Joseph Heco |
Original EditionMurdoch, James (Editor): The Narrative of a Japanese: What He Has Seen and the People He Has Met in the Course of the Last 40 Years, Yokohama, printed by the Japan Gazette Newspaper Company, Yokohama and sold by Maruzen Ltd., Tokyo, 1895, 2 volumes, 14 plates, 1 map, 17 text illustrations, 346 pp & 254 pp. The narrative of Joseph Heco (1837-1897), a fisherman from the province of Sanyodo (Japan), who went to sea in 1850. He was shipwrecked and rescued by an American ship which took him to California. He did not return to Japan until 1859. Heco became the first Japanese national to be naturalized as an American citizen. This narrative offers a very unique perspective on the opening of Japan and the Western push to open the country. Though the eyes of a native Japanese familiar with both cultures, one views the opening of Japan from Perry's ground breaking expedition to the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations through the domestic and international turmoil that ensued as Japan passed into the Meiji era. The narrative alternates between a summary of events and a day by day journal. Key events are recorded in Heco's own words and through published accounts. Volume I of the narrative traces Heco's life from his birth in 1837 in Komiya to his shipwreck in 1850, rescue and journey to the United States. This is followed by accounts of his education and travels within the United States, his return to Japan in 1859 and work as interpreter for the U.S. consulate and his second trip to the United States (1861-1862). Vol. I, 8vo, blue cloth, blindstamped rules, gilt lettering, preface (i-iii), chapters numbered from I-XXIV, 2 plates, 1 map, 10 text illustrations, errata (2 pp), 346 pp. Volume II of the narrative contains Heco's reminiscences of his adventures, picking up the story shortly after his return to Japan (in 1862) following his second journey to the United States. His later experiences in Japan include an eyewitness account of key events in the Revolution of 1868. This volume goes through October 28, 1891. Volume II. 8vo, light brown cloth, blindstamped rules, gilt lettering, chapters numbered from I-XVIII, 7 numbered plates, 5 unnumbered plates, 7 text illustrations, appendix (i-v), tipped in errata sheet, colophon, 254 pp. Plates I-II and IV-VII (6 plates) are collotype printed in the original edition. The following are the major distinctions between the 1895 original printing and the ca 1950 facsimile edition.
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Perry Expedition to Japan Books & Lithographs |