Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912

The extinguishing of household fires was probably in keeping with the belief that even fire was polluted by being in the same house where a birth had occurred. It is curious that the new fire came from a merchant’s house rather than from a shrine or the monastic retreat of some member of the imperial family, but the Kawabata family had enjoyed spec

After considerable debate, they decided to accept the letter from the Russian court, falling back on the precedent established by accepting the American president’s letter.

When word reached Edo that the American fleet was in internal Japanese waters, there was great consternation. The receipt of documents from foreign countries was prohibited by law, but if the Americans were refused, this would surely bring on some disaster. The best thing, the officials decided, was to put up with the affront for the time being, ac

Harris warned that if war broke out with England, Japan would lose. Finally, he promised that if Japan signed a treaty with the United States, the latter would include a guarantee to prohibit the sale of opium, in this way distinguishing America from England.

The perturbed emperor directed the seven shrines and seven temples to pray for seventeen days for peace within the four seas, for the longevity of the imperial throne, and for the tranquillity of the people.

Each time the prince sneezed, from the moment of his birth until his seventh night, a knot was made in a cord; it was believed that the more he sneezed, the longer he would live.

The emperor, his consort, the prince, and the others of the court moved in procession to the new palace on January 1, 1856.

The wooden bucket was decorated with designs in white paste showing pines, bamboos, cranes, and tortoises but not plum blossoms (usually associated with pines and bamboos in artistic compositions) because plum blossoms fall, an inauspicious association.

If it was considered inadvisable to allow trading privileges to two countries, the Americans would be preferable. Good relations with them would earn their gratitude, and they could be used against the countries of Europe. This would be an instance of the strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians.