Sources
Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1
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Manabe’s Visit to the Palace and His Report ―― From the 2nd Month of Kōka 3 (1846) to the 12th Month of Ansei 5 (1858)
From early morning, Kyoto was struck by a sudden shower, and thunder rolled. At the hour of the snake, just before ten in the morning, the sky finally cleared. -
Abe Masahiro’s Letter of Resignation ―― A Report of Headache and Dizziness, Fourth Month of Ansei 1
The tenth day of the fourth month of Ansei 1 (1854). Abe Masahiro, the senior councilor in the chief seat, did not attend the castle. He sent a short report to Makino Tadamasa, a fellow senior… -
“Take down the curtains,” said the commodore ―― A day at the Yokohama reception hall, the tenth day of the second month of Kaei 7
The tenth day of the second month of Kaei 7 (1854), Yokohama. The meeting hall on the shore was completely enclosed on all four sides with curtains. From outside, the interior could not be seen. -
Putyatin’s Arrival at Nagasaki ―― A Mild-Mannered Envoy and the Russian Flag Forty Days Later
The seventeenth day of the sixth month of Kaei 6 (1853). Far out on the sea off Nagasaki, five white sails appeared. Sentries at three posts at once sent word. The magistrate's sentries were somewhat… -
“I shall withdraw,” Oguri wrote ―― Five letters from Oguri Tadamasa, who returned from Tsushima in the seventh month of Bunkyū 1 (1861)
The business of the letter was one thing: "the matter of suddenly withdrawing today." -
Manabe Akikatsu’s Deception ―― The Document of the Kogosho and “Nothing But Lies,” Tenth Month, Ansei 5
The lower chamber of the Kogosho. Present together were the court liaisons to the shogunate, Hirohashi Mitsushige and Madenokōji Masafusa. The matter was taken up at the fifth hour of the night,… -
While the Shogun Still Lives ―― Ii Naosuke’s Disposition of Owari and Mito on the Fifth Day of the Seventh Month of Ansei 5
Ii Naosuke entered the castle at the usual hour, and on this day his withdrawal came at the hour of nine-half at night, as late as one in the morning. The reason was that the beriberi of the shogun,… -
Eight Hours at the West Magistrate’s Office in Nagasaki ―― The Fourth Year of Kaei, Twelfth Month: The First Negotiations Between Kawaji Toshiakira and the Russian Envoys
In Nagasaki it rained heavily all day from morning. At nine in the morning, the Russian envoys appeared at the West Magistrate's Office. The two men did not leave their seats until four in the… -
We will not borrow a fire ship ―― Kawaji Toshiakira’s visit to the Russian ship and delivery of the reply letter, in the twelfth month of Kaei 6 (1853)
Clear skies. -
Stalling for Five Years, for Ten Years ―― In the Sixth Month of Kaei 6, Tokugawa Nariaki Was Told the Shogunate’s True Intentions at the Komagome Residence
Tokugawa Nariaki was watching Hachirōmaro, dressed in armor, ride a horse at Sugi Baba. It was around the seventh half-hour, roughly five in the afternoon. Word reached him even at the riding ground. -
Shallow abuse ―― Ninagawa Arata defends Oguri’s argument for borrowing French troops
It was the year when Ikeda Chikugo no kami, the envoy the shogunate had dispatched to France, was staying there. In this year, a certain proposal was brought to the shogunate from the side of the… -
The Chancellor of the Spring Breeze ―― Abe Masahiro and the Forecast of the Eleventh Month of Kaei 5
The second day of the eleventh month of Kaei 5 (1852). At the Satsuma domain residence in Edo, Shimazu Nariakira took up his brush. The letter was addressed to his younger brother Hisamitsu, who was…
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