The Complete Journal of Townsend Harris

Front matter

(onpen cose

Harris, Townsend, 1404-1878.

The complete journal of Townsend Harris, first American consul general and minister to Japan

Preface

List of Illustrations

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The Appointment of Townsend Harris as Consul General for Japan

The Complete Journal of Townsend Harris: Journal No. 1: May 21, 1855 to April 14, 1856 Journal No. 2: April 15, 1856 to July 6, 1856 Journal No. 3: July 7, 1856 to February 25, 1857 Journal No. 4: February 26, 1857 to December 7, 1857 Journal No. 5: December 7, 1857 to February 27, 1858 Fragments

Appendices:

I. President Pierce’s Letter to the First King of Siam II. List of Presents for the First King of Siam

III. List of Presents for the Second King of Siam

IV. The Convention of Shimoda: concluded June 17,

1857 Xill vil

XV x1X

175 315 477 559

565 566

V. The First American Flag made in Japan: November, 1857

VI. Townsend Harris’s Letter of Credence, or “Full Powers”: dated, Washington, D. C., September 8, 1855

VII. President Pierce’s Letter to the Emperor of Japan: dated, Washington, D. C., September 12, 1855

VIII. Letter written by Hotta, Bitchiu-no-Kami, to Townsend Harris: dated, Yedo, January 4, 1858

IX. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce: concluded at Yedo, July 29, 1858

Index

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Dye

578 591

Townsend Harris in 1847 Frontispiece

From a Bronze Tablet by Albert P. D’Andrea, of the Art Department of the Townsend Harris Hall High School—the Preparatory High School of The College of the City of New York. It is a gift presented by the Class of January, 1924, of the High School, and was unveiled on Charter Day, May 20, 1925, by H. I. M.’s Ambassador, His Excellency Tsuneo Matsudaira.

Townsend Harris’s Seal Title page

This impression of Mr. Harris’s stone seal shows three Chinese characters—Ha, Ri, S—somewhat conventionalized by the engraver who made the seal.

FACING PAGE

Townsend Harris’s First Commission as Consul General for Japan 24

Dated, Washington, D. C., August 4, 1855.

A Holograph Letter from the Second King of

Siam IIO Dated, Palace of the Second King, Bangkok, Siam, April 22, 1856.

Townsend Harris’s Manuscript Journal, August i191 560, 10 vol: 2, p. 25 196

At the top of the page may be read his hope to receive honorable mention in the “Histories which will be written on Japan.”

View of Shimoda, from Kakizaki 217

From a drawing in India ink by Mr. H. C. J. Heusken, whose signature in the lower right-hand corner is clearly legible in the original. This drawing was enclosed by Townsend Harris in a letter to “Kate” Drinker (later Mrs. Thomas Allibone Janvier), dated Shimoda, Japan, November 21, 1856. For this letter and drawing, see the Janvier Letters and Papers, in the Manuscripts Division of the New York Public Library.

XV

FACING PAGE

The U. S. Consulate at Shimoda in 1856

From a drawing in India ink by Mr. H. C. J. Heusken. This drawing gives the earliest and only authentic view of the grounds of the consulate, of its buildings, and of the flagstaff flying the first consular flag ever seen in Japan. See Journal, Thursday, September 4, 1856.

Monument Dedicated to the Memory of ‘Townsend Harris

This monument was erected in the courtyard of the Gyokusen-ji, near Shimoda—the home of the first American accredited representative to Japan. It was unveiled on Saturday, October 1, 1927. The front of the monument bears the English text; the back, the Japanese text. The Journal entry carved on the monument is that for September 4, 1856, commemorating the hoisting of the first consular flag ever seen in Japan.

Townsend Harris’s manuscript Journal, vol. 4, p- 52 This illustration shows his comment on having concluded the Convention of Shimoda: June 17, 1857.

Townsend Harris’s Second Commission as Consul

General for Japan Dated, Washington, D. C., July 31, 1856.

The First American Flag Made in Japan: November, 1857

This flag is now framed and is hanging on the wall of the Director’s Office, in the Townsend Harris Hall High School. See Appendix V.

Townsend Harris’s “Full Powers,” or Letter of

Credence Dated, Washington, D. C., September 8, 1856.

The Japanese Text of the Shogun’s Speech This speech was delivered at the First Audience granted to Townsend Harris, December 7, 1857. It is the earliest official and personal expression uttered by the Shoguns of friendly relations between the United States and Japan.

Letter Written by Hotta, Bitchiu-no-Kami, to Townsend Harris Dated, Yedo, January 4, 1858. See Appendix VIII.

XVI

The Famous Ginkgo Tree at the Zempuku-ji (The Shrine of Peace and Prosperity) in Tokyo S14

This tree marks the site where once stood the first flagstaff erected by Townsend Harris in the Capital of Japan. Townsend Harris concluded the Treaty of Yedo on July 29, 1858; the Convention of Kanagawa on March 19, 1859; and opened the American Legation at Yedo (Tokyo) on July 7, 1859.

The Harbor of Settsu B27

’ This drawing is by Townsend Harris’s hand. The illustration is a reproduction of the manuscript Journal, vol. 1, p. 112.

xvi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES

L. & P.: Refer to the volumes of manuscript Letters and Papers of Townsend Harris.

L. B.: Refer to the volumes of manuscript Letter Books of Townsend Harris.

In referring to the volumes of the Congressional Series, the numbers 35-2 (for instance), refer to the 35th Congress, 2nd Session.

All other abbreviations and references in the notes are, it is thought, clear in themselves.

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THE COMPLETE JOURNAL OF TOWNSEND HARRIS

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