The John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Artsand the“The Blue Star of Life” Organizing Committee
present“The Blue Star of Life”
Dedication Ceremony
For Eternal World Peace and Environmental Conservation

On the occasion of the160th Anniversary of
the Japan-US Treaty ofPeace and Amity(Concluded March 31, 1854)

Friday May 29th,2015
10:00 amAbout the Vase
“The Blue Star of Life” is a globe-shaped porcelain vasewhich was conceived and created by Japanese Artist“Maestro”
Shirakata Yasuhiko in Tobe, Ehime Prefecture.
The Blue Star of Life organizing committee has donateda porcelain vase for display in the Kennedy Center’s
Terrace Theater lobby. The artwork to be donated isalmost identical to the original vase, housed in theChamber Lobby of the Palais des Nations at the United
Nations in Geneva since 1995.
Since the original dedication, delegations of young
people have been dispatched to Geneva every five years
to hold a symbolic ceremony of vow renewal in front ofthe vase.
Today’s ceremony falls on the anniversary of President
John F. Kennedy’s birth, and will mark the longstanding
relationship between the Kennedy Center and the peopleof Japan.

With JapanProgram
WelcomeDeborah F. Rutter
President, The Kennedy Center

EmceesSarah Moore, Georgetown University
Kanako Kimura, Toyo University

Remarks &UnveilingAmbassador Yoshio Karita
Chairperson, Blue Star of Life Committee

Remarks

Ambassador Kristie Kenney
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy
and Public Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and PacificAffairs, United States Department of State

Remarks

Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae
Embassy of Japan in the United States

Remarks

Kat Fiske
U.S. Student Representative,
Georgetown University

Remarks

Enri Tominaga
Japanese Student Representative
Keio UniversityMessages

Mrs. Akie AbeFirst Lady of Japan
Read by Utano Shinozaki
Japanese Student Representative,
Dokkyo University
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy
Embassy of the United States, Tokyo, Japan
Read by Jeff Adler, Public Affairs Asst. Attaché
Embassy of the United States, Tokyo, Japan
Ms. Sadako Ogata
Former United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees and the Former President of the Japan
International Cooperation Agency
Read by Mr. Hajime Takeuchi
JICA USA Chief RepresentativeProgram
Messages

Peace Corps Message
Read by Andrew Chapman
U.S. Student Representative,
Georgetown University
Ms. Fumiko Hayashi
Mayor of Yokohama City
Read by Ali Nakazono
Japanese Student Representative,
Meio University

Pebble Drop

Students representing Japan and the UnitedStates of America led by
Laura Anderson, Sidwell Friends SchoolAliNakazono,
MeioUniversity
RyusukeSuzuki,Dokkyo
University

Haruka Fukui, Matsuyama East High School

Closing Deborah F. Rutter
Remarks
President, The Kennedy Center
Reception

Terrace Gallery
Student toast led byJack Hannah, Sidwell Friends School
Haruka Fukui, Matsuyama East High SchoolStudent Participants:
JapanHaruka Fukui, Matsuyama East High School
Kanako Kimura, Toyo University
Ali
Ai Nakazono, Meio University
Utano Shinozaki, Dokkyo UniversityRyusuke Suzuki, Dokkyo University
Enri Tominaga, Keio University
United States
Laura Anderson, Sidwell Friends School
Andrew Chapman, Georgetown University
Kat Fiske, Georgetown University
Jack Hannah, Sidwell Friends School
Sarah Moore, Georgetown University

The Organizing Committee
The Blue Star of Life Committee organizes projects
where young people from Japan and other countries canconvey messages about world peace and environmental
conservation to the world. The Committee’s intention isto promote friendship among these students and nurture
leadership skills through customized events.
The project to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of
the Foundation of the United Nations Organization
started in October, 1995. A globe-shaped porcelain vasenamed “The Blue Star of Life” was donated to theEuropean Headquarters of the United Nations at thePalais des Nations in Geneva, where it still resides in thelobby adjacent to the room once used for the meeting of
the Conference on Disarmament.
The porcelain globe contains a collection of pebbles fromaround the world. Since stone in Japanese is “ishi,”phonetically the same as “will” in Japanese, thesepebbles symbolize the will of the world to seek peaceand conserve the environment.
The Committee is scheduled to send a delegation to theEuropean Headquarters of the United Nations and hold aceremony on October 28, 2015, to commemorate the70th Anniversary of the Foundation of the U.N., following
this honorary dedication of the artwork to the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

JFKC:May 29th 2015

Special Thanks
Supported by:
Embassy of Japan in the United States of America
Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology
Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications
The America-Japan Society, Inc.
Sponsored by:
Ana and Sachiko Kuno, PhD.
(Co-Founder, S&R Foundation)
Gokoh, Inc.
Diva Sports Club