cross Society of Japan
–President of the Japanese Medical Association
–Took a pivotal role in establishing the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the largest international goodwill celebration in the US Capital.
–Honorary Member of Rotary International, he was the Keynote Speaker at the 25th Anniversary of Rotary International, attended by 15,000 attendees from around the world.
–President of the America-Japan Society
-Held many other Honorary positions with other organizations.
-Promoted the sharing/exchange of art and music, and even athletic sporting events to encourage international goodwill.
-With the goal of preventing wars during the 1920s, Tokugawa took a leading role in the Washington Naval Conference, promoting the first international military arms limitations conference in history.
–Prince Tokugawa strove to maintain peace with China. When hostilities arose, he wished to protect innocent lives. Tokugawa led the Red Cross Society of Japan and the Red Cross International Conference to create demilitarized Safe Zones in Japanese controlled regions of China, such as in the city Shanghai. These safe havens helped save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and tens of thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust in Europe.
–Lincoln Essay Contests in all Japanese public schools and public universities. Prince Tokugawa was quite aware of the discrimination that the Western powers had towards Asians during the age of colonialism and up into the first few decades of the 20th Century. Tokugawa, himself, had a British education and respected the many of the values of the Western nations. However, in order to eliminate their anti-Asian prejudices, Tokugawa guided Japan to set the example by sharing the humanitarian principle of treating others, as he would wish others to treat his fellow Asians. To achieve this, he incorporated Lincoln Essay Contests into all Japanese public schools and public universities. The goal of these writing contests was to honor the values of Abraham Lincoln in his efforts to eliminate racism against Blacks.
Prince Tokugawa honoring the university winners of the Lincoln Essay Contest during the 1920s
Photo courtesy of the Japan Society of New York.
In recognition of Prince Tokugawa’s efforts to combat racism, the below bronze sculpture was created by the Stan S. Katz, the author of Prince Tokugawa’s biography. Replicas of this sculpture will be gifted to international goodwill organizations that wish to honor the memory of Prince Tokugawa. Prince Tokugawa is shown accompanied by President Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Japan Society’s Annual Dinner event honors Prince Tokugawa – Feb. 27, 1934. This diplomatic goodwill gathering took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City. This photo is a segment of a much larger photo, where over 200 attendees showed their esteem for Prince Tokugawa during his visit to the US.
[Source of this rare photo: TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com website ]
In 1935 Prince Tokugawa invited thousands of educators from around the world to visit Japan for a one week academic conference. The goal to create a school curriculum that would encourage respectful treatment of other cultures and international peace.
One of Prince Tokugawa‘s closest Japanese allies in promoting international goodwill was Baron Shibusawa Eiichi (aka Baron Eiichi Shibusawa, 1840-1931).
Shibusawa was great humanitarian. He is also known as the “Father of the Japanese Modern Economy and Japanese Capitalism.”
Presented above are two of the half dozen US Presidents that Prince Tokugawa and Baron Shibusawa allied with to promote US Japan goodwill: Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
Among his many creative efforts during the 1920s and ’30s to maintain friendship between Japan and the US, Prince Tokugawa allied with US military intelligence agent Colonel Sidney Mashbir during the 1920s and ’30s.
Colonel Sidney Mashbir (1891-1973)
For more information about the alliance between Prince Tokugawa and this US intelligence agent, below is a link to a one hour YouTube video presentation given to Osher Lifelong Education Institute – University of California San Diego – January 8th, 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu45j0XoO6k&t=9s
DESPITE PRINCE TOKUGAWA’S MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, HE HAS REMAINED RELATIVELY UNKNOWN, UNTIL NOW.
His biography is Available in two versions:
THE ART OF DIPLOMACY & THE ART OF PEACE
Future plans include the translation of the this biography into Japanese, and perhaps other languages.
PRINT & KINDLE EDITION
EXPANDED EBOOK EDITION
THE ART OF PEACE book cover presents a recently discovered photograph of Prince Tokugawa receiving an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Southern California (USC), during a special luncheon given March 19th, 1934 in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times stated that this honorary degree was given to Prince Tokugawa:
“In recognition of distinguished service in international statesmanship,” and for his “support of many philanthropic and educational movements.”
In accepting the honor, Tokugawa respectfully said,
“He wished to receive this honor in the name of the Japanese people as a whole rather than as a personal distinction.”
The Los Angeles Times also stated that a banquet dinner was to be hosted that evening, by the Japan-America Society of Los Angeles, to honor Prince Tokugawa’s visit. The Governor of California and the former Mayor of Los Angeles planned to attend.
Praise for the biography
Paul Ringwood U.S. Navy Commander (retired) wrote:
“Amazing little known history. I enjoyed every chapter.”
Kazuo Kodama, former Ambassador of Japan to the United Nations wrote:
“I wish you all the best & best of luck on your new book on ‘’Tokugawa Iesato.”
Professor Benjamin Uchiyama, Ph.D. History, University of Southern California wrote:
“This is a really interesting and understudied topic.”
Suzette Heiman, Director of Planning and Communications – The Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri [The first school of Journalism in the U.S.] wrote:
“We look forward to adding this biography to the School’s library collection. Your goal to reach high school and college students with this information is an ambitious – but important – goal.”
Toru Shigehara: Head Librarian/Information Resources Center Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation and Museum wrote:
“We appreciate your kindness and all the work you have done to promote understanding of Shibusawa Eiichi and US-Japan relations as a whole. I wish you all the best in your current and future endeavors. With gratitude,”
Bill Davison – President of the North County Chapter of the San Diego World Affairs Council wrote:
“Entertaining and Educational! This wonderful book will almost certainly broaden your perspective on US-Japanese relationships.”
Professor Claire Langham, former President of the East-West Center of Southern California wrote:
“The importance of preventing war is rarely given recognition through literature and in accounts of history. It can be every bit as exciting as glorified accounts of war and certainly a better approach.”
-One half of author’s profits from Prince Tokugawa’s biography will be gifted to the Tokugawa US Japan Memorial Fund.
