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Kinse Shiriaku, A History of Japan
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Yamaguchi Uji (Shozan Yashi) Satow, Ernest (translator) Watanabe Shuziro (supplementary notes): Kinse Shiriaku, A History of Japan from the First Visit of Commodore Perry in 1853 to The Capture of Hakodate by the Mikado's Forces in 1869, Translated from Japanese by Sir Ernest Mason Satow, Revised Edition with Supplementary Notes by Shuziro Watanabe, Tokyo, The Naigwai Shuppan Kyokwai, 12mo, (5 x 7 1/2 in - 12.8 x 18.7 cm), printed wraps, 178 pp. The back side of the colophon page contains advertisements. This work, originally translated in 1873, was produced by a government official in the Bakufu/Shogunate government (Foreign Department) and in the Imperial Government (Education Department). The title Kinse Shiriaku translates as "Short History of Recent Times." The author's purpose was to present an unbiased summary of the events that have passed since "...the sudden arrival of the American squadron in 1853 awoke Japan from the almost undisturbed slumber of the last two and one half centuries." The work begins with the arrival of Commodore Perry and the American squadron in July of 1853 and ends with the full restoration of power in the Meiji Emperor in 1869. This book is important in that it presents a succinct chronological flow of the major political, military, social and physical (tsunami an earthquakes) events that were occurring during this time (1853-1869). Great attention is given to the actions and reactions of the foreign powers then in Japan. The book is divided into three "Volumes."
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