° Nagasaki ° Osaka ° Shimize ° Yokohama
Distance between San Francisco and
- Kanagawa, Japan: 5,000 Nautical Miles
- Yokohama, Japan, via Honolulu: 5,580 Nautical Miles
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, Japan's secluded civilization contributed little to the general shaping of human destinies.
Their earliest acts as a people outside their own country was on invasion of Korea under a queen Jingo, who seems to have played a large part in establishing their civilization.
The map below is the first Japanese printed map to depict the world, including Europe and America, from a Buddhist cosmographical perspective. Printed by woodblock in 1710 (Hoei 7), this map was composed by the Buddhist monk Rokashi Hotan. Inspired by the 1653 publication of Si-yu-ki, a pilgrimage narrative of the Chinese monk Hsuang-Tsang's (602-604) travels to India in search of sacred Sanskrit writings, Rokashi Hotan's map attempts to update Buddhist mythological cartography, as exemplified in the 1634 manuscript map Gotenjikuzu (Map of the Five Regions of India), to correspond with the Si-yu-ki, as well as with contemporary and ancient religious texts, Chinese annals, travel narratives, and even some European maps. Rokashi Hotan lists these texts, 102 in all, at the top of the map. The consequent product of Rokashi Hotan's work is this magnificent amalgam of disparate ideas and traditions.
(Click on map image to see additional views and details.)
Japan was first brought into contact with Europe in the sixteenth century when a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier, began his teaching there. The Jesuit accounts describe a country greatly devastated by perpetual feudal war. For a time Japan welcomed European intercourse, and the Christian missionaries made a great number of converts but soon came to the conclusion that the Europeans and their Christianity were an intolerable nuisance. In 1638, closed its islands to Europeans, and they remained closed for over 200 years. During those two centuries it was forbidden to build any ship larger than a mere coasting boat. No Japanese could go abroad, and no European could enter the country.Prior to closing her doors, William Adams, of Gillingham, Kent, became the most trusted European adviser of the Japanese, and showed them how to build big ships. There were voyages in Japanese-built ships to India and Peru.
Then in 1837 a ship sailed into Yedo Bay flying a strange flag of stripes and stars, and carrying some Japanese sailors she had picked up far adrift in the Pacific. She was driven off by a cannon shot. This flag presently reappeared on other ships. 
In 1853 four American warships under Commodore Perry sailing into Japanese waters. Perry sent messages to the rulers. In 1854 Perry returned with ten ships, amazing ships propelled by steam, and equipped with big guns, and he made proposals for trade and intercourse that the Japanese had no power to resist. He landed with a guard of 500 men to sign the treaty.
Russia, Holland, and Britain followed in the wake of America. Foreigners entered the country, and conflicts between them and Japanese gentlemen of spirit ensued. With astonishing energy and intelligence the Japanese set themselves to bring their culture and organization up to the level of the European powers. Never in all the history of mankind did a nation make such a stride as Japan then did.
In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize.
In 1866 she was a mediaeval people, a fantastic caricature of the extremist romantic feudalism; in 1899 hers was a completely Westernized people, on a level with the most advanced European powers, and well in advance of Russia.
During this time, Russia began an assault on China, which alarmed the Japanese and led to a war with. Russian financial adventurers surrounding the Tsar had gambled in the prospective looting of Manchuria and China. Japanese soldiers crossed the China sea to Port Arthur and Korea. The Russians were beaten on sea and land alike and the Russian Baltic Fleet was utterly destroyed in the Straits of Tsbusbima.
In joining the world powers, in 1858 the shogun signed disadvantageous commercial treaties with the United States and several European countries. Tokugawa leadership was questioned, and numerous samurai attacks were made on the foreigners now allowed to enter Japan. By 1864 most activists realized that the foreigners' military power prevented their exclusion, and they turned against the Tokugawa instead. In 1867 Japan's warriors finally forced the resignation of the shogun, and imperial government was restored under the young Meiji emperor in 1868.
London and China Telegraph, August 8, 1892
London, United Kingdom
A Reuter's telegram from Yokohama states that Count MATSUKATA, the Premier, has resigned in consequence of the recent appointment of Mr. KONO TOKANA, who retains his portfolio as Minister of Justice, to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which had been for some time under Count MATSUKATA'S own control. In all probability the task of forming a new Ministry will be entrusted to Count ITO, President of the Privy Council. The changes in the Ministry have certainly been made with almost kaleidoscopic rapidity of late. With the return of Count ITO, one of the strongest men in Japanese politics, it is to be hoped that further stability will be acquired.
