Friendship dolls, Japanese friendship dolls (友情人形, yūjō ningyō), or Japanese ambassador dolls and the American blue-eyed dolls (青い目の人形, aoi me no ningyō), were dolls sent between Japan and the United States in 1927. The dolls were meant to improve the deteriorated relationship between Japan and America that had resulted from the Immigration Act of 1924, which prohibited East Asians from immigrating to the United States and sparked anti-Japanese exclusion movements in California and other parts of the US.[1] The Friendship dolls were meant to inspire children to cultivate friendship with the children of the other country, rather than to initiate specific political or legal changes.[2]
- ^ Koresawa, Hiroaki (2010). 青い目の人形と近代日本. ISBN 978-4-902163-56-8.
- ^ Koresawa, Hiroaki (2010). 青い目の人形と近代日本. pp. iv–v. ISBN 978-4-902163-56-8.