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)

by 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 (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #955,346 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 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.

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 European - as he would have probably described himself - 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 Sir Ernest Satow's Private Letters to W.G. Aston and F.V. Dickins: The Correspondence of a Pioneer Japanologist from 1870 to 1918 (Paperback) and several other Satow-related books which are also available on amazon.