By: Lilian Chan

The long waited arrival of our

very own Japanese Embassy has

ended. The USS Powhatan had

docked in the San Francisco Bay

on the 29th of March, as its first

stop. Crowds of people and a

Japanese flag which hangs proudly on shore welcomed them. The press

and other journalists battled for space to report their arrivals. Not before

long, gunshots were

heard, signaling the in-

coming ship. Shortly after

between sheets of fogs the

USS Powhatan was stand-

ing before us in all its glory.

The ship first began its journey February 9th. A stop of thirteen days in Honolulu,

Hawaii was made, along with a visit from Queen Emma of Hawaii. The three officers of the

Japanese Embassy are Masaoki Shinmi, Norimasa Muragaki, and Tadamasa Oguri. The

three ambassadors were met with the seventy-seven Samurai Bodyguards. The Samurais

were sent just four days before the ambassadors were, and they arrived two weeks before

they did. They came to San Francisco in one of Japan’s first navy ships, Kanrin Maru. The

Kanrin Maru is currently being repaired by the United States for its battle against the violent

winds along the Pacific. So the Kanrin Maru will not be taking the Ambassadors to their

next stop, but return to Japan on the 5th of April. The original plan was altered and the Japa-

nese Embassy will yet again take the USS Powhatan to their next stop, Panama.

JAPANESE EMBASSY’S

ARRIVAL TO SAN FRANCISCO WAS JAPAN

OPENING ITS

DOORS A

GOOD OR A

BAD THING? BY: TIFFANY COOPER

SEE MORE PAGE 3

“To tel l the news in the Japanese view ”

NIPPON NEWS

(From left to right) Masaoki Shinmi, Norimasa Muragaki and

Tadamasa Oguri.

A picture of the United State Navy Ship

USS Powhatan

A picture of the Japanese Navy Ship

Kanrin Maru

April 5th, 1860

Volume 1 : Issue 1

Page 2

NIPPON NEWS

Try the delicious Sukiyaki,

the most popular dish in Ja-

pan! It’s so good that you

will be dreaming about it.

So come and visit our shop

Nama Sushi at 227 King

Street, San Francisco, CA

94107. Opens 7 days a

week. Call (415) 495-2007

for more information.

Are you tire of Walking?

Sick of your horse or hate pushing

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Luckily for you there’s

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Driving in style. No more

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Different Culture, Same Thought

Lilian Chan Nippon News 1860

WAS JAPAN OPENING ITS DOORS A

GOOD OR A BAD THING? By: Tiffany Cooper

According to many Japa-

nese, they think that the

Open Door Policy is unfair.

But yet us Japanese have to

agree. We were forced to

open our doors against our

will. Many Japanese felt that

because of Commodore Mat-

thew C. Perry the sudden

unexpected and unwelcomed

change in our Japanese gov-

ernment and society oc-

curred that should have been

stopped. But we were so

engrossed and fascinated by

Perry's "black ships" that it

quickly provided a sense of

urgency for critics of Japa-

nese isolation. Since the

early 1600s we had declared

ourselves officially closed to

the West with the exception

of still importing and export-

ing goods with the Dutch at

Nagasaki. But, because of

the arrival of the American

warship, the Kanrin Maru, a

number of Japanese people

thought that it would be eas-

ier to remove the barriers

that we had set up to block

out trade with the West and

acquire western knowledge.

Many thought that it was a

bad idea and opposed it but

we really had no choice but

to open our doors because

we were. But when you

really think about it, we have

benefited greatly from it. We

now think of it as a good

thing that we opened our

doors to the outer world but

there are many that still feel

differently. In an effort for

us to preserve our sense of

power and respect, the Toku-

gawa government organized

the first Embassy to the

United States. I think that

our main purpose was to

figure out how the Ameri-

cans thought and to formal

Page 3

NIPPON NEWS

ize relations between the

United States and Japan . I

am positive that the most

memorable part of our jour-

ney was that we got to be a

personal audience for Presi-

dent James Buchanan. That

was the best experience ever.

So for now we are elated

with the idea that we agreed

to open our doors to this

wonderful country! The

Japanese embassies toured

the country and were greeted

with lavish parades in large

cities like New York. Oh,

how wonderful we looked

when we arrived in San

Francisco; marching down

Broadway Street with Japa-

nese and American flags

flapping in the breeze. Eve-

rywhere we went; newspa-

pers carried quite a number

of articles about our some-

what “peculiar” Japanese

envoys. I hope that for many

years to come we are known

as celebrities that captured

the American imagination.

The main issue of our jour-

ney was that if the Toku-

gawa government could

adapt the “modern” ways of

the west and still function

under its own dilemma of

having a internal political

issue. But as for now we are

greatly enjoying our stay

here in San Francisco in the

beautiful land of the United

States! Phony Peace Plead For Trade

Lilian Chan Nippon News 1860

Bibliography

Article 1 Ambassadors Photo: Norimasa Muragaki, Norimasa (Translated by Miyoshi, Shigehiko). Diary of the First Japanese

Embassy to the United States. Tokyo: America-Japan Society, 1920.

Article 1 USS Powhatan Photo:

USSPowhatan. 2 Nov. 2009. flickr. 11 Feb. 2010 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobswanson/

4069843906/>.

Article 1 Kanrin Maru Picture: Kanrin Maru 150th Anniversary Celebration. 20 Nov. 2009. Kanrin Maru 150th Anniversary

Celebration Committee. 11 Feb. 2010 <http://www.kanrin-maru150.com/>.

Article 1 Information: First Japanese Diplomatic Mission History. 3 Feb. 2010. Consulate-General of Japan in New

York. 8 Feb. 2010 <http://www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/150japanny/en/history.html>.

Norimasa Muragaki, Norimasa (Translated by Miyoshi, Shigehiko). Diary of the First Japanese

Embassy to the United States. Tokyo: America-Japan Society, 1920.

Advertisement 1 Photo:

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Article 2 Information: Sandow, Bob. Lock Haven University, Department of History, Political Science, and Economics.

22 February 2010 <http://www.lhup.edu/rsandow/1860embassy.htm>

Page 4

NIPPON NEWS

Created By:

Lilian Chan, Kenny Cheng,

Tiffany Cooper, and Kevin Tan