American Navy Lieutenant Commander Adams was the person entrusted with the task of carrying back a copy of the Kanagawa Treaty concluded with Japan. According to Sohō, he left Edo Bay by ship on April 4, 1854, in Ansei 1. He passed through Honolulu, San Francisco, and Panama, and arrived in Washington on July 12. The treaty was submitted by the President to the Senate (an upper house of Congress) and was approved unanimously.
Adams departed New York on September 30 with the document certifying the nation’s approval. He crossed the Atlantic, traveled overland from England, and arrived in Hong Kong on January 1. On the orders of Commodore Abbot, he boarded the Powhatan and headed for Shimoda. A dark ship’s silhouette was sighted off Shimoda in Izu around the middle of the hour of the sheep, and the ship soon entered the harbor. The Shimoda magistrates Isawa Masayoshi and Tsuzuki Suruga no kami sent officials and an interpreter.
The two magistrates reported to Edo for the time being only that a ship had arrived. The Shimoda that Adams saw had changed completely. During his absence, on December 23, 1854, a great earthquake struck the coast of Japan. The damage to Shimoda was especially severe. Even so, the people worked at clearing away debris and rebuilding without lamenting, Sohō writes, quoting an American account.
In place of the destroyed shops, a temple was repaired and a market was opened, where the officers purchased goods. It is also recorded that there was neither surveillance nor tailing, and that they were welcomed in the villages. At the exchange of the documents, the Japanese side raised two objections. One concerned the timing, as the Japanese side believed it should be after 18 months had passed. The American side strongly insisted that it should be as early as possible within the 18 months.
The Shimoda magistrate sent Moriyama Einosuke and others to the ship, but the other side produced only the English text of the treaty. Since this could not serve as proof, they urgently requested the Japanese text of the treaty from Edo. That letter was finished at 9 p.m. on December 16. The other objection concerned the signature, as the other side demanded the shogun’s signature. The Japanese side stated that they wished to settle the matter with the seal of the receiving official.
In the end, it was decided that both the shogun and the senior councilor (a senior official of the shogunate) would sign together. During the interval before the exchange, Adams received visits from officials he already knew almost every day. On February 21, the documents were formally exchanged, and a 17-gun salute was fired. The next day, February 22, which was Washington’s birthday, the ship left Shimoda.
The 9 months and 22 days from the signing of the treaty to the return of the ratification documents to Shimoda can be traced through the American record that Sohō quotes.
Off the coast of Shimoda in Izu, beyond Mikomotojima, a single dark ship’s silhouette appeared.OriginalOriginal
“Ishin issō ai miesōrō mune” — a report that one foreign ship had been sighted reached the magistrate’s office around the middle of the hour of the Sheep.Original
Shortly after, around the closing part of the hour of the Sheep, the ship sailed straight into the harbor.OriginalOriginal
The Shimoda magistrates Izawa Mimasaka no kami and Tsuzuki Suruga no kami had the constable in charge of reception attend, and sent out a construction officer, a junior inspector, and an interpreter.Original
According to the pilot, it was an American steamship named Powhatan.OriginalOriginal
尤亞墨利加蒸氣船に而、船號ボーハタン之由、水先案內の者より申出候
Open the original page at the National Diet Library“Sakitoriaezu kono dan o-todoke mōshi age sōrō” — “For the time being, we report this matter to you” — the two magistrates wrote to Edo.Original
It was a brief report, written at a stage when nothing was yet known.OriginalOriginal
A Voyage of Three Months and Twenty-Seven Days
Aboard the Powhatan was Navy Lieutenant Commander Adams.Original
Tokutomi Sohō writes that he left Edo Bay aboard the Saratoga carrying a copy of the Kanagawa Treaty on April 4, 1854, that is, in Ansei 1.Original
He reached Honolulu in Hawaii on May 1, took the first available ship to San Francisco, passed through Panama, and arrived in Washington on July 12.Original
It was three months and eight days since he had left Japan.Original
The treaty was submitted by the President to the Senate, which promptly ratified it unanimously.Original
Adams left New York on September 30 carrying the instrument of ratification, crossed the Atlantic, passed through England, took an overland route, and reached Hong Kong on January 1, 1855.Original
Commodore Abbot put him aboard the Powhatan and ordered him to head for Shimoda at once.Original
Tokutomi Sohō lists the figures: from the signing of the treaty through ratification to his arrival back in Japan took nine months and twenty-two days.Original
