News
- June 03, 2010
Exhibit Celebrates 105h Anniversary of Portsmouth Peace Treaty
Created by the Japan-America Society of NH in 2005 for the 100th anniversary of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, the exhibit offers a complete retelling of the story of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty. Stories that have never been told before, images and artifacts from public and private collections, and illuminating original research bring the story of the resolution of the Russo-Japanese War into dramatic focus. Indeed, before the assembly of this particular presentation, the events of the Summer of 1905 were not clearly understood for what they were: one of the earliest demonstrations of how ordinary citizens can have extraordinary influence on world events. Portsmouth's “uncommon commitment to peace” that played out on a multitude of stages is today recognized as multi-track diplomacy, the preferred model for 21st century negotiations. This exhibit demonstrates how day by day, for the thirty days Sergius Witte, Jutaro Komura and their delegations were in Portsmouth, the threads of formal diplomacy, informal diplomacy and back-channel negotiations gradually intertwined in a mesh that held the peace process together until all the issues were resolved and the Treaty was signed.
Curated by Hayato Sakurai and researched by Peter Randall, Charles Doleac, Richard Candee and others, this exhibit is a significant addition to the scholarship on the subject of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty and a touchstone for the vast amount of information now assembled in the libraries and permanent collections of the region.
The exhibit is also a starting point for the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail. Free maps for self-guided tours of the iconic sites of the Treaty summer of 1905 are available at the museum. For more information on the exhibit and 105th anniversary commemorative events taking place through 2010, visit www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.com. ###