The state dinner U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will host for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko on Wednesday will be filled with colors evoking Japan and springtime, cherry blossoms, koi carp, fans, and feature menu items such as shiso leaf tempura and matcha ganache, the White House said.
After the full-course dinner, with a main of dry-aged ribeye beef in a sesame sabayon sauce, legendary singer Paul Simon will perform a selection of his iconic songs in the State Dining Room, it said on the eve of the event.
"The state floor will transform into a vibrant spring garden, a place of joy and renewal, of hope and growth. As guests sit among the field of flowers, glass and silk butterflies from both our countries will dance over the tables," First Lady Jill Biden said when she previewed the dinner.
After their meal, she said guests will enter a hall where beneath their feet they will see a spectacle resembling "a river of spring blossoms. Swimming through the water are koi, symbols of friendship, peace, luck and perseverance."
The venue will be decorated with lots of fans, symbolizing the beginning of life. For dessert, the couple's more than 200 guests will be served salted pistachio cake with matcha ganache, cherry ice cream and a raspberry drizzle, the White House, said, adding that miso caramel will be incorporated as a hidden flavor.
On Tuesday night, the couple also invited the Kishidas to the White House to sign the guest book and exchange official gifts before heading out for an informal dinner together at a seafood restaurant.
Biden told reporters that he had crab cakes and the meal was "delicious."
As their main official gift, the president and first lady gave their guests a three-legged table made out of American black walnut wood, which was handmade by a Japanese American-owned company in Pennsylvania, according to the White House.
In addition, it said Biden gifted Kishida a custom-framed lithograph and a two-volume vinyl record set, autographed by the famous American musician Billy Joel, as well as a vintage record collection of great American music artists in a custom leather presentation box.
The first lady's gifts to Kishida's wife included a framed painting of the Yoshino cherry tree that they planted together on the White House grounds last spring.
According to the Japanese government, Kishida gave Biden lacquerware coffee cups and a pen in a style hailing from the port city of Wajima, which was badly affected by the earthquake that struck central Japan on Jan. 1.
He also presented the U.S. president with coffee beans from the subtropical Japanese island of Okinawa and merchandise from Nintendo Co.'s popular Super Mario series.
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