Fernanda's Reflection

Over time, the Japanese lantern evolved from a diplomatic gesture into a public tourist attraction, which connects to Marx’s idea of commodity fetishism. In D.C., people who go to the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park admire the Japanese lantern for its fascinating design and cultural aesthetic without considering its long history, labor, and political relationships behind it. Marx says commodities hide the human and social relationships that produced them, as is clear in the lantern, which becomes a neutral object in a park, disconnected from the people who carved it, the history of postwar reconciliation, or the cultural meaning it held in Japan. It became a tourist object, something to be consumed visually. This shift shows how cities can turn cultural artifacts into “things” rather than relationships. It shows how easily objects can lose their original meaning once they enter capitalist spaces, even when those objects started as gifts meant to carry deep relational value. 

Jesús & Xiadani's Reflection:

Similar to the insight of Fernanda, Karl Marx offers a new way to interpret the lantern in its new environment. Marx describes the idea of commodity fetishism, where people focus on the surface value of an object and ignore the labor and social relations that created it. Visitors to the Tidal Basin often see the lantern as a beautiful decoration or a tourist attraction, but they may not notice the complex funerary traditions, social hierarchies, and political ties that shaped it. In its original Tokugawa world, the lantern was closely tied to status, ritual obligations, and acts of devotion from feudal lords. Once moved to Washington, these earlier relations became hidden, and the lantern gained a new meaning shaped by modern diplomacy, the celebration of cherry blossoms, and the tourist economy. Marx helps us see how the object has gained a new surface charm while its deeper history is often overlooked. 

The Japanese Stone Lantern in Washington, D.C. can be understood as a gift that continues to evolve different meanings, just as Marcel Mauss described in his work on exchange. Mauss explains that gifts always create lasting ties between people because the object carries a part of the giver. In this sense, the lantern is not just a carved stone from the Edo period, but also a living reminder of the relationship between Japan and the United States. Although it once stood inside a sacred funerary space at Kan-eiji Temple, it now works as a political and cultural gesture of peace and renewed connection. Even though it was sent in 1954, it still carries the spirit of both its original makers and the modern diplomats who selected it. The United States accepts the lantern with a symbolic burden, because Mauss reminds us that every gift demands care, recognition, and eventual return. The yearly lantern lighting ceremony can be read as a form of return, a repeated act that honors the bond created by the original gift.

Sidney Mintz and D.W. Winnicott also help explain how the lantern has taken on new life across cultures. Mintz shows how objects move across borders and gain new meanings as different societies use them in new ways. The lantern once marked the power of a shogun in Japan, but now it works within a story of friendship and global exchange. Winnicott writes about transitional objects, which help people move from one emotional space to another. In a similar way, the lantern serves as a transitional object between two nations. It holds memories of a painful war period while also supporting a peaceful present. It gives people in Washington a physical point of connection to a culture that is far away, and it allows Japan to remain present in the life of the city. The lantern continues to gather new layers of meaning as each Cherry Blossom Festival brings thousands of visitors to see it, proving that objects can carry social energy long after they leave their original homes.

Remaining Mysteries & Future Research

To our surprise, information about the Japanese Stone Lantern was very limited in a simple internet search and took quite some effort to dig details, enabling us to conduct a deep research. Interestingly enough, some of the most common questions are actually unanswered. Considering that the lanterns date to the 1600s, the full story of its original use, placement, and movement is not completely traceable due to incomplete documentation and records of its history. There has been a lack of preservation, further limiting our ability to understand more about the lantern. Additionally, the exact decision-making process behind the gift is also unclear. It was established that the lantern was a diplomatic gift, but the specific proposal about why the stone lantern was chosen specifically is not stated anywhere. While the lantern symbolizes friendship, there is much space to analyze in terms of the evolution of its cultural meaning and the connection to it from different communities in the United States and D.C. primarily.