The Sesquicentennial of Japanese Embassy to the United States in 2010 marked the 150th anniversary of the first Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States in 1860. The purpose of the 1860 Japanese diplomatic mission was to ratify the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, which had been signed several years earlier. The initial Japan-US treaties opened the port of Edo and four other Japanese cities to American trade. In 2010, the sesquicentennial commemorated the extent to which the Japanese ambassadors and their party affected subsequent bilateral relations between the two countries. Commemorative events San Francisco A plaque marking the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Japanese ship Kanrin Maru was dedicated March 17, 2010 at Pier 9 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. This ceremony was the first in a year-long series of commemorative events. The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco organized an exhibit in conjunction with the anniversary. The exhibit, "Japan’s Early Ambassadors to San Francisco, 1860–1927," ran from May through November 2010. Among the items displayed were gifts from the Japanese diplomatic mission and sketches of San Francisco drawn by one of the samurai of the delegation. The Japanese Consulate sponsored a lecture by Prof. Naoyuki Agawa of Keio University about the Kanrin Maru, which was the first Japanese naval vessel to cross the Pacific Ocean. The ship transported the first Japanese diplomatic delegation, including Fukuzawa Yukichi, Katsu Kaishū, and Nakahama Manjirō. This was the first Japanese ship to enter the port of San Francisco. Seattle Five “Akebono” cherry trees were planted at Elliott Bay Park to commemorate the anniversary of the first official visit of Japanese diplomats in 1860. Washington, D.C. The Library of Congress organized a scholarly panel discussion about the 1860 Japanese diplomatic mission. Participants included Michael Auslin, Akira Iriye, Ronald Toby and the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S., Ichirō Fujisaki. Philadelphia When the Japanese diplomatic delegation visited Philadelphia in 1860, one of the highlights was a demonstration of the previously unknown Japanese version of chess or shogi. This is the first recorded game of shogi ever to be played outside Japan. In commemoration, shogi experts and representatives of the Philadelphia chess community, including former U.S. Champions in both shogi and chess, came together for a "chess event" at the Philadelphia Athenaeum. New York A parade of "samurai" was a modified reenactment in New York's Central Park to commemorate a procession up