Photographs from the Tokyo Helen Keller Association.
Helen Keller's first contact with Japan was visiting their exhibit at the World's Fair. She wrote about it in 1893:
I went to the Japanese department with Prof. Morse who is a well-known lecturer. I never realized what a wonderful people the Japanese are until I saw their most interesting exhibit. Japan must indeed be a paradise for children to judge from the great number of playthings which are manufactured there. The queer-looking Japanese musical instruments, and their beautiful works of art were interesting. The Japanese books are very odd. There are forty-seven letters in their alphabets.
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She proceeded to visit Japan on many occasions before and after the war and received a great reception every time. The Post Office thought her first visit in 1937 was significant enough to include her as part of a stamp series celebrating the 20th century. The American Foundation for the Blind has a link to a video clip of her 1948 trip when she made a speaking tour to appeal for new laws concerning the welfare of the physically disabled. Presumably, she didn't stay at a Toyoko Inn.
Helen Keller continues to be remembered today. The Hokkaido Braille Library commissioned a "Helen Keller Tower of Silence" in her honour just a few years ago.
