A Monumental Conversation: Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month - Culture and Beauty on the National Mall
Monday, May 17, 2021
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, the Trust for the National Mall’s Monumental Conversation will explore the unique influences of Asian culture, people, and nations on the National Mall, including the gift of the cherry trees and the Japanese Lantern.
This monumental conversation includes speakers Ambassador John R. Malott, Past President, Japan-America Society of Washington, DC, Hoichi Kurisu, President and Founder of Kurisu International Inc. (now Kurisu LLC), Michiko Kurisu, Artist/Photographer, Yuko Smith, Director of Programs and Language School, Japan-America Society of Washington, DC, William Neff, Graphics Reporter, The Washington Post, Diana Mayhew, President, National Cherry Blossom Festival, Mike Litterst, Chief of Communications for National Mall and Memorial Parks, and Catherine Townsend, President and CEO, Trust for the National Mall. The conversation will be moderated by Eun Yang, Morning News Anchor, NBC4 News.
About the Speakers
Eun Yang
Anchor, NBC4
Eun Yang anchors News4 Today, the #1 rated morning news in Washington for which she has won several EMMY awards.
Yang joined News4 as general assignment reporter specializing in covering breaking news for News4 at 11. She then anchored the weekend editions of News4 Today.
Yang has been the first to tell Washington area viewers about breaking overnight news, severe weather, and major Washington stories since 2010. Her field anchor assignments have included the Inaugurations of presidents, visits by two Popes, Opening Day at Nationals Park which she covers every year, and the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Yang moved to the Washington area before she was three. She grew up in Prince George's County and Montgomery County, attended Paint Branch High School and graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Maryland.
She and her husband are raising their three kids in Washington, DC.
Ambassador John R. Malott
Past President, Japan-America Society of Washington, DC
Ambassador John Malott's career in the US Foreign Service and as a non-profit executive has focused on Asia, and especially Japan. During his 31-year career in the US Department of State, he served as US Ambassador to Malaysia; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs; US Consul General in Osaka, Japan and economic officer at the US Embassy in Tokyo; US Consul in Mumbai, India; US Consul in Kobe, Japan; Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs in Washington; and as a civilian advisor with the US Army during the Vietnam War. After his government service, he served as President of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC for twelve years. In 2017 the Emperor of Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Neck Ribbon for his contributions to US-Japan relations for over four decades.
Ambassador Malott is a graduate of Northwestern University and the National War College.
Hoichi Kurisu
President and Founder of Kurisu International, Inc. (now Kurisu LLC)
Having studied landscape design and construction under Kenzo Ogata in Tokyo, Japan, Hoichi Kurisu was appointed Landscape Director for the Garden Society of Japan (Nihon Teien Kyokai) (1968–1972), during which time he supervised construction of the Portland Japanese Garden.
In 1972 he founded Kurisu International, Inc., which has since designed and built a number of public gardens including the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois, Roji-en Japanese Garden at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida, the Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese garden at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Healing Garden for Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, in Lebanon, Oregon, which was the winner of a 2006 "Healthcare Environment Award for Landscape Design".
Kurisu firmly believes that encounters with nature are essential to mental, physical, and spiritual equilibrium. Each of his designs addresses a unique social purpose and reinforces a quality of humanity. By harmonizing light and shade, water and rock, and space with the senses, the Japanese gardens of Hoichi Kurisu restore peace of mind, physical health, and help to cultivate strong and compassionate communities.
Michiko Kurisu
Artist/Photographer
An artist and professional photographer, Michiko joined her father and Kurisu LLC in 1999 to document the construction of the Morikami Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida. For the past twenty years, Michiko has worked closely with Kurisu on all major projects to help define the therapeutic, healing qualities of Japanese gardens and to develop awareness of the role Japanese gardens can play in our individual and collective wellbeing. Based in South Florida, Michiko is the co-founder and director of a community garden and food forest whose mission is cultivating resiliency in both plants, people, and the community as a whole.
Yuko Smith
Director of Programs and Language School, Japan-America Society of Washington, DC
Yuko Smith serves as the Director of Programs and the Festival Director of the Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival. In this capacity she has general management responsibilities for the largest single-day Japanese cultural festival in the United States, entailing the coordination of over 600 volunteers, and hundreds of vendors and performers, and as many as 40,000 day-of attendees. Ms. Smith is also the director of the JASWDC Japanese Language School, the longest running Japanese language program and the largest the U.S. Capital Region. In this role Ms. Smith coordinates the efforts of ten to twelve language faculty over four annual semesters of courses.
Ms. Smith, was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan and went to Ritsumeikan University where she majored in literature focusing on international cultures. While a student at Ritsumeikan, she joined the Dual undergraduate Degree Program (DUDP) and studied at American University for 2 years, where she received another degree in international relations. After graduation, she worked at NNR Global Logistics in Japan for 3 years before moving back to the U.S. in 2016.
