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
Results 1-5 of 14
Page xv
... ships " appeared in Uraga Bay , just off the coast of Edo in July 1853 , Japan's government leaders — the Tokugawa bakufu — were forced to deal with a genuine threat from the West . 1 At the start of the Tokugawa era in the early ...
... ships " appeared in Uraga Bay , just off the coast of Edo in July 1853 , Japan's government leaders — the Tokugawa bakufu — were forced to deal with a genuine threat from the West . 1 At the start of the Tokugawa era in the early ...
Page xvi
... ships began appearing off Japan's coasts with upsetting frequency . The China trade and North Pacific whaling had drawn most of these ships close to Japan's shores . Japan turned down their occa- sional requests for trade because it ...
... ships began appearing off Japan's coasts with upsetting frequency . The China trade and North Pacific whaling had drawn most of these ships close to Japan's shores . Japan turned down their occa- sional requests for trade because it ...
Page xxxiii
... ships were referred to by Japanese at the time as kurofune , literally " black ships " as their hulls were dark and two of the four ships spewed dark smoke from coal - fired steam engines . The color black can also symbolize death , as ...
... ships were referred to by Japanese at the time as kurofune , literally " black ships " as their hulls were dark and two of the four ships spewed dark smoke from coal - fired steam engines . The color black can also symbolize death , as ...
Page 9
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 31
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
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 | |
Other editions - View all
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