Colonies and India, March 31, 1894
London, United Kingdom
The match makers' returns in Japan for December last are as follows:—500 gross of safety matches, valued at 130.00 yen, exported to Australia; 108,600 gross of safety matches, valued at 32,232.50 yen, to British India; 156,100 gross of safety matches, valued at 40,325.90 yen, and 12,425 gross of phosphorus matches, valued at 5,615.20yen, to China; 25,56G gross of safety matches, valued at 5,292.50 yen, and 0,425 gross of phosphorus matches, valued at 5,620.00 yen, to Korea; 679,200 gross of safety matches, valued at 181,708.00 yen, to Hong Kong; 50 gross of safety matches, valued at 12.00 yen, to the Philippines ; 60 gross of safety matches, valued at 15.50 yen, to the United States; and 150 gross of safety matches, valued at 52.00 yen, to other countries.
Hakata
Gateway to Japan: Hakata in War and Peace, 500-1300
A thousand years ago, most visitors to Japan would have arrived by ship at Hakata Bay, which was the one and only authorized gateway to Japan. Over the ages, Hakata was a staging ground for Japanese troops on their way to Korea and ground zero for foreign invasions of Japan. Through the port passed a rich variety of diplomats, immigrants, raiders, and traders, both Japanese and foreign. Gateway to Japan spotlights four categories of cross-cultural interaction --"war, diplomacy, piracy, and trade--"over a period of eight hundred years to gain insight into several larger questions about Japan and its place in the world: How and why did Hakata come to serve as the country's "front door"? How did geography influence the development of state and society in the Japanese archipelago? Has Japan been historically open or closed to outside influence? Individual chapters focus on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) contradictions and obfuscations of the diplomatic process as seen in Japanese treatment of Korean envoys visiting Kyushu; random but sometimes devastating attacks on Kyushu by Korean (and sometimes Japanese) pirates; and foreign commerce in and around Hakata, which turns out to be neither fully "foreign" nor fully "commerce" in the modern sense of the word. The conclusion briefly traces the story forward into medieval and early modern times.
Hakata (map of Hakata today, left) is the oldest natural port in Japan and has played an important port as a gateway for economic and cultural exchanges with China since ancient times.
In 759 the name “Hakata” first appeared in Japanese history books, where it was written that the security of Hakata Otsu should be tighter because of the fear of invasion from foreign countries. As the gateway to the Asian continent, goods, people, and new cultures passed through Hakata.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, many Zen and Buddhist temples were constructed to provide warriors and merchants with both meeting and gathering places. Shofuku-ji temple was the first Zen temple in Japan, and was built on land given by the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate (first military ruler of the country) in eastern Hakata, with financial support from wealthy merchants. These temples were also the places where commodities originated that became an important part of Japanese culture – such as tea, udon (wheat noodle), soba (buckwheat noodle, Hakata textiles and Manju (steamed bean-jam bun).
A combination of serene nature, particularly in Hakata Bay, urban characteristics and traditional culture cultivated over a long history, are key characteristics of Fukuoka City. Powerful military families seeking control often attacked Hakata, known for its wealth and deep culture. However, it was Toyotomi Hideyoshi who eventually unified the nation. He ordered the reconstruction of Hakata as soon as possible, as the city played a key role in trade with Asia, and was also the linchpin of Kyushu, western Japan. Innovative city planning was undertaken to reconstruct the town and tempt back merchants who had fled the battles. A new law was implemented, exempting property taxes and opening the market. An organization consisting of Hakata merchants and local residents was formed to promote self-governance through discussions and consensus.
Shofukuji Temple, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, is the oldest Zen temple in Japan. The calligraphy on the main gate, presented by the emperor Gotoba, is inscribed with the words "This is the first Zen Temple in Japan." It was founded in 1195 by the priest Eisai, who studied Buddhism in China and returned to Japan with the Rinzai sect of Zen and tea.