William Neff
Graphics reporter for the Local desk, Washington Post
William Neff creates static and motion graphics and generates original video content for the Washington Post's Local desk. He joined The Post's graphics team after 3 1/2 years on the Video desk, and before that as a senior news artist and multimedia content producer at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.Honors & Awards:
Two Emmys, four National Headliner Awards, member of 2020 Pulitzer, Edward R. Murrow Award winning teams
Diana Mayhew
President and CEO, National Cherry Blossom Festival
Diana Mayhew became Executive Director of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in 2000, and has been President of the National Cherry Blossom Festival since 2007. Under her leadership, the Festival has grown from an all-volunteer, seasonal organization to a fully staffed, year-round 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. Her success as a “connector” has led to developing strong partnerships with business, media, government and industry leaders; resulting in the Festival’s growth in programming, funding, and staff support. Today, the strengthened brand of the Festival receives local, national and international recognition, attracting more than one million visitors to Washington, DC each year and generating over $150 million for the nation’s capital annually. Diana is a 25-year veteran of Washington’s hospitality industry. Her previous experience includes serving as the Marketing Director of Odyssey Cruises and the Spirit of Washington, where she first became involved with the Festival as a volunteer herself. She is a member of Leadership Greater Washington, the Destination DC Marketing Advisory Committee, and the Woman’s Leadership Group of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington. Diana and her husband, Kerry, longtime residents of suburban Maryland, have four children.
Mike Litterst
Chief of Communications, National Mall and Memorial Parks
Mike Litterst is chief of communications for National Mall and Memorial Parks, responsible for media relations, digital communications (including web and social media), and internal communications for the sites on the National Mall. His National Park Service career began as a volunteer on the Mall in 1983 and he returned in 2014 in his current position.
Catherine Townsend
President and CEO, Trust for the National Mall
As the President and CEO of the Trust for the National Mall, Catherine leads a dynamic team to bring critical resources in support of the organization’s mission and programs, focused on restoration and sustainability, educational engagement and volunteerism on the National Mall. With over 30 years of experience in fundraising, strategic partnerships and organizational management, Catherine and the team have ambitious plans to develop new initiatives and strategic philanthropy to meet the Trust’s vision by the year 2026, which is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and a celebration that will showcase the National Mall. Before joining the Trust, she was a consultant to non-profit leaders, served as the President of the DC Public Education Fund for two years and was a founding director of Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry for 18 years.
In her spare time, Catherine enjoys cycling and is the director and lead coach for HoopGirls DC, a girls youth basketball and empowerment program she founded on Capitol Hill in 2005. Catherine lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC and is the mother of four children.
About Monumental Conversations
Monumental Conversation is the Trust for the National Mall's newest virtual event offering. This series features dynamic conversations with distinguished panelists who will discuss the history and influence the National Mall represents. From diversity to sustainability, join us as we tackle the most relevant topics in American life and reflect upon the role America's Civic Stage has played. To learn more and view recordings of past Monumental Conversations, please visit our website at: nationalmall.org/monumental-conversations.
About the Trust for the National Mall
As the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan philanthropic partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring, enriching and preserving the National Mall, the Trust for the National Mall brings expertise, private funding and in-kind support to time-sensitive restoration and sustainability projects, mobilizes volunteers and provides educational opportunities to ensure that the National Mall endures and evolves as a vibrant space for all. With over 36 million visits annually to the National Mall, combined with aging infrastructure and the need for better visitor amenities throughout the park, the Trust is helping the National Park Service tackle the more than $800 million needed for critical repairs and improvements.
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Why Is there a Japanese Lantern at the Tidal Basin in D.C.?
Washington Post, By William Neff
“No crowd will gather for the traditional lighting of the 17-century stone lantern on the Tidal Basin this year, because Washington’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival will be online. But the flame is far from the most interesting part of this unusual symbol of Japanese history and culture…”
Mrs. Taft Plants a Tree: How the Cherry Blossoms Came to Washington
In the book Mrs Taft Plants a Tree: How the Cherry Blossoms Came to Washington, Ambassador John R. Malott, Past President, Japan-America Society of Washington DC, tells the story of the people who were involved, and how they came together to bring the trees to Washington.
“Over the years, we’ve all heard the story about how the trees came to Washington. “In 1912 the Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki, in a gesture of friendship, gave 3,000 Japanese cherry trees to Washington.” End of story. But the truth, like all stories, is a lot more complicated — and it’s also a lot more interesting. It involves some very fascinating people, whose lives and interests all connected in some way to bring the trees here.”
JAPANESE STONE LANTERN PLAZA DESIGN
Initiated by former Japanese ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki, the vision to create a permanent landscape to complement this lantern and unify other historical markers in the area was developed by Hoichi Kurisu and Kurisu International, Inc. in cooperation with the United States National Park Service.
As the lantern was originally placed alone in a large expanse of open lawn, design priorities included creating a sense of place, ADA compliant pathways and plaza meeting low-maintenance requirements and the preservation and protection of existing cherry trees.
JAPANESE STONE LANTERN HISTORY
Originally offered by the Japanese in November 1921, a photograph was sent of the proposed lantern with a written proposal. The Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the photograph and proposal and suggested a smaller decorative lantern instead. Unfortunately, Japanese-American relations were then strained by confrontational meetings that occurred during the Washington Naval Conference, and the Japanese postponed the offer indefinitely. Further preempted by World War II, this stone lantern was finally dedicated on March 30, 1954.
The Women Who Planted The Cherry Trees on the National Mall
The cherry trees on the National Mall have more than 100 years of rich and vibrant history. At the root of their story are a few powerful and trailblazing women who have changed the National Mall environment to how we know it today. As our community comes together to celebrate the cherry blossom season, the Trust for the National Mall is celebrating Women’s History Month, recognizing the women who aligned their strengths to enrich the National Mall with our iconic cherry trees.