Kunitake, "Japan Rising: The Iwakura Embassy to the USA and Europe"
English | ISBN 10: 0521513855 | 2009 | PDF | 558 pages | 1.9 MB
In 1871 Japan sent a high-ranking delegation to the USA and Europe, to negotiate treaties and trading agreements and to investigate how it might modernise its political and economic institutions. Led by the Foreign Minister Prince Tomomi Iwakura, the 'embassy' of politicians, courtiers and officials travelled extensively around the USA for eight months, before spending a further year examining the British manufacturing industry, German armaments and French culture.