Chevy Chase area. Fairchild accompanied this letter with illustrative col- 

 orful photographs of cherry trees lining one of the typical scenic water- 

 ways in Japan. He pointed out to Cosby that he was in agreement with 

 those expert Japanese gardeners who viewed the Speedway area as an 

 ideal location for the planting of cherry trees (18). 



On April 7, 1909, Mrs. Taft discussed with George H. Brown, a land- 

 scape gardener under Cosby, her ideas for beautifying the Speedway. 

 Brown, then, submitted Mrs. Taft's ideas and Fairchild's offer to order 

 the cherry trees to Cosby. Five days later Cosby initiated the purchase of 

 90 double-flowering Japanese cherry trees {Prunus serrulata cv. Fugenzo) 

 from Hoopes Brothers and Thomas Co., West Chester, Pa., for $106 (19). 



It was not long after the trees arrived that interest in Japanese cherry 

 trees gained momentum in the Washington, D.C., area. By early June, 

 Washington's newspapers carried stories of a possible donation of cherry 

 trees by the Mayor of Tokyo to Mrs. Taft. Certainly, this development 

 must have greatly pleased Fairchild who, along with others, "... was in 

 part instrumental in bringing this [turn of events] about" (20). These plans 

 to beautify Potomac Park now generated a sincere interest at the diplo- 

 matic levels of Government in both Japan and the United States. On July 

 12, 1909, Secretary of State Philander Knox, in conversations with 

 Kogoro Takahira, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, dis- 

 cussed the potential importance of this project. 



THE FIRST GIFT OF JAPANESE FLOWERING 



CHERRY TREES 



TO THE NATION'S CAPITAL 



It was not until August 30, 1909, however, that the Japanese Charge 

 d' Affaires ad Interim, Keishiro' Matsui, of the Japanese Embassy in 

 Washington, D.C., in a letter to Alvey Adee, Acting Secretary of State, 

 officially informed the Department of State that the City of Tokyo 

 intended to donate 2,000 cherry trees to the United States: 



... the news that planting of Japanese cherry trees along the Potomac Drive of the 

 City of Washington is contemplated having reached Japan, the City of Tokyo, 

 prompted by a desire to show its friendly sentiments towards its sister Capital City of 

 the United States, has decided to offer as a gift two thousand young trees raised in 

 Japan (21). 



The Department of State viewed this offer as a warm gesture of con- 

 tinuing friendship between Japan and the United States (22). 



Two thousand flowering cherry trees were selected from 10 of the better 

 selections around Tokyo for shipment to Washington, D.C. Yukio Ozaki, 

 the Mayor of Tokyo, no doubt, saw this event as an opportunity to play a 

 personal role in Japanese-American relations (23). On October 29, 1909, 

 Mayor Ozaki authorized T. Watase, his commissioner and alderman then 

 on travel in the United States, to remain ready to act as a representative 

 agent in any subsequent transfer arrangements concerning the cherry trees 



