Hirokazu Miyazaki, professor of anthropology, penned an essay for The Democrat and Chronicle in honor of an exhibition of Japanese dolls taking place a the Rochester Museum and Science Center on Sept. 30. He suggests Japanese doll exchanges offer important lessons about peace and understanding.
“In 1927, Sidney L. Gulick, a former American missionary, organized the delivery of more than 12,000 dolls from children in the U.S. to children in Japan. Three hundred of these – their clothing sewn by children and their families – came from Rochester schools and churches... these exchanges are not about the objects that change hands, as beautiful as they may be. They are about the giving and receiving – about the hopes, prayers, money, time, and labor it takes to animate the gifts and keep them going. That in itself is a form of peace.”
Continue reading the full essay here.