North China Herald, Shanghai, China
September 30, 1880
HIOGO. The gale of the 25th ultimo, says the Osaka Nippon, has been severely felt throughout the whole Empire. A letter from Hakata states that the gale was very violent there, and on the sea off Hakata five junks disappeared from sight in a few minutes. Seven or eight days later, thirty-six bodies were washed up on the shore, and it is said that the bodies of a woman and a child of three years of age were found tied together; while the body of a man lashed to a mast was also washed ashore. The Corean Envoy and suite arrived on the 10th inst., per S.S. Takasago Maru from Yokohama. The Coreans have made a rapid stride in civilisation, all in a few weeks. When they made the voyage from Corea to Japan they were conveyed in a steamer manned solely by Japanese; at Kobe, they took passage by another Japanese steamer for Yokohama, but the chief engineer of this boat was a foreigner, —the only foreigner on board. The Coreans had serious objections to his presence at first, but nevertheless 'they ventured on the voyage to Yokohama. However, they have now got over their scrup0les, having gained more confidence, when they see there is no danger in trusting their precious lives in the hands of foreigners. Their voyage from Yokohama to Kobe in the mail-boat is the crowning instance of their progress in civilisation. It is probable that they will sail from Kobe to Corea in some small Japanese steamer.
Kobe
Kobe covers a long and narrow stretch between the coast and the mountains and was one of the first cities to open for trade with the West, in 1868. Because Kobe is surrounded by calm, deep water, it was a desirable port. By the early 20th century, Kobe's trade value accounted for 40 percent of Japan's entire trade value.London and China Telegraph, London, United Kingdom
November 1, 1892
HIOGO.
Government sanction has been given for the erection of Oil Tanks in Kobe and work will be proceeded with forthwith, the material having already arrived. The site chosen is alongside the warehouses already existing for case oil at Wada Point, which is convenient for the discharge of steamers, which will be able to come alongside a Pier and discharge by means of a pipe line direct to the Tanks. The extension of the harbour limits having at the same time been pushed forward and promulgated, foreign vessels will, from the 1st Oct., be allowed to discharge at Wada. Messrs. Samuel Samuel and Co., expect their first cargo to arrive next January, and its advent will no doubt greatly lessen the sale price of Oil. Similar arrangements are also in progress as regards Yokohama.
The extension of the harbour limits of Kobe is approved of by the native Press as a necessary and judicious step to meet the requirements of the increasing prosperity of foreign trade at that place. The extension carries with it the opening of Hiogo, entirely, to foreign trade.
Three kerosene vessels arrived in the port on the 18th Sept., with 209,000 cases of kerosene.
For some months past there has been a movement on the part of certain influential Japanese in favour of the opening of Hiogo port to foreign commerce. Practically Kobe and Hiogo are contiguous, and one and the same; it is only the bed of the Minatogawa—dry for half of the year—which divides one from the other. The petition lately forwarded to the authorities in Tokio, and backed by the personal influence of the Governor of the ken, has received official sanction, and an Imperial Ordinance has been published in the Official Gazette fixing the limits of Kobe port and harbour from Oct. 1 at Wada Point, on the south-west, and the former bed of the Ikuta River (Onohama) on the east. This decision on the part of the Government receives the hearty approval of foreigners as well as Japanese.
NAGASAKI
NAGASAKI. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
NAGASAKI, JULY 2, 1873. My last was dated the 14th ult., and on the 30th idem the French mail arrived, bringing dates from London down to the 9th May; but, as usual, telegrams had been previously received, and have taken off much of the interest newspapers used to have formerly. The interval has been marked by a rebellion breaking out in Chikuzen, Kokura, and other places lying some sixty miles or so northwards of this port. Various reasons to account for its origin are given, and they perhaps all have some little foundation, but do not exactly hit the mark, though they one and all agree in attributing the disturbances to the influence and even the open action of the disbanded Samurai, who are now no longer able to lead the life of luxurious idleness they did formerly. In this country it is very difficult to trace any rumour to its source, and hence the reason why anything more than disconnected bits of information never can be obtained at Nagasaki, and it is not unlikely that very little further particulars will be heard of the present troubles until executions take place by the dozen. Much dissatisfaction is known to exist amongst the population of Japan, and no little of this feeling has been caused by the continual changes ordered by the authorities, and the obnoxious manner in which the people have been forced into making them. The export of rice now entirely monopolized by the Government, who are reported to have sent it out of the country, and even sold it at a loss, has also furnished the lower and uneducated classes with materials for bitter complaint, and this has been greatly increased by the people more keenly feeling its action by rice rising in price owing to an almost unprecedented drought in this neighbourhood this year. At whose door lies such a political mistake as this rice question I believe no foreigner has ever been able to discover; one thing, however, is certain—a continuance of the monopoly must periodically render this country liable to the deplorable outbreaks of the character as those recently recorded if rice lie at the root of the disturbances, as some seem to think. As freedom of thought becomes more extended popular feeling will .increase proportionately and be a source of trouble to the Government, unless continually checked by very harsh measures scarcely befitting Japan of the present day. A few particulars relating to the rebellion appears in the columns of the Nagasaki Express, but I observe that no attempt is made by that journal to attribute the origin to any particular cause. Perhaps in the absence of being able to give the real cause it is better left alone.
