Ep2 Iwakura Events

The Mission to the West iwakura_mission.1 · dlc018

The government has assembled a list of several ministers and officials suitable for the role of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. The chosen candidate will be sent to lead the expedition to the West for an expected period of ten months.

… stood before the mirror, checking and re-checking … tie. It had been some time since it had come to Japan—first as a trend, and then by state mandate—yet it had not yet come to feel natural. … would need to make do. If his deal broke through, if the government endorsed … bid, if he were to wake up in London and Boston and Paris, the end of the day would no longer mark a respite.

The … Report iwakura_mission.2 · dlc018

With the … Mission's return to Japan, … and … fellow ambassadors have submitted their reports to …. Their reports contain observations of industrial society, and recommendations for new state policies.

"Reflecting deeply, it is evident that that the success of the European and American nations stems from their proper application of principles. Those who traverse the world observe that, across the dozen-odd nations surveyed, the structures of governance may differ, yet all direct their strength towards education, uniting them under one banner. Thus, upon entering any of these lands, there is no place without schools, and no person without the spirit of enlightenment." —Tanaka Fujimaro

The Golden Gate iwakura_mission.4 · dlc018

After a long voyage across the sea, the … Mission has arrived in …. The Mission plans to travel along her railways to …, surveying … institutions and industrial facilities en route.

"At dawn, the sea fog was so thick that we could scarcely see a few feet ahead, and the ship stopped, waiting for daybreak. Once it grew light, the mist gradually cleared, and before us appeared the coast of California. In due course, we reached the middle of two rocky headlands, where the mountains on both sides rose high; their surfaces met the sea, and smoke from steamships could be seen passing to and fro. This beautiful scene is what is called the Golden Gate. For twenty-two days we had crossed the ocean, and at last here in the East we first beheld mountains and waters. As we looked upon it, there was no sound but joy." —Kume Kunitake, The Iwakura Embassy, 1871-73

The Belly of the Whale iwakura_mission.5 · dlc018

Having traversed from Pacific to Atlantic, the … Mission has arrived in …. The Mission seeks to establish diplomatic relations with the …'s Government, and tour the founding sites of the Industrial Revolution.

"As America prospered, the port of Liverpool became ever more flourishing. A line of docks have been constructed at the harbor entrance, extending for six miles along the north shore. On the seaward side, stone embankments have been piled up like castle walls, and within them docks have been excavated in every direction. All vessels, entering and leaving, come into these docks and anchor there. Their masts resemble a forest of thick-growing trees, and the rigging resembles nets hung out to dry in a fishing village. These, we were told, were the largest docks in the world." —Kume Kunitake, The Iwakura Embassy, 1871-73

Across the Continent iwakura_mission.6 · dlc018

The … Mission has arrived in continental Europe, beginning in the country of …. Over the next months, the Mission intends to observe, assess, and establish relations with the numerous nations of the Continent.

"This afternoon, we visited a cemetary, whose name we failed to ask. It lies on the eastern outskirts of Paris, extending over an area of forty acres. Outside of a single wide carriageway, there is hardly any room to spare. Today, there was a funeral for what seemed to be a family of lowly means. A small procession accompanied a wooden coffin, which was lowered into a grave. When the priest finished reciting the prayer, those present, weeping, each cast in a handful of earth. Though every person in the procession had eyes filled with tears, not one raised a loud lament." —Kume Kunitake, The Iwakura Embassy, 1871-73

Iwakura Mission 7 iwakura_mission.7

The Other Half iwakura_mission.8 · dlc018

En route to …, the … Mission has made a stop in the … colony of …. The Mission has spent several days observing both European colonial society and native … practices.

"On our visit here, we were guided around by a monk who called us danna, and the temple a garan. We were impressed that the Sanskrit origin of these words is preserved even now. Ceylon is a sacred land of the Buddha's practice, and the native people still remain devoted to Buddhism. Since the life of the people is already simple, the lives of monks are simpler still. Their meals are meager, their hermitages overgrown with weeds, and everything has reached a state of extreme plainness. Compared with the sacred sites of Christianity or Islam, the contast here is striking. Is this because the religion has cast off worldly adornments? Perhaps. Yet it may also be because it lacks the power to flourish." —Kume Kunitake, The Iwakura Embassy, 1871-73

Yokohama Port iwakura_mission.9 · dlc018

Having spent months abroad and completed a full circumnavigation of the globe, the … Mission has returned to …. They have brought with them compilations of data, foreign goods, and firsthand accounts of Western technologies and political institutions.

… stood on the deck of the steamer, gazing Westwards. In the distance, … could see the vastness of Mount Fuji, wreathed in a morning fog that had only half-lifted. A coterie of Westerners—traders, perhaps, or fresh-minted world travelers like …—clustered around the railing. A German man sat on a bench by the cabin door, drawing the scene on a sketchpad. … wondered if this was their first time, or if they, like …, had their breaths taken away whenever they saw this view. How many could truly have been said to have done what he had? How many had crossed three oceans, visited four continents? More and more to come, … thought. The railway and the steamship would create more and more like …, but history would remember … as one of the first.