Japanese Stone Lantern "Gift of Light" Ceremony Today

Presented to the city of Washington on March 30, 1954, the Japanese Stone Lantern symbolizes the enduring cultural partnership that re-emerged between Japan and the United States after World War II. The lantern is one of two memorializing Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, or military lord, of the Tokugawa Dynasty, under his posthumous name Daiyuinden. Carved about 1651, it stood for over 300 years on the grounds of the Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple which contained the remains of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The temple was located in the ancient city of Edo, present-day Tokyo, in Ueno Park, a place famous for its cherry blossoms. Its twin stands there to this day.

A Lantern Lighting Ceremony, featuring traditional Japanese performers and Washington dignitaries will take place later today, Sunday, 08 April 2007, from 2:30 until 4:00 pm at the Tidal Basin's North Bank at the intersections of West Bank Drive, Independence Avenue and 18th Street, SW, WDC.