In the Shimoda magistrates’ report, this course of events is condensed as follows.Original
Adams left Washington three months earlier, took passage on a British steamship to China, transferred there to his present ship, left Hong Kong ten days ago, and entered the harbor today.Original
The crew numbered more than three hundred.OriginalOriginal
五月一日、布哇ホノルヽに著した。ら最初の便船にて桑港に向ひ、巴奈馬を經由して、七月十二日華盛頓府に到
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryShimoda After the Earthquake
What Adams saw at Shimoda was a place transformed.OriginalOriginal
During his absence, on December 23, 1854, a great earthquake had struck the entire coast of Japan.Original
Edo too suffered damage, but the destruction at Shimoda was especially severe.OriginalOriginal
江戶にも若干の損害があつたが、下田には殊更ら其の損害が酷しかつた
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryEven so, Tokutomi Sohō quotes an American account.Original
The Japanese did not sit and lament their misfortune, showed no sign of despair, and all worked manfully at their tasks.Original
By the time the Powhatan entered port, everyone was said to be busy clearing away the damage and rebuilding.OriginalOriginal
The outward shape of the harbor itself had not changed.Original
But the sand and soil on the seabed where anchors were dropped had all been washed away, leaving the bottom nothing but rock.Original
It is recorded that only by the power of steam were they able to avoid striking the rocks.OriginalOriginal
Every shop had been destroyed and none had yet recovered.Original
Even so, temples were repaired and a market was opened, where fine goods brought from Edo and other towns of the interior were displayed.Original
The officers were not only invited to the market but urged to buy, and each obtained the goods he preferred.OriginalOriginal
Strolls Without Surveillance
Compared with before, the Japanese had become much friendlier.OriginalOriginal
The officers walked through the countryside without any hindrance, visited villages, and were welcomed wherever they went.Original
Tokutomi Sohō reports the American account that surveillance appeared to have been abolished, with no one watching or following them.OriginalOriginal
The citizens of Shimoda told Adams that they were looking forward to the arrival of trading ships from America.Original
The Shimoda magistrate, who was also one of the commissioners who had concluded the treaty, is said to have privately told Adams that it would be a great pleasure if America would choose a consul to reside in Shimoda.OriginalOriginal
The Japanese wanted books written in English.Original
Medical books and works on science in particular.Original
The officers gave many valuable books.OriginalOriginal
Adams himself said he had agreed to this, and remarked at the time, “isasaka zanshoku ari to mizukara katatta” — that he felt a touch of shame.OriginalOriginal
The Dispute over the Deadline and the Exchange of Treaty Documents
At the exchange of ratifications, the Japanese side raised two objections.OriginalOriginal
According to the American account quoted by Tokutomi Sohō, these objections were not raised in order to avoid keeping the promise.Original
It is said that they concerned the wording, arising rather because the Japanese side interpreted the treaty’s language carefully and held deep respect for the ceremony.OriginalOriginal
The first objection concerned the deadline.Original
The Japanese text of the treaty said “within eighteen months” (jūhachi ka getsu chū), while the American text said “within eighteen months” (jūhachi ka getsu nai).Original
The Americans considered that the discrepancy arose from the ignorance of the Japanese translator.Original
When the meaning of the word “within” was explained, the Japanese side good-humoredly withdrew its objection.OriginalOriginal
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Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryHowever, what the Japanese side was doing behind the scenes remains recorded in the Shimoda magistrates’ internal correspondence.Original
They had intended to exchange the treaty documents after eighteen months had passed from the third month, but the other side insisted, “tezuyoku mōshi ori sōrō” — firmly asserting that the treaty stated it was better to do so earlier, within the eighteen months.Original
They therefore consulted also with the officials in charge of receiving the Russians, and sent Moriyama Einosuke, accompanied by a squad leader in charge and an interpreter, to the American ship.Original
But the American side had not brought either the Japanese-language treaty or the Dutch-language version that Japan had handed over in the summer, and produced only the English one.Original
That would not serve as proof.Original
They urgently requested Edo to send, without exception, the Japanese-language treaty and its appendix that Hayashi Daigaku no kami and others had submitted during the sixth month.OriginalOriginal
