Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860)

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Another significant facet of the mission was the bakufu’s dispatch of a Japanese warship, the "Kanrin Maru", to accompany the delegation across the Pacific and thereby demonstrate the degree to which Japan had mastered Western navigation techniques and ship technologies barely six years after ending its isolation policy of nearly 250 years. [The first naval training in Japan has been begun at the Nagasaki Naval Training Center on 1855.]

Background

On January 19, 1860, the "Kanrin Maru" set sail from Uraga for San Francisco under the leadership of Captain Katsu Kaishu, John Manjiro, and Fukuzawa Yukichi with 96 Japanese men and an American officer, John M. Brooke, on board. Fukuzawa had volunteered his services to Admiral Kimura Yoshitake (木村摂津守喜毅). ["Bakumatsu—Meiji Furushashin Chō Aizōhan", p. 20] ["Sekai wo Mita Bakumatsu-Ishin no Eiyūtachi", p.42] vague|So what's the significance of Ad. Kimura? If there is none, there's no reason to mention him here.

The Japanese embassy itself traveled aboard a U.S. Navy ship, the USS "Powhatan", which the "Kanrin Maru" escorted. The Japanese embassy was formally composed of three men: Ambassador Shinmi Masaoki (新見豊前守正興), Vice-Ambassador Muragaki Norimasa (村垣淡路守範正), and Observer Oguri Tadamasa (小栗豊後守忠順). ["Bakumatsu—Meiji Furushashin Chō Aizōhan", p. 21] ["Sekai wo Mita Bakumatsu-Ishin no Eiyūtachi", pp.30-49]

Destinations

an Francisco

The "Kanrin Maru" reached San Francisco directly, but the "Powhatan" (and the embassy) made a stopover in Hawaii first. When it arrived in San Francisco, the delegation stayed for a month, and Fukuzawa had himself photographed with an American girl, a photo that has since become one of the most famous in Japanese history. Fukuzawa also acquired an English–Chinese Webster’s Dictionary, from which he began to seriously study English and prepare his own English–Japanese dictionary. ["Bakumatsu—Meiji Furushashin Chō Aizōhan", p. 21]

Washington, D.C., New York, and return

When the "Kanrin Maru" returned to Japan, the "Powhatan" continued with the Embassy to Panama, where its members crossed the isthmus to the Atlantic via the recently opened Panama Railway. Changing ships for the USS "Niagara", the Embassy then proceeded to Washington, D.C.. Numerous receptions were held in its honor, including one at the White House, where the diplomats met President James Buchanan. Buchanan presented them with a gold watch engraved with his likeness as a gift to the Shōgun. ["Bakumatsu—Meiji Furushashin Chō Aizōhan", p. 23]

Later the Embassy went on to New York, then crossed the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, all on board the "Niagara", thus completing a circumnavigation. ["Bakumatsu—Meiji Furushashin Chō Aizōhan", p. 21] Leaving New York on June 30, the "Niagara" called at Porto Grande, Cape Verde Islands; Sao Paulo-de-Loande (now Luanda), Angola; Batavia (now Djakarta), Java; and Hong Kong. The frigate finally sailed into Tokyo Bay on November 8 to disembark her passengers.

ignificance of the "Kanrin Maru" voyage

The "Kanrin Maru"’s voyage from Uraga to San Francisco is often cited as the first crossing of the Pacific by an all-Japanese crew sailing a Japanese ship, although the crew was advised by John M. Brooke. However, the "Kanrin Maru"’s was not the first Pacific crossing by a Japanese ship and crew: at least three such journeys had been made in the 17th century, before Japan's period of isolation: those by Tanaka Shōsuke in 1610, Hasekura Tsunenaga in 1614, and Yokozawa Shōgen in 1616.

Notes

ee also

* First Japanese Embassy to Europe (1862)
* Second Japanese Embassy to Europe (1863)

References

* Shin Jinbutsu Ōrai-sha, eds.: "Bakumatsu—Meiji Furushashin Chō Aizōhan" (幕末・明治古写真帖 愛蔵版; Album of Bakumatsu- and Meiji-Period Photos, Enthusiasts’ Edition). Tokyo, 2003. ISBN 4-404-03112-2 ja icon
* Shin Jinbutsu Ōrai-sha, eds.: "Sekai wo Mita Bakumatsu-Ishin no Eiyūtachi" (世界を見た幕末維新の英雄たち; Heros of Bakumatsu- and Meiji Restoration-Period who saw the world). Tokyo, 2007. ISBN 978-4-404-03364-2 ja icon