JFK+50: Volume 7, No. 2413
JAPANESE SPECIAL AMBASSADOR HONORS GEORGE WASHINGTONMount Vernon, Virginia (JFK+50) One hundred years ago, August 26, 1917, the special ambassador of Japan, Viscount Kikujiro Ishii*, placed a wreath of roses and chrysanthemums at the tomb of President George Washington here at Mount Vernon.
According to the Chicago Daily Tribune, the ambassador also "claimed the right for Japan to honor Washington's memory and reaffirmed its devotion to the allies' cause..."
The ambassador, hosted by Navy Secretary Josephus & Mrs. Daniels, sailed down the Potomac to Mt. Vernon on the presidential yacht Mayflower accompanied by Ambassador Sato and Secretaries Lansing, Redfield and Baker.
At the wreath laying ceremony, Mr. Ishii said...
"In the name of my gracious sovereign, the emperor of Japan...I stand today in this sacred presence....to offer the simple tribute of a peoples' reverence and love..."
The ambassador went on to say that President Washington, as a citizen of the world, "belongs to all mankind."
*Viscount Kikujiro Ishii (1866-1945) graduated from the law department of Tokyo Imperial University & joined the foreign ministry. VKI led the Japanese Mission to the United States in 1917 & signed an agreement with Secretary of State Lansing in regard to China. He later served as president of the council & assembly of the League of Nations.
"Japs Hold Right To Immortalize G. Washington,", The Chicago Daily Tribune, August 26, 1917.
Ishii Kikujiro
Library of Congress Photo (1918)
