First Japanese Visitor After Sakoku Describes European Life // 1862 Tokugawa Embassy Primary Source

More from Japanese national icon Fukuzawa Yukichi. After his groundbreaking trip to America, here we have the first detailed Japanese perspective of Europe, after the Sakoku period of isolation. England, France, Holland and Russia.

Extract from The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi translated by Eiichi Kiyooka, 1934 edition.

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Thanks to:
OKJaguar
opethpainterFlickr: Hôtel du Louvre
Alessio Bragadini
CharmaineZoe's Marvelous Melange French Fashion Plate - 1848-1864
Operating theatre: The original uploader was MykReeve at English Wikipedia.

[VoicesofthePast]

Hello! So, continuing the adventures of Fukuzawa Yukichi. Here he is as part of the first Japanese embassy to Europe after the Sakoku period of isolation. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you would like to see a third and final part...because it's coming Saturday!

[Growmetheus]

Dude went from “can i buy a house” to “I WILL CONQUER HOLLAND” way too fast.

[Pedro-etpu]

"Nearly all the people I've talked to were eager to come to Japan " Them OG weeabos

[nisyturtle]

"We were overburdened by the useless gear we brought so we shoved it off onto some poor sap and acted like it was a gift."
and thus the rumors of Japanese being great gift givers began...

[ginochristiano]

"Prussia...spreading like a rising sun."

*foreshadowing*

[jayasuryangoral-maanyan]

The stories of these diplomats honestly feel like period fiction, the fact that they're real makes it so wholesome

[caesar]

What a humble fellow. When he receives his salary the first thing he does is give it to his parents instead of blowing it on something.

[BXMATTER]

3:45

Just imagine for a moment.
Walking to get a cup of coffee to you and your companion waiting for you in your hotel room.
Suddenly, a group of no less than ten samurai, confused and lost, face you in the hallway, swords, ponytails and all.

Must have been quite a sight indeed.

[lightzpy]

Japanese people in Paris: "Too many alleyways and doors"
Japan Tokyo in 21st century: *HOLD MY BEER*

[anonimosu]

*will it be fine for a foreigner to buy a piece of land to build a fortress*

[DevonPalmer]

This guy’s life was super rad, can’t believe I never heard of him before this series

[tobiasglendenning]

I have absolutely fallen in love with Fukuzama Yukichi's writings. He feels so human, it really humanises the past.

[Metaphix]

lol his synopsis could've been "The people are nice, governments are annoying tho" Perfect description of Europe

[idot]

I like how the most confusing thing for him was understanding two-party politics and parliament. Watch a video from the house of commons today and it's still just a bunch of people yelling at each other.

[DsfgrdLzrd]

Russian Evoys said they could claim the world by painting it red? They were truely ahead of their time xD

[stumilesyt]

I actually read this book when I studied at Hokkaido Uni for a year, it was so expensive you weren't allowed to take it out the library! Amazing read though, Fukuzawa is pretty funny even if he wouldn't admit it himself! Thanks for doing it justice

[flintyleader]

France: Bonjour Misure, enjoy your stay at our one of our greatest hotels and sample our fine foods

Britain: Greetings sirs, let us debate political theory

Holland: Hallo our friends from the east, make yourselves comfortable

Russia: Hey kids wanna see a dead body

[wyattrivers]

I like the inclusion of the anecdote at 7:55

This confusion was reflective of all Japanese attitudes at the time. The concept of public speaking and debate were utterly foreign to Japan. A feudal society doesn't have need for debate after all; one is expected to follow one's master without question. In order to try to explain this concept of public speaking, Fukuzawa had to invent an entirely new word, _enzetsu_ (演説).

When Fukuzawa returned to Japan, he wrote a series of books called _Seiyo Jijo_ (Conditions in the West) describing how Western people lived. These were written in plain Japanese vernacular, as opposed to scholarly Chinese, allowing the common people of Japan to learn about these foreign lands. It was immensely popular.

[fledadmiral]

Today Yukichi travels everywhere in this world as a paper currency

[connormcsweeney]

“Napoleon III was the greatest statesmen of his time”
Otto Von Bismarck: Halte mein bier