Posted on December 11, 2025
NOVI, MI — The Japan-US Friendship Doll Seminar was held at the Council Chambers of the Novi Civic Center in the evening of Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. To honor the legacy of the 1927 Japan-US Friendship Doll Exchange, the seminar was sponsored by the Novi Public Library, the Detroit Children’s Museum, the Japan Business Society of Detroit, and the Japan Cultural Development in Michigan.
At the heart of the event was the rare public appearance of “Miss Akita Fukiko,” one of the original Japanese Friendship Dolls of 1927. These handcrafted dolls, exchanged nearly a century ago, were symbols of goodwill between Japanese and American children during a period of strained international relations.
In 1927, American schoolchildren raised funds to send “Blue-Eyed Dolls” to Japan, and in return, Japan sent 58 Friendship Dolls, each representing Japan’s prefectures and oversea territories at that time. Today, only 47 dolls remain in the United States, with “Miss Akita Fukiko” preserved by the Detroit Children’s Museum.
The seminar featured a lecture by Maestro Masaru Aoki, whose expertise and passion for the dolls helped illuminate their historical and cultural significance; and a slide presentation of “Friendship Dolls Story” written by Dr. Hiroshi Yamasaki, Director of Interventional Cardiology at Henry Ford St. John Hospital, and narrated by Ms. Shannon O’Leary, Librarian of Novi Public Library. Consul General Hajime Kishimori delivered opening remarks, emphasizing the dolls’ role as ambassadors of peace and the lasting friendship between the two nations.
The event also welcomed Ms. Julie Farkas, Director of the Novi Public Library, Mr. Donald Bogart of the Detroit Children’s Museum, Mr. Takashi Omitsu of the Japan Cultural Development, and Dr. Fumiyasu Arakawa, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indian University.
Prior to the seminar event, Aoki who came from Tokyo for this occasion, spent three days to fix the right arm and cosmetics of Miss Akita Fukiko for display.