 Because the 1951 Japanese Peace Treaty was signed in San Francisco, on January 8, 1953, Yasasuke Katsuno, the Japanese Consul General, presented a 9,000 pound Lantern of Peace.The lantern was commissioned in small donations by the children of Japan as a symbol of friendship toward future generations in the United States.At this time, Nagao Sakurai designed a "Peace Garden" and a karesansui or dry landscape garden.