A Diplomat in Japan: The Inner History of the Critical Years in the Evolution of Japan When the Ports Were Opened and the Monarchy Restored (Stone Bridge Classics) (Paperback)

~ Ernest Satow (Author)
Key Phrases: treaty powers, other daimiôs, ooo koku, Sir Harry, Colonel Neale, French Minister (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Based on the author's detailed diary, personal encounters, and keen memory, this book is a record of the inner history of the critical years of social and political upheaval that accompanied Japan's first encounters with the West around the time of the Meiji Restoration.

Sir Ernest Mason Satow (18431929) was a member of the British legation in Tokyo for twenty-one years.

About the Author

Satow (1843-1929) arrived in Japan in 1862 and remained there for 21 years as a secretary of the British Legation of Tokyo, becoming an avid student of Japanese language, history, religion, and customs. He later served as Minister in Siam, Uruguay, Morocco, and China. He died at age 86 in England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933330163
• ISBN-13: 978-1933330167
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #783,876 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Japanese history comes alive, August 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Diplomat in Japan (Paperback)

If you are interested in Japanese history this is a great book. It gives a firsthand account of events between 1862 and 1869 from the perspective of a foreigner, which covers the very important period of Japan opening to foreigners and the overturn of the shogunate. Sir Ernest Satow was witness to many of the important events that formed modern Japan in his function as a translator for the British Consulate. The book reports his various travels through Japan as an official, his interactions with members of the different Japanese clans, negotiations between the foreign representatives and the Japanese government, including the first audience with the Mikado granted to foreigners. The book makes history come alive and fills it with real-life people. It also shows firsthand the difficulties of foreigners in understanding the very different culture of Japan, at a time when there wasn't even proper teaching material to learn the language (not even a dictionary) to make this process easier. A great book for anybody who wants to further his or her understanding of Japan.

5.0 out of 5 stars An armchair view of Japan in 1862, November 3, 2009

By	Peter Hanami - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Diplomat in Japan (Paperback)

Ernest Satow first arrived in Japan on September 8, 1862 aboard a steamship bound from Shanghai, China. Over the next twenty years he saw first hand the events of the period and recorded them in his diary. All in all he spent over twenty years in Japan and this time is covered by this book. The period in question covers the period 1862 to 1882. Spread over thirty six page turning chapters, a glossary of Japanese words and an index of people, places and events he shares his studies and life in Japan.

Satow documents the day of his arrival, his life in Yokohama, how he studied Japanese, the physical conditions of the country and the people, the political conditions, the relationships with other foreign embassies, daily life and the meetings with the government. All are mixed into a narrative that puts you there in the room as he talks with officials, Shoguns and Emperors as he translates and interprets treaties, documents and conversations to allow Great Britain to trade with Japan.

Highlights include his first visit to Osaka, the bombing of Kagoshima, meeting with the Shogun, the Emperor and the negotiation of reparations for murdered foreigners. The book is best read with a map handy so you can follow his steps as he travels throughout the mainland by palanquin, horse and steamer.

For the current Japanese language student he details how he started learning the language, discusses his teachers, the resources he had available, the techniques he used and the joy he gained living and speaking the language.

For the traveler, the book will surely light a spark that yearns for seeing the places he visited. To see for yourself the places, experience the lifestyle (food, baths, sake, etc) and to visit the temples and to meet the people, cities and places mentioned.

For the businessmen, Satows book details some of the first business negotiations foreigners had with the Japanese government and the practical duties of implementing trading.

The only weakness the book has is that it ends too soon.

Peter Hanami, CEO, [...]

5.0 out of 5 stars a remarkable work, May 2, 2008

By	Ian C. Ruxton (Kitakyushu,Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The mere fact that this book has been through many paperback editions since it first appeared as a hardback published in London by Seeley Service in 1921 is on its own a powerful testament to its enduring fascination. This edition is the latest in a long line, and this reviewer hopes that it will never go out of print. (As a Kindle edition has recently been produced this seems unlikely, unless the Kindle itself heralds the end of printed books!)

What is the secret of its popularity? First, it is an eye-witness account by an acutely sensitive and intelligent insider, which many would argue is one of the best kinds of history. Based mainly on his diaries, it depicts not only the political situation of Japan, but also the social conditions of a society on the threshold of an enormous change: the Meiji restoration.

The eyes are those of a sympathetic Westerner who was able to master the Japanese language in a time when there were hardly any text books available, and who later became one of the foremost japanologists of the 19th century. (Of course this is to say nothing of his subsequent career as a top British diplomat and theorist of international law.)

Ian Ruxton, editor of A Diplomat in Japan, Part II: The Diaries of Ernest Satow, 1870-1883, Sir Ernest Satow's Private Letters to W.G. Aston and F.V. Dickins and several other Satow-related books which are also available on amazon.