Show as letter to commodore perry V U S xa N JAPAN CITY OF JEDDO march mach 8 1853 Y A MY DEAR COMMODORE perny PERRY iii iti my letter to ou dated october 27 1 informed apu u thit that I 1 should go to jeddo during the then next manth I 1 accordingly left simoda on the of nov november aber and arrived here on the of the same month having baving passed the intervening sunday ayat at kawasaki the place that chaplain n bittinger reached when be he made his bis dash at jeddo giddo before leaving the united states the prest prebi dent g gave ave me apeci special it full power to negotiate a commercial treaty with the japanese which chic fact I 1 made known to the council of state I 1 was accordingly received and entertained on my journey as the representative of the president of the united state states and every possible honor was paid to me in that character I 1 did not have occasion to complain of 0 any any om missions of marks of respect on the con arary I 1 would very gladly have dispensed with many of them all the way from simoda the bridges were repaired and many new ones built the road put in or order derand and swept clean a few hours before I 1 passed the authorities of each town and village met me at their respective boundaries and walked before me quite through their little government Trave travel louthe on the road was entirely suspended so I 1 did not see those crowds of travelers priests nuns etc etc mentioned by kempfer business was suspended in all the towns and villages only the cook shops and tea ho houses uses being open the people eople I 1 in their holiday dresses were knee kneeling ai g on mats in front of their dwellings not a sound was heard nor a gesture indicative of curiosity was seen all was respectful silence from the villages and hamlets are ver very numerous and after crossing the river lor lol logo at kaw a they forma continuous street from Sin agawa awalt await awa it is ove five miles E english to tile the nepon bae bal and nothing particularly marks the line of separation between the two place places I 1 should not have known when I 1 entered jeddo had the place not been pointed out to me I 1 was conducted to my quarters situated in the fourth or outer circle of the castle and found there all I 1 could reasonably expect in the way of comfort the japanese had constructed chairs tables bedsteads bath rooms etc etc all copied after the bame same things at my residence three days after my arrival I 1 paid a visit of ceremony to hotta hottat prince of one of the landed princes of japan lieis he is president of the council of state and has recently been created minister for foreign affairs airs eight days after my arrival I 1 had a public audience of the tycoon ty coon not tio tib goon of which more anon when I 1 made an address to hla hia majesty received his hia reply and delivered the letter the ceremony eo so far as I 1 was concerned was precisely that of any european court three bows as I 1 entered and the same on leaving I 1 stood during the whole audience and wore new unsoiled shoes in Inthe the chamber only the six members of the council of state and three titular brothers of the tycoon ty coon were present they were prostrate on their faces in I 1 an adjoining room some to of the princes and high officers oe of the state were present the ca or dress of ceremony is different ilin erent from other occasions but except the breeches there is nothing worthy of particular ari note the breeches are quite a yard ya r longer than the leg and when the wearer walks they trail out behind which gives him the appearance of walking on his knees they wear a black laced cap which cannot be described in words but ia is something like the caps worn by the santoo priests which you saw when in japan the tycoon ty coon wore a black laced cap of an inverted bell shape he was clad in robes robea of yellow silk not a single pearl diamond or jewel or any gold or silver except the small oid gold old ornament of the sword were visible all was as plain as possible and from its very simplicity city was in most ost oat striking n z none of the golden roofs the fretted ceilings and gilded columns which old writers describe as being seen by them were seen by me the interior wood work of the palace was ed edl three days after my audience I 1 had a business interview with the minister for foreign affairs this was very long and highly interesting from this time I 1 was constantly engaged in ire giving instruction to tha japanese on the laws of nations on political economy on the operations of commerce and the manner in in which it aids in developing the resources resource es of a country with all the matters that naturally flow from or are connected with wilh these important subjects the present state of europe and america came in for its share of attention the labor has bednal been baen almost most beyond belief for fori as I 1 gave them new idea ideas for which they bad no descriptive terms I 1 had bad to convey the true meaning by a variety of illustrations added to which dior Alor moriama lama iama who was the interpreter was quite ignorant of the dutch terms used for hufh much of the foregoing BO so that he be had first to be instructed sometimes I 1 almost despaired of ever succeeding in conveying rewald in my me meaning anine but I 1 persevered and I 1 am rewarded for my labor and patience beyond my most sanguine expectations for I 1 have succeeded in making a commercial treaty that eff actually opens japan to a free commerce with the united states slates you are aware that I 1 am not permitted to divulge the particulars of my negotiations until the treaty hab has been ratified one point however I 1 mayver may venture iture to state to yoland you and that is on the subject of religion