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Sidebar: Miss Kyoto

Written by Leslie Bedford

Sent through the contributions of Japanese schoolchildren as a gesture of international friendship in l927, Miss Miyako Kyoto, above, was the centerpiece of the Japanese program for many years. In l985, I couriered her home to Japan for conservation. Print and television journalists met her plane, and ceremonies were held in both Kyoto and Tokyo. Among the more moving moments was the meeting at Kyoto city hall, above inset, with two elderly women who had attended her goodbye party as children. They presented me with a special noshi envelope, (ceremonial origami attached to gifts to express good wishes) and thanked us for taking care of her all these years.