[PERRY EXPEDITION]

[Three Contemporary Japanese Manuscript accounts of the arrival of Commodore Perry in Japan, including a copy of the official government report of events].

[Edo: 1853]. (9 3/4 x 6 7/8 inches). [31]; [31]; [61]pp., plus a loose sheet. Worming not affecting legibility, occasionally touching a letter. Some dampstaining and dust soiling.

Original paper wrappers, stitched as issued. Contemporary manuscript annotations in red ink in one volume

Vital contemporary Japanese manuscript accounts of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's arrival in Uraga Bay in July 1853, preserving official, documentary, and observational responses by Japanese officials and participants to the encounter that transformed Japan's relations with the wider world.

The first manuscript, Uraga kurofune ni kansuru, comprises an official account of events following Perry's arrival off Uraga. The volume is especially notable for its contemporary red-ink annotations, indicating active correction or revision of the text. It records the encounter from within the administrative world of the Tokugawa shogunate, as Japanese officials confronted an American squadron that included two steam frigates. The second account, Edo Uraga Beikoku fune torai ikken, records the arrival of the American ships and provides a contemporary Japanese narrative of the encounter. Its double-page manuscript sketch of the Uraga coastline, with the arrangement of Perry's vessels offshore, reflects the immediate effort of Japanese observers and officials to describe, classify, and understand the unfamiliar ships, equipment, and conduct of the American expedition. The third manuscript, Gasshukoku shokan wage utsushi, preserves contemporary texts associated with the shogunate's handling of the American communications. Abe Masahiro, chief senior councillor in the Tokugawa shogunate, accepted the American letter, ordered translations of the official letter and related documents, and circulated them among daimyo for advice. This manuscript includes Japanese translations of letters from President Millard Fillmore and Commodore Perry, presented by the American expedition in July 1853. The accompanying loose manuscript sheet gives a description of one of the Black Ships. Together, the three volumes and loose sheet offer a substantial Japanese record of Perry's first visit, combining official reporting, translated diplomatic correspondence, visual observation, and contemporary manuscript transmission. They belong to the immediate documentary culture produced by the arrival of the Black Ships, before Perry's return in 1854 and the signing of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity at Kanagawa.

Item #34747

Price: $12,500.00