Business at this place appears to have come to nearly a standstill, but whether this is caused by the disturbing influence of affairs in the neighbourhood or by the forthcoming revision of the treaties is by no means clear, as the dullness has now been of long duration. We hear no noisy babel in the tea-firing establishments, no noisy coolies carting away imports into the native town ; and, indeed, the quietude into which we have relapsed forms a very unpleasant reminiscence of the bygone days of some three years ago.
The wet days of June have been few and far between, but July has come in wet; last evening and up to the moment of writing there has been a steady downfall of rain, so much needed by the rice crops.
Visits from men-of-war have been few recently—the Russian despatch-boat Gornostay, now on the patent slip undergoing repairs, the crew of which is now located at Juasa, being the only one in port. It is somewhat remarkable that the Vitiay and Bogatyr both should leave this port for Yokohama on the day the news reached this place reporting a considerable increase in the insurrection both in Chikuzen and Kokura. American and British war-vessels are conspicuous by their absence—the attraction of Shanghai has secured the presence of no less than seven of the former and two of the latter nationality, but here we have none, although troubles are in places at no great distance away.
YOKOHAMA
During the final years of the feudal Edo period, remained secluded and had the least contact with the Western world.
It was considered a small fishing village until 1853-1854 when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed in with American warships with the goal of opening ports for commerce. Initially Kanagawa-juku, one of the 53 towns along the Tokaido Road (connecting Edo to Kyoto and Osaka), was designated a port hub. However, the Tokugawa shogunate designated the village of Yokohama in the year 1859 to be the hub for foreign trade.
During the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the area developed trade agreements with Great Britain mainly and Yokohama developed into an international city.
Russian Views of Japan, 1792-1913: An Anthology of Travel Writing, David N. Wells ($292)
Before Japan was 'opened up' in the 1850s, contact with Russia as well as other western maritime nations was extremely limited. Yet from the early eighteenth century onwards, as a result of their expanding commercial interests in East Asia and the North Pacific, Russians had begun to encounter Japanese and were increasingly eager to establish diplomatic and trading relations with Japan. This book presents rare narratives written by Russians - explorers, official envoys, scholars and, later, tourists - who visited Japan between 1792 and 1913. The introduction and notes set these narratives in the context of the history of Russo-Japanese relations and the genre of European travel writing, showing how the Russian writers combined ethnographic interests with the assertion of Russian and European values, simultaneously inscribing power relations and negotiating cultural difference. Students of Japanese history, nineteenth-century Russia, literature and cultural studies will find this book an invaluable insight|into the contact between two civilizations at a time when they were particularly ignorant of each other.
Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History
Anne Walthall, Professor of History, University of California
Mothers, wives, concubines, entertainers, attendants, officials, maids, drudges. By offering the first comparative view of the women who lived, worked, and served in royal courts around the globe, this work opens a new perspective on the monarchies that have dominated much of human history. Written by leading historians, anthropologists, and archeologists, these lively essays take us from Mayan states to twentieth-century Benin in Nigeria, to the palace of Japanese Shoguns, the Chinese Imperial courts, eighteenth-century Versailles, Mughal India, and beyond. Together they investigate how women's roles differed, how their roles changed over time, and how their histories can illuminate the structures of power and societies in which they lived. This work also furthers our understanding of how royal courts, created to project the authority of male rulers, maintained themselves through the reproductive and productive powers of women.
