A group of drawings & Japanese internal government communiqués on foreign incursions.
Three large folded sheets & two lengthy letters with their original manuscript envelopes. Japan: ca. 1822-31.
An exceptional collection of documents on two consequential early Western visits to Japan in the 1820s: the first landing of the Saracen at Uraga and the Takarajima incident. During this period, accounts of these incursions were kept top-secret as matters of Japanese national security. Pre-Commodore Perry materials, such as ours, are extremely scarce. This collection also contains well-rendered drawings of foreigners and their ships. The letters sent by government officials speak to the widespread anxiety throughout the country in the face of much more... More