A Photographic Diary of the Visit of the Garden Club of America to Japan at the Invitation of Prince Iyesato Tokugawa May 13th to June 2nd, 1935.

Tokyo: Nichi-Bei Kyokai nai, Beikoku Teien Kurabu Shotai Iinkai, 1935. First and only edition. English text. Oblong quarto (12 1/4 x 9 inches). [2, title with verso blank], 2, itinerary of the garden Club of America in Japan], 136 pp. of full page photogravure illustrations of the tour (versos blank), two leaves showing the Japanese hosts of the even each with an traced outline identifying each person (one is panorama), [10, name and address list for members of the Garden Club members and their Japanese hosts] pp. All the plates have tissue guards with captions in English. Original Japanese string binding with silk covered boards and printed paper cover label (in Kanji), decorative endpaperss, The covers have been professionally re-attached. A very good copy. A remarkably expensive publication for what would, on the face of it, appear to be a humdrum sort of occasion; a garden tour. The fact this book was published in such a deluxe format, using photogravures, overlays, etc., is a testament on how important this was to the Japanese.. n May 1935, imperial princes, influential businessmen and élite members of Kokusai Bunka Shink kai (The Society for International Cultural Relations) hosted ninety members from the Garden Club of America on a 21-day tour of gardens in Tokyo and Kyoto. The American guests also experienced Japanese culture—tea, Noh, ikebana, dance, art displays and the best of Japanese and western food. For the Japanese hosts, this was more than an opportunity to showcase traditional practices and cultural treasures. The tour was “garden diplomacy,” an attempt to utilize the positive impression of Japanese gardens to impact influential Americans at a time of growing tension between Japan and the United States... the Prince [Togugawa] spoke diplomatically of the renewed importance in Japan of defining and accepting “national character” as the country dealt with the evolving domestic and international challenges:Our love of gardens is nothing but our love of nature. No Japanese dwelling, however, humble, can exist without its garden, because the garden is as essential as the sheltering roof or the protecting wall. Between the house and the garden there is no line of demarcation. The garden has been developed to bring nature into the dwellings of our people, equally for the wealthy and the humble....It is, indeed, a great revelation to us that the quiet charm of our gardens has found such a responsive chord in the hearts of the people of America. Your coming will bring to us a new inspiration for appreciation of nature will awaken us to a new realization of our national character. It seems most fitting that we should receive such selected friends from beyond the Pacific in the quiet of our gardens for the enjoyment of true companionship....On our part we hope to receive from you invaluable lessons in social virtues, for beautification of communities, and for proper preservation of natural beauties." (B. Pendleton). The Club semed to spen a fair amount of time in the garden of Baron Shidehara's garden. Baron Shidehara was a Japanese diplomat, statesman, and prime minister for a brief period after World War II (1945–46). He was so closely identified with the peaceful foreign policy followed by Japan in the 1920s that this policy is usually referred to as Shidehara diplomacy. The fact that this excursion was hostedd by the Royal Family speaks volumes. It is nonethess a beautiful volume with excellent photographic illustrations.