Japan's Early Missions to the West: A Comparison of the 1860 Man'en and 1872 Iwakura Embassies.

摘要

The purpose of this report is to analyze two nineteenth century missions from Japan to America, to determine if the members of the two legations differed in how they experienced the West. Were these individuals able to individualize, interpret, and express their experiences as they traveled. Did the political and social situation that existed in Japan at that time cause the two embassies to act in similar or distinctly different fashions. If different, was it due to differences in the aims of the respective missions or the nature of the men involved. I submit that a combination of three factors shaped the outlook of the two missions. First, the skills of the primary envoys varied between the two missions. Second, the primary aim differed for both missions. Finally, revised government policy for controlling information from the West, at the time of these two missions, altered not only how each viewed the West, but also had a direct impact on the previous two factors.