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 tak-ing

the Ambassadors to their next stop, but return to Japan on the 5th of April. The original plan was al-tered and the Japanese Em-bassy will yet again take the USS Powhatan to their next stop, Panama.

The long waited

arrival of our very own

Japanese Embassy has

ended. The USS Powhatan

had docked in the San Fran-

cisco 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 incom-

ing ship. Shortly after be-

tween sheets of fogs the USS

Powhatan was standing be-

fore us in all its glory.

The ship first began its jour-ney 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 Em-bassy 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

JAPANESE EMBASSY’S ARRIVAL TO SAN FRANCISCO

A picture of the United State Navy Ship

USS Powhatan

APRIL 5TH, 1860 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

NIPPON NEWS

WAS JAPAN OPENING ITS DOORS A GOOD OR A BAD THING? BY: TIFFANY COOPER SEE MORE AT PAGE 3

A picture of the Japanese Navy Ship

Kanrin Maru

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

This is a picture of the Three Am-bassador of Japan

Are you tired of walking? Sick of horse? Hate pushing your wagon for miles? Luckily for you there is the new Hippomobile that runs on hydrogen!

PAGE 2 NIPPON NEWS

Try the delicious Sukiyaki, the most popular dish in Japan! It’s so good that you will be dream-

ing about it.

So come and visit our shop Nama Sushi

Different Culture, Same Thought

Lilian Chan Nippon News 1860

Do you want to become a fighter or a warrior? Want to become stronger and healthier? Want to learn how to use a sword and sue special technique? If you want to find out Come visit the Budo Art.

According to many Japanese, 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 Matthew C. Perry the sudden unexpected and unwelcomed change in our

Japanese government and society occurred that should have been stopped. But we were so en-grossed and fascinated by Perry's "black ships" that it quickly provided a sense of urgency for

critics of Japanese isolation. Since the early 1600s we had declared ourselves officially closed to the West with the exception of still importing

and exporting goods with the Dutch at Nagasaki. But, because of the arrival of the American war-

ship, the Kanrin Maru, a number of Japanese people thought that it would be easier to remove

the barriers that we had set up to block out trade with the West and acquire western knowl-

edge. 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 ef-

fort for us to preserve our sense of power and respect, the Tokugawa government organized the

first Embassy to the United States. I think that our main purpose was to figure out how the

Americans thought and to formalize relations be-tween the United States and Japan. I am positive

that the most memorable part of our journey was that we got to be a personal audience for Presi-dent James Buchanan. That was the best experi-

ence ever. So for now we are elated with the idea that we agreed to open our doors to this wonder-

ful 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 Fran-

cisco; marching down Broadway Street with Japanese and American flags flapping

in the breeze. Everywhere we went; newspapers carried quite a number of ar-ticles about our somewhat “peculiar” Japa-nese envoys. I hope that for many years to

come we are known as celebrities that captured the American imagination. The main issue of our journey was that if the

Tokugawa government could adapt the “modern” ways of the west and still func-

tion 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!

Article 2- “Was Japan Opening its Doors a Good or a Bad Thing?”

PAGE 3 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

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