Takeaways: Bidens host state dinner for Japanese PM Kishida and wife

With glass and silk butterflies adding to the decor and blistered shishito pepper butter slathered on the rib-eye steak, President Joe Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife to a gala state dinner at the White House on Wednesday.

State dinners are often viewed as a glamorous tool in the arsenal of diplomacy, where the charm offensive is unleashed on allies − and even adversaries − with whom greater partnership is desired.

Preparations for the meeting had been underway for some time. A week before the guests arrived, a large, hard-to-miss banner depicting both the U.S. and Japanese flags hung from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located next to the West Wing. On Tuesday, First lady Jill Biden previewed the menu and the décor celebrating “the flourishing friendship” between the two countries with the State Floor transforming into a “vibrant spring garden.”

What was the décor like at the state dinner?

Keeping with the spring garden theme, guests sat among a field of flowers, with glass and silk butterflies from both countries “dancing over their tables,” said the first lady.

“Their graceful flight a reminder that as our nations navigate the winds of change, we do so together – as partners in peace and prosperity,” she said.

After dinner, when guests entered the Cross Hall, a broad hallway on the first floor in the White House, they found themselves surrounded by purple, pink and blue hydrangeas, native to Japan and the U.S. Some are as high as six feet tall. A floor covering depicting koi – symbols of friendship, peace, luck and perseverance - completed the look.

What was on the state dinner menu?

The three-course meal led with Japanese-American fusion.

During the preview, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford said American California roll was the inspiration for the first course — a house-cured salmon with avocados, red grapefruit, watermelon radish and cucumber.

The guests were served a main course of dry-aged rib-eye steak with blistered shishito pepper butter, fricassée of fava beans, morels and cipollini and sesame oil sabayon.

For dessert, guests were treated to salted caramel pistachio cake, matcha ganache, cherry ice cream and a raspberry drizzle.

The dinner was served on china purchased by the Presidents George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations as Grammy-award-winning singer Paul Simon performed for the guests.

Who were some of the famous guests at the state dinner?

Among guest at the soiree were former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor Robert DeNiro, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, Apple CEO Tim Cook, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Gifts for the Japanese prime minister and wife

As the official gift, the president and first lady presented a three-legged table that was handmade by a Japanese American owned company in Pennsylvania to the Japanese prime minister. The 17-inch table was crafted from American black walnut wood – one of the most precious woods native to North America – and will include a plaque to commemorate the official visit.

Biden also gifted a custom framed lithograph and a two-volume LP set, both of which were autographed by musical artist Billy Joel.

After gifting 3,000 cherry trees more than a century ago, whose blooming has come to define spring in D.C., Japan gifted an additional 250 cherry trees to the U.S. to be planted around the Tidal Basin in Washington, Kishida said Wednesday.

The gift honors the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which the United States will celebrate in 2026.

"And like our friendship, these trees are timeless, inspiring, and thriving," said President Biden.

Making his toast at the dinner, Kishida said: "We are now standing at the turning point in history, embarking on a new frontier led this unshakeable Japan U.S. relationship to even greater heights and hand it to the next generation."

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @SwapnaVenugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House state dinner for the Japanese PM brings out the glamor