ABSTRACT
The Yosemite conference of 1936 was the last major IPR event before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War – the war, which had an immense impact on regional politics, and affected IPR operations. The conference was the last to follow the established format, the last to be open to the public and the press, and the last to be held on the Pacific coast. It was also the last that the Japanese group attended before 1954. It was the first to take place fully under the leadership of Carter who was consolidating his base in New York. Like Banff, Yosemite was a scenic attraction, and the conference was held at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park between 15 and 29 August 1936. Participants stayed at a camping village, almost four kilometres from the hotel. Ushiba Tomohiko (1902–93), Secretary of the JCIPR, recorded that whereas major participants stayed in wood cabins, young secretaries camped in tents, which they soon began to call ‘slums’. He noted that the only service was bed-making. Even former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshizawa and former French Prime Minister Sarraut (and former Governor-General of Indo-China) had to carry their own washing to the laundry. 1 Although these participants enjoyed the experience as an American style of hospitality, Ushiba’s note illuminated the undeniable ‘class’ of the IPR.