Even the time at which the writing was finished is recorded.Original
“The sixteenth day of the twelfth month, the closing part of the hour of the Dog” — that is, nine o’clock in the evening.OriginalOriginal
The Emperor’s Personal Signature
The second objection concerned the signature.Original
Regarding the request that the emperor—meaning the shogun—affix his personal signature to the Japanese text of the treaty document to be handed to the American government, the Japanese side said the following.Original
They said the emperor never signs any document at all, and that it is the senior councilors who do so.Original
On the treaty document brought to hand over to Japan, the president and the secretary of state had signed.Original
In the end, it was decided that both the emperor and the senior councilors would sign, and this was carried out accordingly.Original
In the Japanese records, this matter appears from the opposite side.Original
Since the closing text of the appendix stated that authority could be delegated to whomever as one pleased, it asked whether it would not be acceptable for officials to affix their seals in signing.Original
And it pressed the point, saying it wished to have the matter settled with the seals of the officials handling the negotiations.Original
The other side wanted the shogun’s signature, while this side wished to settle matters with the signatures of the negotiating officials.Original
Tokutomi Sohō draws this contrast.OriginalOriginal
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Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryThe Twenty-Second Day of February, Washington’s Birthday
Then the day of exchange arrives.OriginalOriginal
On the twenty-first day of February, as soon as the treaty documents were formally exchanged, the Japanese flag was raised at the bow of the Powhatan, and seventeen salutes were fired in celebration.OriginalOriginal
The following day, the twenty-second of February, the Powhatan departed from Shimoda.Original
That day fell on Washington’s birthday.Original
The American account concludes that this new friendship with Japan, which it hoped would be lasting, was at least on this date bound together with the name of Washington.OriginalOriginal
After laying out this summary, Sohō offers the following assessment.OriginalOriginal
Coming as Old Acquaintances
During the intervals of the exchange, whenever Adams had no business ashore, he received visits from the deputy magistrate and high officials almost daily.OriginalOriginal
It is said that these meetings resembled friendly conversations among old friends.Original
Indeed, several of them truly were old acquaintances.Original
Shimoda magistrate Izawa Mimasaka no kami was one of the commissioners who had concluded the treaty, and the interpreter Moriyama Einosuke, who had helped translate the treaty, had also been promoted and had come to Shimoda.Original
The other commissioners who had concluded the treaty had also come for the exchange of ratifications, so Adams was spared the feeling of being among strangers.OriginalOriginal
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Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryAdams saw that the Japanese were learning on their own how to operate the model steam engine that had once been given as a gift from the president.Original
They could also operate the lifeboat.Original
Only the workings of the telegraph, they said, were still difficult.OriginalOriginal
The first notice, which arrived on the ninth day of the twelfth month, had said nothing more than that a ship had been sighted.Original
Over the more than two months since then, letters had gone back and forth over a single word of the deadline and a single stroke of a signature, and now, on Washington’s birthday, a ship departs.Original
There is the envoy returning home entrusted with a name said to remain forever in history, and there is the magistrate who had raced his brush during the last watch of the hour of the dog to have the Japanese text of the treaty sent for from Edo.Original
It is the same harbor, the same winter.Original
| Source text | Kinsei Nihon kokuminshi, vol. 32: The Conclusion of the Kanagawa Treaty (1935). National Diet Library Digital Collections (PDM). PID 1223901 |
| Checked against | Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1 (1937). PID 1046665 |
| Dates and names | All 6 dates in the text exist in the calendar for their year, and the Western years given alongside them agree. Of the 3 people named in the text, 3 also appear in Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1. |
| English gates | 89 of 89 sentences passed the checks on the English text. |
This article is a reading of Kinsei Nihon kokuminshi, vol. 32: The Conclusion of the Kanagawa Treaty. Tokutomi Sohō’s views are those of the 1920s and 1930s and may differ from current scholarship. The source text is a century old and may differ from current scholarship.
