Inscription
— National Mall and Memorial Parks —
— National Cherry Blossom Festival —
Each year, the National Park Service and the National Council of State Societies conduct the Lantern Lighting Ceremony at the opening ceremonies of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.The Embassy of Japan appoints a Cherry Blossom Princess for the occasion. As the audience counts down from five, the lantern is lit in an exciting, traditional event that signals the arrival of Spring in the Nation's Capital.
Originally offered in 1921 to complement Japan's 1912 gift of flowering cherry trees, this 20-ton, 17th century stone lantern soon fell victim to deteriorating relations between the United States and Japan. For thirty-two more years it stood next to its twin in Tokyo's Ueno Park, awaiting developments. Tensions erupted on December 7, 1941 after the Japanese military bombed U.S. naval forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. When cultural ties, peace, amity and commerce reemerged following World War II, Ambassador Sadao Iguchi of Japan presented the lantern to the city of Washington, D.C. Dedicated on March 30, 1954, the lantern celebrates the centennial of the opening of peaceful relations between the two nations. This 1854 event is also honored by a Washington Monument commemorative stone, a United States Navy Memorial bas-relief, and the Japanese pagoda on the opposite [sic] side of the Tidal Basin.
Anatomy of a Stone Lantern - ishidourou:
A. houju - a sacred gem.
B. kasa - cherry blossom-adorned hood.
C. hibukuro - fire box with moon phases.
D. chuudai - lotus flower middle base.
E. soa - lantern support.
F. kiso - lantern base.
G. kidan - lantern platform.
(Images provided by the National Park Service, National Capital Region.)
Details
| HM Number | HMJPD |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Historical Period | 20th Century, Other |
| Historical Place | Other |
| Marker Type | Historic Object |
| Marker Class | Neither |
| Marker Style | Free Standing |
| Year Placed | 1954 |
| Placed By | National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |
| Marker Condition |  0 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Saturday, October 25th, 2014 at 2:44pm PDT -07:00 |
Pictures
Locationbig map
| Location Description | Located along the NE edge of the Tidal Basin, just W and S of Kutz Bridge (Independence Ave SW). |
|---|---|
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 322949 N 4306202 |
| Decimal Degrees | 38.88686667, -77.04131667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 38° 53.212', W 77° 2.479' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 38° 53' 12.7200" N, 77° 2' 28.7400" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 202 |
| Can be seen from road? | No |
| Is marker in the median? | No |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling East |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near , Washington DC 20245, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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Nearby Markersshow on map
The First Japanese Cherry Trees
The 1912 Cherry Tree Plantings
A Symbol of International Friendship
Japanese Pagoda
District of Columbia World War Memorial
District of Columbia World War Memorial
District of Columbia War Memorial
John Paul Jones Memorial
John Paul Jones Memorial
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Maintenance Issues
- Is this marker part of a series?
- This marker could use another picture or two.
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