Tomoko Shiokori, the cherry blossom princess of the Japanese Embassy, lights the 350 year old stone lantern to kick off the Cherry Blossom Festival. My guess is that she was some ambassador's teenage daughter. She was giggling and eating up the attention. Women love dressing up and having all the men pay attention to them. There are lots of cherry blossom princesses. I think every state and organization picks one. Last year, the weather was lousy, as it often is during spring in DC, and they did the opening ceremony in a bar.