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The First Japanese Embassy to Europe (Japanese:第１回遣欧使節, also 開市開港延期交渉使節団) was sent to Europe by the
First Embassy to Europe
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:First Japanese Embassy To Europe (1862) Foreign relations of the Tokugawa shogunate 1862 in Japan Japanese embassies to the West
The First Japanese Embassy to Europe (Japanese:第１回遣欧使節, also 開市開港延期交渉使節団) was sent to Europe by the Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
in 1862. The head of the mission was Takenouchi Yasunori, governor of Shimotsuke Province
was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...
(present-day Tochigi Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...
). The head of the mission staff was Shibata Takenaka
was an emissary for Japan who visited France in 1865 to help prepare for the construction of the Yokosuka arsenal with French support. Also known as as well as "Shadow" because of his reconnaissance work.
Life
Takenaka was born in Edo K ...
Sadataro. Fukuzawa Yukichi
was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio University, the newspaper '' Jiji-Shinpō'', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases.
Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ...
was a member of the mission, acting as one of the two translators. The mission numbered 40 men.
Despite the name, it is more accurately the third Japanese embassy to Europe, being preceded by the Tenshō embassy
The Tenshō embassy (Japanese: 天正の使節, named after the Tenshō Era in which the embassy took place) was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582. The embassy was led by ...
(1582–1590) and the expedition led by Hasekura Tsunenaga
was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...
between 1613 and 1620.
Itinerary
LeavingShinagawa
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies.
, the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...
, Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
on 21 January 1862, the mission was sent in order to learn about Western civilization, ratify treaties, and delay the opening of cities and harbours to foreign trade. Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...
s were held in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the UK, the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and finally Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The mission eventually returned to Tokyo on 30 January 1863.
The members of the mission were extensively photographed by Nadar
Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, h ...
.
In London, the Mission visited the 1862 World Fair. Five years later, Japan would formally participate to the 1867 World Fair in Paris.
The mission was concluded by the London Protocol, signed on 6 June 1862, which recognized that Japan needed time to "overcome the opposition now existing" (meaning the anti-foreign sentiment shared by the population and the Imperial Court), and accepted the postponement of the opening of Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Hyogo, Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
, and Niigata by five years, to 1 January 1868.''French Policy in Japan'' by Medzini, p.35-37
See also
*Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860)
The was dispatched in 1860 by the Tokugawa shogunate (bakufu). Its objective was to ratify the new Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between the United States and Japan, in addition to being Japan's first diplomatic mission to the ...
* Second Japanese Embassy to Europe (1863)
The Second Japanese Embassy to Europe ( ja, 第２回遣欧使節, also ), also called the Ikeda Mission, was sent on February 6, 1864 by the Tokugawa shogunate. The head of the mission was Ikeda Nagaoki, governor of small villages of Ibara, Okaya ...
* Iwakura mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...
* France–Japan relations (19th century)
The development of France-Japan relations in the 19th century coincided with Japan's opening to the Western world, following two centuries of seclusion under the "Sakoku" system and France's expansionist policy in Asia. The two countries became ve ...
References
Bibliography
*Shin Jinbutsu Ōrai-sha, eds.: ''Ikokujin no Mita Bakumatsu–Meiji Japan, Aizō-ban'' (異国人の見た幕末・明治JAPAN 愛蔵版: Bakumatsu and Meiji Japan in the Eyes of Foreigners, Enthusiasts’ Edition). Tokyo, 2005. (ISBN ), (ISBN ) *Medzini, Meron ''French Policy in Japan'' Harvard University Press 1971,External links
First Embassy to Europe
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:First Japanese Embassy To Europe (1862) Foreign relations of the Tokugawa shogunate 1862 in Japan Japanese embassies to the West