Review: A Diplomat in Japan

In 1862 Sir Ernest Satow moved to Japan as a student-interpreter in with the British Legation. This autobiographical book chronicles his seven years of experiences there, including the late Bakumatsu period and the early years after the Meiji Restoration.

Satow learned Japanese quickly, and moved up the diplomatic ranks. Because of his language skills, he maintained a number of relationships with the most important Japanese leaders, which placed the British in a particularly favored position after the Restoration. He knew Saigo Takamori, the historical figure of movie "The Last Samurai," and met with the emperor several times.

I personally liked his accounts of life in Japan. He talks of exchange rate arbitrage, surviving the Great Yokohama Fire, attacks on foreigners, and traveling the country in palanquins. He witnessed executions of murderers, and attended a seppuku ceremony in an official capacity.

His book also describes the internal struggle for power between the Tokugawa shogunate (called the Tycoon) and the emperor (called the Mikado). At first, the emperor had called for the expulsion of the foreigners in an effort to discredit the shogunate.

Irritated by the shoguns's control over trade, the extreme western territories Satsuma and Choushu formed an alliance against the shogun. They attacked Kyouto, gained control of the emperor's person, and forced the shogun to resign. Afterward, they militarily defeated the remaining resistance.

Interestingly, the new government then dropped the anti-foreign facade and welcomed British advisors in creating a modern state. In part because of Satow's work, Japan and Britain enjoyed close relations for the next 50 years.