Peace Lantern in Fall

When the Second World War came to an end in 1945, many painful scars were left behind. In the years following the war, anti-Japanese sentiment in Portland and the United States was still very real for many, the wounds from the war had not healed.

Less than ten years after the war ended, the first Portland-bound commercial ship from Yokohama, Japan, pulled into the Port of Portland on a peace mission. The ship was carrying a granite snow-viewing (yukimi) lantern from the city of Yokohama.
Inscribed with the words “Casting the Light of Everlasting Peace,” and later called the Peace Lantern – it was a gift to the city of Portland from then Mayor, Ryozo Hiranuma, and the city of Yokohama. It symbolized the first step in a new relationship between Yokohama and Portland. For the first time since the war, many Portlanders started to become re-energized about the idea of once again having a relationship with Japan, both culturally and from a business standpoint.

“All of it happened in stages. It didn’t happen overnight. Eventually, over time and through this Garden, the people of Portland began to understand the people of Japan better,” said Stephen Bloom, CEO of the Portland Japanese Garden.