As We Saw Them: The First Japanese Embassy to the United States

In 1953 Commodore Perry's black ships forced Japanese ports open to foreigners and imposed upon the Shogun the Convention of Kanagawa establishing formal diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States. This was followed in 1858 by the US-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce, the first in a series of unequal treaties which allowed the establishment of foreign concessions, extra-territoriality for foreigners, and minimal import taxes for foreign goods.In 1860, Japan sent a large mission to Washington D.C. in order to bring the Shogun's greeting and various gifts along with the treaty document to the President of the United States, James Buchanan. Although the exchange of ratifications at the White House was a quick and formal affair, leaving the Japanese Ambassadors with a sense of frustration at the lack of ritual and ceremony unbefitting such a powerful nation, the envoys from the Far East were welcomed with a spectacular display of enthusiasm and curiosity. Hundreds of thousands filled the streets of Manhattan at the time of the pageant held in honor of the embassy. Walt Whitman, standing on a Broadway corner, celebrated the event in his pompous style:Over sea, hither from Niphon,Courteous, the Princes of Asia, swart-cheek'd princes,First-comers, guests, two-sworded princes,Lesson-giving princes, leaning back in their open barouches, bare-headed, impassive,This day they ride through Manhattan.The way the American public perceived the Japanese mission, with a mixture of genuine curiosity, open-hearted hospitality, but also traces of racial bias and prejudice, is in itself a fascinating story. But Masao Miyoshi is more interested by the other side of the encounter: not so much as "we" saw them, but as they saw us, and as they revealed themselves through this cross-examination. Following a rich tradition of travelogues and personal diaries by Japanese literary figures, many members of the 1860 mission left copious records of the event. It is these texts that Miyoshi examines to determine how the Japanese viewed the West, or at least the United States.Reading these accounts, one is struck by the mechanical and--from our perspective--uninteresting nature of the facts collected by the Embassy members. The long journey from Yokohama to San Francisco with calls at Hong Kong, Angola, and Hawai is recorded through compulsive notations on weather and daily longitudinal locations. Confined in their hotel rooms, many delegates filled their diaries with detailed descriptions and sketches of common appliances such as flush toilets, gas lights, and call bells. By contrast, references to modern economic, social and political institutions--that Japan was to espouse so enthusiastically after the Meiji Restoration in 1868--are scarce and inarticulate.The language barrier was of course a major hindrance. It should be recalled that Japan had secluded itself from foreign contact for more than two centuries, with only a trickle of information coming in through the Dutch trading post in Dejima, and that the interpreters who took part in the mission spoke mainly Dutch, not English. But the purpose of the mission also imposed sharp limitations on its members: contrary to embassies to the West that were to follow, the Japanese envoys were sent not to gather facts, but to perform a diplomatic act, and to come back as quickly as possible.In fact a junior attendant resented the restrictions on physical movement that were imposed by the head delegates: "Most officers are wasting their days in the city trying to buy watches and woolen material and velvet, and none are interested in discovering the institutions and conditions of America (...) Wishing to observe schools and colleges, I asked for permission several times, but I couldn't go since no officer was willing to accompany me there. Needless to say, I couldn't go to charity houses or orphanages, which should be the first on the itinerary if gathering information were the purpose."By contrast, many senior representatives were imbued with prejudices about a foreign country they considered as "barbaric" and looked at its customs with a mix of puzzlement and defensiveness, such as in this account of a ballroom event that is involuntarily poetic:"There was a band playing something called `music' on instruments that looked like Chinese lutes. Men were in uniform with epaulets and swords, and women with bare shoulders were dressed in thin white clothes. They had those wide skirts around their waists. Men and women moved round the room couple by couple, walking on tiptoe to the tune of the music. It was just like a number of mice running around and around."Although I found this book an interesting read, I would not characterize it as an intellectual breakthrough, and some aspects of its interpretations and historiography seem to me a little bit outdated (as the book was first published in 1979).

This book was sent to me quickly, and in great condition. I was happy to see this book as it is a part of my family's history.

For serious students of Japan, this is a must read.

Invaluable detailed research went into this historical footnote that would set the stage for the next 150 of Japanese-American relations. This book provides that sense of first contact for both the Samurai here in the US as well as those 19th Century Americans who first encountered them on American Soil. Anyone looking to research this period would be remiss not to read this book.