Why did Japan give Washington, DC its cherry blossom trees?

Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki gave 3,020 cherry trees to Washington, DC in 1912 as a gesture of friendship between Japan and the United States. The gift was years in the making, driven by a DC travel writer, a USDA botanist, and a Japanese chemist - and it nearly never happened after the first shipment had to be burned.

The idea started with one persistent DC woman

Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, a geographer, photographer, and writer who was also the first woman on the board of directors of the National Geographic Society, pushed for cherry blossom trees to make their way to the U.S. Inspired by Tokyo cherry-blossom hot spots Uyeno Park and the Mukojima district, Scidmore decided the trees should be planted along the Tidal Basin. For 24 years she was a regular sight in the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, petitioning the superintendents for the cherry tree project. For 24 years, she was rebuffed.

The break came in 1908. Dr. David Fairchild gave cherry saplings to children from each District of Columbia school to plant in their schoolyard for Arbor Day. In 1905, Scidmore had hosted a cherry blossom viewing party, catching the eye of botanist David Fairchild. His enthusiasm brought new momentum. Then in 1909, Scidmore wrote a letter to First Lady Helen Herron Taft regarding her proposal. The First Lady had spent time in Japan and liked the idea.

How Tokyo's mayor got involved

Dr. Jokichi Takamine, the Japanese chemist who discovered adrenaline, was in Washington with Mr. Midzuno, the Japanese consul in New York. When he learned that Washington was to have Japanese cherry trees planted along the Speedway, he asked whether Mrs. Taft would accept a donation of an additional two thousand trees. Mr. Midzuno suggested that the trees be given in the name of the City of Tokyo. Dr. Takamine then asked Tokyo's Mayor, Yukio Ozaki, to support making a gift of cherry trees to the United States. Ozaki agreed.

Ozaki later claimed it was he who first thought of presenting cherry trees to Washington in appreciation, but had kept the thought to himself because he felt the Japanese government, not an individual, should make such a diplomatic gesture. Whatever the precise origin of the idea, Ozaki gave the trees to strengthen the growing friendship between the United States and Japan.

The first shipment - and why it was burned

The deal nearly collapsed before a single tree went into the ground. On January 6, 1910, a shipment of 2,000 Japanese flowering cherry trees arrived in Washington, DC and were inspected by the Bureau of Entomology of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The trees were found to be carrying a number of nonnative pests, including white peach scale, black thrips, clearwing moths, and San Jose scale. President Taft, on January 28, 1910, authorized the burning of the entire shipment. The burning was carried out on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

This international incident led to the passing of the Plant Quarantine Act of 1912. As for the diplomatic fallout, the Secretary of State sent letters to the Japanese Ambassador expressing deep regret. All parties involved from Japan met the distressing news with determination and good will. Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki and others suggested a second donation be made, and the Tokyo City Council authorized this plan. The number of trees had now increased to 3,020.

The planting on March 27, 1912

The scions for the new trees were taken in December 1910 from the famous collection along the bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward, a suburb of Tokyo, and grafted onto specially selected understock produced in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture. On February 14, 1912, the 3,020 cherry trees - twelve varieties in all - were shipped from Yokohama aboard the S.S. Awa Maru, bound for Seattle, then transferred to insulated freight cars for shipment to Washington. They arrived on March 26, 1912.

On March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. Additional trees went into the ground along the Potomac Tidal Basin near the site of the future Jefferson Memorial, in East Potomac Park, and on the White House grounds. The two original trees still stand at the terminus of 17th Street Southwest, marked by a large plaque.

The gift kept moving in both directions

By 1915, the United States government responded with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. The exchange did not stop there. In 1965, the Japanese government donated another 3,800 Yoshino cherry blossom trees. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson and Mrs. Ryuji Takeuchi, wife of the Japanese ambassador, reenacted the original 1912 ceremonial planting near the Washington Monument.

Then the flow reversed. In 1982, a river rerouting flooded an embankment of Yoshino cherry trees in Japan. Horticulturalists from Japan collected cuttings from the Yoshino cherry trees in Washington to help restore the Yoshino grove. Approximately 800 cuttings from the Tidal Basin Yoshinos were collected to help replace destroyed trees.

Today, the National Cherry Blossom Festival spans four weeks and welcomes more than 1.6 million people each year. In 2026, Japan marked the United States' 250th anniversary by donating 250 new cherry trees.

Sources

• National Park Service: History of the Cherry Trees
• National Cherry Blossom Festival: Mission and History
• White House Historical Association: First Ladies and Cherry Blossoms
• Library of Congress: Today in History, March 27
• Library of Congress Law Blog: Cherry Blossoms, Insects, and Inspections
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection: The Cherry Tree Gift
• Washingtonian: One Woman's Quest to Bring Cherry Blossoms to DC