The Iwakura mission in America and Europe

"Driven by two imperatives - the need to identify, classify and assess Western technology and culture, as well as advance a dialogue for reviewing the so-called 'unequal treaties' - the new Meiji government of 1868 despatched a top-level ministerial team to the West, arriving first in the United States in January 1872. In all, the mission spent 205 days in America, followed by 122 days in Britain and two months in France, and travelled widely in Europe, including visits to Belgium, Germany, Russia, Sweden and Italy." "Drawing on the papers given at the triennial conference of the European Association of Japanese Studies in 1997 (which coincided with the 125th anniversary of the Iwakura mission). Ian Nish has provided a valuable new overview of the mission's goals and achievements, with the content and impact of the visit to each country being separately assessed."--BOOK JACKET.