Mori Arinori's Life and Resources in America'Mori notes, 'Where men think that they know everything, and boast of their superior wisdom, the presumption is that they have yet much to learn.' . . . [T]oday's readers, whether in the United States, in Japan, or elsewhere, who may think they already know so much about the subject, will find much of value in Life and Resources in America.' --Akira Iriye, Harvard University, from the foreword Mori Arinori's Life and Resources in America was written by the young, educated ex-samurai the Japanese government selected as its first diplomatic representative in the United States. Originally published in English in Washington, D.C., in 1871, this book sheds much light on the shape of an American society, government, and economy recovering from the Civil War. Like earlier philosopher-tourists such as Alexis de Tocqueville and Harriet Martineau, Mori understands the United States as a stage upon which an important experiment in democracy, pluralism, and liberalism is unfolding. Life and Resources in America is distinct for its view from the Reconstruction period and by a non-European observer. Historian John E. Van Sant has annotated and lightly edited this uniquely illuminating text, making it readily accessible to the contemporary audience it deserves. |
From inside the book
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Page ii
... original studies on a broad spectrum of topics dealing with Japan since the Meiji restoration of 1868. Additionally , the series aims to bring back into print classic works that shed new light on contemporary Japan . In all cases , the ...
... original studies on a broad spectrum of topics dealing with Japan since the Meiji restoration of 1868. Additionally , the series aims to bring back into print classic works that shed new light on contemporary Japan . In all cases , the ...
Page x
... original . Moreover , the volume shares a number of themes with the writings by Tocqueville , Martineau , and other European visitors to the United States . For instance , they all believe that what is taking place in the United States ...
... original . Moreover , the volume shares a number of themes with the writings by Tocqueville , Martineau , and other European visitors to the United States . For instance , they all believe that what is taking place in the United States ...
Page xxii
... original drafts , primarily by adding his personal observations and analyses.26 As Ivan Hall writes , " although Lanman's in point of research and expression , [ Life and Re- sources in America ] was Mori's in overall concept , with his ...
... original drafts , primarily by adding his personal observations and analyses.26 As Ivan Hall writes , " although Lanman's in point of research and expression , [ Life and Re- sources in America ] was Mori's in overall concept , with his ...
Page xxiv
... and call of a monarch's wishes , taxes , and wars . The United States adopted and adapted philosophy , technology , and culture from other countries and added original , often utilitarian ideas to build a new xxiv Introduction.
... and call of a monarch's wishes , taxes , and wars . The United States adopted and adapted philosophy , technology , and culture from other countries and added original , often utilitarian ideas to build a new xxiv Introduction.
Page xxv
Arinori Mori John E. Van Sant. added original , often utilitarian ideas to build a new country that was politi- cally , economically , demographically , and territorially expanding throughout the nineteenth century . After the revolution ...
Arinori Mori John E. Van Sant. added original , often utilitarian ideas to build a new country that was politi- cally , economically , demographically , and territorially expanding throughout the nineteenth century . After the revolution ...
Contents
Official and Political Life | 5 |
Life among the Farmers and Planters | 15 |
Commercial Life and Developments | 31 |
Life among the Mechanics | 43 |
Religious Life and Institutions | 51 |
Life in the Factories | 69 |
Educational Life and Institutions | 81 |
Literary Artistic and Scientific Life | 93 |
Life in the Leading Cities | 119 |
Frontier Life and Developments | 129 |
Judicial Life | 135 |
Final Thoughts on America1 | 139 |
Religious Freedom in Japan | 141 |
The Religious Charter of the Empire of Dai Nippon | 149 |
Selected Bibliography | 151 |
155 | |
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Common terms and phrases
acres agricultural amount annual believe Bible called century chapter chargé d'affaires Charles Lanman chiefly Chinese Christ Christian church Circuit civilization claim College comfort commercial connected cotton coun culture daimyō District employed England established extensive fact factories farm farmers fifty foreign Fukuzawa Yukichi give houses hundred important inhabitants institutions Ivan Parker Iwakura embassy Iwakura Tomomi Japanese Japanese students jurisdiction known labor land large numbers largest late laws leading live manufacture Meiji Meiji era Meiji government Meiji Restoration ment merchants miles millions of dollars minister Mori Arinori Mori's nation Niijima persons political population productions published regard religion religious Resources in America Sakoku samurai Satsuma schools sect ships society Supreme Court Territories Thomas Lake Harris thousand dollars tion Tokugawa Tokugawa bakufu Tokyo total number trade true United University various Washington West Western women writing York