Manuscripts

Kaei zakki

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Description: An illustrated manuscript, in two volumes, describing Japan's encounters with Westerners, including Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan in 1853 and the Russian expedition to Japan in the same year. This manuscript was compiled in multiple copies and sent to Japanese daimyo (feudal lords) across Japan to keep them updated on the latest diplomatic situation. This confidential report was sent to and read by Manabe Akikatsu, seventh daimyo of Sabae Domain in Echizen province. The manuscript also includes interviews with Japanese shipwreck survivors, including Nakahama Manjirō, who was one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States in 1841. The first volume contains 112 pages and the second 136 pages; both volumes are filled with fine ink drawings and brush and wash illustrations. The illustrations include depictions of American musical instruments, an American diving suit, Japanese landscapes, buildings, fortifications and forces, American and Japanese representatives, including Commodore Perry.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date

First landing of Americans in Japan, under Commodore M. C. Perry at Gore-Hama July 14th 1853

Visual Materials

Image of the landing of American naval troops in Japan in 1853 during the United States Naval Expedition to Japan (the Perry Expedition); Japanese men with spears stand in formation spread over the coastline to greet American soldiers as they disembark from boats onto the beach; more Japanese men in the foreground in boats and on shore, some holding the bridles of horses; hills of Japan in the background.

priJLC_MIL_001461

Passing the Rubicon

Visual Materials

Image of Lieutenant Silas Bent leading a boat of United States sailors through a group of Japanese boats in Tokyo Bay, Japan, during the United States Naval Expedition to Japan (the Perry Expedition) in 1853; Japanese men with spears in boats watch the American troops as they enter the harbor; U.S. naval ship and Japanese coastline visible in the distance.

priJLC_MIL_001460

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George Folsom letter book

Manuscripts

Letter book of George Folsom kept from September 2, 1850 to October 20, 1853, while he was chargé d'affaires of the United States legation in the Netherlands. The letters, written to various American government officials, discuss the preparations for Matthew Perry's expedition to Japan (including the effort to obtain coastal maps of Japan and Walter Henry Medhurst's Japanese dictionary); the case of William A. Seely, a New York lawyer involved in recovering the Dutch crown jewels stolen in 1828; the effort to dislodge a gentleman who claimed to be the consul of the Republic of Texas; and diplomatic implications of the 1848 constitutional reform in the Netherlands.

mssHM 83981

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Alexander Dallas Bache papers

Manuscripts

Chiefly letters addressed to Bache relating to Girard College, including Bache's presidency and his tour of Britain and the Continent preparatory to formulating a plan for this institution; the United States Coast Survey, chiefly concerning the personnel; Bache's scientific interests, particularly in the field of terrestrial magnetism; establishment of scientific institutions and departments of science, interest in and support of expeditions, including Commodore Perry's 1853 expedition to Japan, Elisha Kent Kane's expedition to northwestern Greenland (1853-1855), and Arctic expeditions of Isaac Israel Hayes; correspondence with American and European colleagues.

mssRH Boxes 12-35

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Ikokusen toraiki keibi haichi zumaki, 1853?

Manuscripts

Scroll documenting Commodore Matthew C. Perry's first expedition to Japan in 1853. The scroll begins with a map showing the Pacific through Uraga Channel to Edo Bay, with the American squadron's route marked out in red. Japanese defense locations are also noted. Detailed notes on the size and types of the foreign ships are given and the number of cannon noted. Following the map are four official reports. "List of fiefdom lords' names who participated in the event of the foreign ships' arrival" is a firsthand account by Matsudaira Ecchu no kami about the first diplomatic encounters with Perry. "Advice to the local commissioners" is dated 12 June 1853 and recounts that four foreign ships were spotted from Otsu village, Miura Ward and Sagami province. The third report is dated 9 June and is written by five of the fiefdom lords reporting their meeting with the Americans. The final report, "A list of fiefdom lords' troop strength" enumerates the number of troops at the disposal of 33 lords, and their responsibilities in the event of an invasion.

mssHM 83968

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Kaibo igi

Manuscripts

A set of nine manuscript volumes assembled and edited by Shioda Jun'an. Because of Shioda's prominent family he had a wide circle of influential friends in and out of government and he collected these texts on the subject of Japan's coastal defenses against foreign vessels and their attempts to make contact. The first eight volumes contain the writings of various scholars and officials, including Asaka Gonsai, Gamō Kunpei, Hirayama Gyozo, Kamei Shōyō, Matsumoto Tokizo, Saito Setsuzo, Sakuma Shōzan, Shiotani Kozo, Takano Chōei, Tōyama Kagemoto, Watanabe Kazan, and others. The final supplementary volume contains hand-drawn, watercolor illustrations of American sailors, Commodore James Biddle, and two American vessels, probably the USS Columbus and the USS Vincennes, the two warships Biddle commanded in 1846, when he entered Edo Bay in his unsuccessful attempt to force Japan to sign a treaty with the United States. The string-bound volumes are in good condition and are housed in a modern, custom-made folding case.

mssHM 84131

Kaei zakki

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First landing of Americans in Japan, under Commodore M. C. Perry at Gore-Hama July 14th 1853

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George Folsom letter book

Alexander Dallas Bache papers

Ikokusen toraiki keibi haichi zumaki, 1853?

Kaibo igi