oped an appreciation for the great beauty of the Japanese flowering 

 cherry trees. 



She died in Washington, D.C., and is buried in Arlington National 

 Cemetery. 



Baron Kogoro Takahira 

 (1854-1926) 



Baron Takahira was the Japanese Ambassador to the United States 

 during the planning stages for the first gift of Japanese cherry trees from 

 Mayor Ozaki to be sent to Washington, D.C. Mainly through his staff, 

 the many diplomatic details necessary to bring these trees to Washington 

 were carried out. 



Baron Kogoro Takahira was born in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. He was a 

 member of the Ichinoseki Clan and was educated in the Clan School. He 

 worked for the Japanese Education Ministry in 1873 and, in 1881, trans- 

 ferred to the Foreign Ministry. In the Foreign Ministry, he obtained the 

 positions of Secretary of Legation in Korea and Consul-General in 

 Shanghai. He was appointed Ambassador to Italy in 1908 and in 1909 he 

 was transferred to the United States as Ambassador. In addition to these 

 duties, he also was active in the Russo-Japanese Peace Conference in 

 1905. 



Baron Yasuya Uchida 

 (1865-1936) 



Yasuya Uchida became the Japanese Ambassador to the United States 

 in 1909 after the details for sending for the gift of Japanese flowering 

 cherry trees to this country were completed. Since these trees were 

 ordered burned within a few weeks after coming to Washington, D.C, 

 Ambassador Uchida was the Japanese official with whom the United 

 States Government worked to help ease a very undesirable situation. 



Ambassador Uchida, a member of Teh Kumamato Clan, was born in 

 Japan. Upon graduating from the Law Department of Tokyo University 

 in 1887, he entered the Japanese Foreign Ministry and was briefly 

 assigned to Washington, D.C, as an Attache. Before being sent again to 

 Washington, D.C, in the fall of 1909 as the Japanese Ambassador, he 

 served his country as Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce. He became 

 Secretary of the Legations at both London, England, and Peking, China, 

 and later served as Minister to China and Austria. From 1909 to 191 1, he 

 was the Japanese Ambassador to the United States. In 191 1, he was sent 

 to Russia as the Japanese Ambassador and, in 1918, returned to Japan to 

 become Foreign Minister. In 1921, he served as interim Prime Minister of 



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