Mibu Samurai Who Crossed the Ocean: Japan's First Mission to the United States (Tentative Title)

About this event

At the Mibu Town Historical and Folk Museum, the special exhibition "Mibu Samurai Who Crossed the Ocean: From Perry's Arrival to the Kanrin Maru's Voyage to America" will be held. Triggered by Commodore Perry's arrival in 1853 (Kaei 6), Japan faced a major turning point. In 1860 (Man'en 1), a diplomatic mission was dispatched to the United States to exchange ratification documents for the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States, and the Kanrin Maru crossed the Pacific as an escort vessel. A 16-year-old samurai of the Mibu domain, Tomezo Saito (Morita), boarded as an attendant and recorded his American journey in "Agoyo Shinsho." Focusing on "Agoyo Shinsho," this exhibition traces the unfamiliar foreign scenery, culture, and people Tomezo saw for the first time, conveyed through the vivid words and fresh sensibilities of a 16-year-old youth. Furthermore, an album once owned by Tomezo contains photographs of prominent figures active from the late Edo period to the Meiji era—such as Toshimichi Okubo and Takayoshi Kido—as well as a portrait photo gifted by Yukichi Fukuzawa. Materials related to individuals who sailed together on the Kanrin Maru, such as Katsu Kaishu's painted inscription and a celestial globe favored by Tomogoro Ono, will also be on display, introducing the voyage of the Kanrin Maru and the people who crossed the ocean from their respective viewpoints. Tracing the path from Perry's arrival that shook late-Edo Japan to the Kanrin Maru's Pacific crossing, this exhibition allows visitors to follow the footsteps of those who gazed upon a new world across the sea through their own eyes.

Venue

Mibu Town Historical and Folk Museum

1-1-8-33 Honmaru, Mibu, Shimotsuga District, Tochigi 321-0225