American Blue-eyed Dolls

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American Blue-eyed Dolls were part of a program of goodwill between Japan and the United States. Sidney Gulick, a missionary in Japan, initiated an exchange of dolls between children as a way to ease cultural tensions between these countries in the 1920s. Gulick participated in forming a group called the "Committee on World Friendship Among Children". In 1927, the first project was to organize the sending of 12,739 "Friendship Dolls" to Japan. These dolls are also known as American Blue-eyed Dolls and arrived in time for Hinamatsuri - the annual Japanese doll festival.

Inspired by this act of goodwill, Viscount Eiichi Shibusawa led a collection in Japan to reciprocate for this gift. The best doll makers in Japan were commissioned to produce 58 Japanese Friendship Dolls. Each doll was 32-33 inches tall and were dressed in beautiful kimonos made of silk. Each doll also came with unique accessories. These Japanese Friendship Dolls represented specific Japanese prefectures, cities or regions. The dolls were sent to libraries and museums throughout the United States. Over the years, a few have been lost or are missing, but many are still on display today.