On Japan’s Children’s Day the Indian Embassy in Tokyo recalled a post‑World War II gesture: a young Indian elephant named Indira, sent to Ueno Zoo as a gift from the children of India to the children of Japan.
The gift followed hundreds of letters that Japanese schoolchildren sent to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru asking for an elephant for their zoo. Nehru agreed and arranged transport for a 15‑year‑old female elephant from Mysore, noting that shipping the animal was the main challenge.
Indira arrived at Ueno Zoo on September 25, 1949. She came at a time when Japan’s zoos had very few elephants left—about 20 before the war but only three by its end. Contemporary accounts described her as a “magnificent elephant of exemplary behavior,” notable for distinctive markings and features.
For Tokyo children who had grown up amid wartime destruction and shortages, Indira’s arrival drew large crowds and offered a rare, uplifting spectacle. She came to be remembered not just as a zoo attraction but as a symbol of hope and a “messenger of peace.”
Named for Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi, Indira lived at Ueno until August 11, 1983, when she died at age 49; her passing was widely mourned in Japan. The following year India continued the gesture of friendship by sending two more elephants, Asha and Daya.
In India, Children’s Day is observed on November 14, Nehru’s birthday, when he is fondly remembered as “Chacha Nehru” for his focus on children’s welfare and education.
