HITA, Oita -- A parade featuring two blue-eyed dolls given to Japan by the United States as a goodwill gesture before World War II was held in Hita, Oita Prefecture, on Saturday.
The dolls were carried by kindergarteners on a rickshaw through the city center, and are among 12,000 donated by a U.S. missionary to Japan in 1927 to symbolize friendship. At the time relations between the two countries were strained by growing hostility toward Japanese immigrants in the United States.
Five of the dolls were delivered to Hita. However, some of the dolls were discarded during the war because they were from a "hostile country." The remaining two dolls were stored in a box at a local kindergarten.
As a reminder of the importance of peace, the kindergarten has displayed the dolls to the public once a year since 2007 during the local "Tenryo Hita Ohinamatsuri" doll festival.
About 100 kindergarteners walked with the rickshaw for about 500 meters from JR Hita Station to their school during the parade.
"The eyes of the dolls are beautiful and charming," said a 5-year-old girl.
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