the treaty secures to americans in japan the free exercise of their religion with the right to build churches it also declares the custom of trampling on religious emblems to be abolished I 1 think you will consider the treaty as a mi whole bole hoie kole as satisfactory as that made by mr ali gushing with china no one so well knows as you do the serious obstacles to the making a treaty with this singular people it should also be borne in mind tha thai I 1 have only had arguments to use I 1 used no na threats I 1 had no force to point to as irresistible arguments and lastly that I 1 was entirely alone with the single exception of 0 mr air hausken Ile He dutch interpreter to the consulate for I 1 did not even bring my chinese servants with me I 1 am pro proud ud to have thus connected my name with your great work of 1854 it is an honor I 1 have always coveted but I 1 had not the most remote idea that I 1 should succeed in less than twenty months after my arrival in japan in attaining this object of my ambition for more than a year after my toy arrival I 1 used the name or title of zio goon to designate the ruler of japan so also when speaking of the residence of their spiritual emperor I 1 as they call him I 1 named it kiako aliamo it shows the perfect system of concealment of this people that during all this time they never informed me that both the terms were erroneous and it was not until a short time before I 1 started for jeddo that they informed me that the title of their political ruler was tycoon ty coon ie le great ruler and not zio goon which means generalissimo so also 11 allado means the court the truename true name of the place ilace Elace being kiota you are aware that with wit the japanese and rank are equivalents before I 1 arrived here I 1 had determined on the course I 1 would follow here before I 1 left simoda they wished me to engage that I 1 would not visit their shops or the business part of Jed jeddo door or as they express it not to go people lived I 1 declined making any such engagement and told tod them I 1 must be entirely free to go out from my residence when I 1 p pleased leased and add nd to visit where I 1 pleased and it was with this clear understanding that I 1 began my journey J at the thi same time I 1 had no intention of exercising that ri falit and except on the occasions of my audience and three interviews with the foreign minister I 1 have havoc only been out twice and that was merely for a horseback ride in a caca ca ca or champ de mars marb in the vicinity of my residence all ali 11 the interviews except those above noted and the negotiations took place at my quarters from all this yoa you will wiil at once odice infer inter that I 1 cannot give you more than a very imperfect account of this truly large city the castle is the chief feature and consists of four irregular circles all surrounded with moats or ditches the three inner circles have stone walls being 12 a bank of earth faced with stone 1 and varying in height from twelve to thirty feet according to the nature of the ground on which they are built the gateways through the walls open into a qua draugh of some fifty to sixty feet the gate of egress being placed at right angles with this entrance gae gate As a means of 0 defence it is unworthy tile the name ex capt cepl against assailants armed with b bows aws anal anol and arrows the moats are fordable and are from 80 to feet wide spa spanned P n e d w with ith neat wood wooden en bridges the inner circle is occupied exclusively by the tycoon tycoon and his sons the second by the council of slate and anti princes the third and fourth are occupied by the damlos titular princes and high officers of the government I 1 could not get any satisfactory information as to the population lai lat imber imler of built bulit buildings lings or extent of either the castle or city they pretended the most profound ignorance on all those point polut sand unblushingly declared that a census was never taken in japan they gave me a plan of jeddo but as it is drawn without reference to a scale it is impossible to form any satisfactory opinions from il it if lf I 1 can place any reliance on their statements the city is about fifty milea miles in circumference ferenc the outer circle of the castle varies from seven miles to he miles in diameter all english measure from the tile best information I 1 can get I 1 place the population at two millions and I 1 think this to be rather within the actual amount the houses are all built of wood and covered with tiles none are more than two stories the streets through which I 1 passed were from fifty to eighty feet wide but I 1 am told they are nar narrower rover in the parts parta outside the castle I 1 have not seen a single company of soldiers all the time I 1 have been here they appear to have studiously concealed them from irom me the police are numerous and sufficient J jaddo like the other cities of japan is div divided I 1 d into streets i e a distance of feet where a strong barrier is erected across the street with gates which are closed at an early hour in the evening each of these divisions has haa an ottono or captain and is ra responsible for its own tranquility in many places the barricades are double being placed kome some some thirty feet apart and form a little im pregnable stockade P ag against any force without artillery I 1 am told that jeddo contains between and of or these streets from this an approximation to the population might be formed but owing to the very great difference of the interior size of the squares the estimate would at least be very im imperfect berfect i I 1 will now close this letter which ch has become so unreasonably long I 1 fear it will weary you to read it TowNS TOWNSEND EIND HARRIS |