Ohio Connections
President Taft and Cherry Blossoms
The year 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan to the United States “as a living symbol of friendship between the Japanese and American peoples.” Planted in Washington, D.C. in 1912, these trees reflect the warm relationship between Japan and the U.S. for the past century… and we have Ohio native William Howard Taft, 27th president of the United States, to thank.
President Taft had been very popular in Japan. As Secretary of War, Taft helped to negotiate the Portsmouth Peace Treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. When he visited Japan in 1905 to prepare for the final negotiations, Taft received a hero’s welcome including a fireworks display in Yokohama harbor, a welcome by the Mayor of Tokyo Yukio Ozaki and dinner with the Emperor and Empress of Japan. The idea of the First Lady wanting to import Japanese flowering cherry trees to beautify Washington, DC inspired the Japanese government to donate 2,000 cherry trees in 1910. The effort was led by Dr. Jokichi Takamine, the Japanese chemist famous as the discoverer of adrenaline and takadiastase, and Yukio Ozaki, the Mayor of Tokyo. As Ozaki wrote in his autobiography: “I always wanted to show, in some way, appreciation to the government of the United States for their kindness shown to Japan during the Russo-Japanese war. When I heard that Mrs. Taft was interested in planting Japanese flowering cherry trees in Washington, I took the liberty to send the trees as a gift from the city of Tokyo.”
(Source: USDA.org)