Image: 1915 – Theodore Roosevelt & William Howard Taft attend a banquet honoring the visit of Baron Shibusawa Eiichi. This U.S. Japan goodwill diplomatic event is also linked to the early history of the Japan Society of New York City.

Description: December 3rd, 1915 – New York City - Theodore Roosevelt & William Howard Taft attended a diplomatic banquet honoring the visit of the influential Japanese statesmen and business leader, Baron Eiichi Shibusawa - Roosevelt is seated centered below the candelabra and two seats away from the empty chair where Baron Shibusawa was sitting during this event. For the sake of capturing all sixty-five guests in one photo, while highlighting their visitor, Shibusawa stood at the other end of the table closer to the photographer and nearer to where William Howard Taft was seated. This event took place at Sherry’s, one of the most impressive New York City banquet facilities of its time. During this 1915 diplomatic gathering there were frank discussions on the following topics: -How to improve relations between America and Japan. -How to eliminate injustices and discrimination against Japanese-Americans living in the U.S. -Both Shibusawa and his American guests felt optimistic about Japan-U.S. relations and that problems could be resolved. -Another topic presented was the recent outbreak of war in Europe, World War One. They recognized the U.S. might soon find itself in that conflict, and they discussed how America’s resources might best be spent in preparation for that conflict. There was strong encouragement that Japan and America should work together to go against the “criminal” powers who had started the war. Surprisingly, no newspapers during that period mentioned that Roosevelt and Taft were going to attend or had attended that event, possibly for security reasons. This rare and significant photo was almost lost. It was serendipitously acquired while researching for an illustrated biography on Prince Iyesato Tokugawa (1863-1940) titled THE ART OF PEACE by Stan S. Katz. Prince Tokugawa & Baron Shibusawa were lifelong friends and allies who promoted successful domestic policies in Japan and strove for peace internationally. They were in many ways among the most powerful and inspiring world leaders during the first decades of the twentieth century. The website: TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com presents additional information about these fine Japanese statesmen and their allies.
Title: 1915 – Theodore Roosevelt & William Howard Taft attend a banquet honoring the visit of Baron Shibusawa Eiichi. This U.S. Japan goodwill diplomatic event is also linked to the early history of the Japan Society of New York City.
Credit: Own work
Author: Stan S. Katz
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes