Japanese Ceremonial for Western Diplomats Attending Shogunal Castle Audiences, 1857-1867

The formal diplomatic relations between Japan and Western nations dawned when the first American consul-general Townsend Harris was received by the thirteenth Tokugawa shogun Iesada at Edo castle in 1857. This work unveils the seventeen castle audiences for Western envoys carried out by the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867) during its last decade of reign. Through that process, the shogunate completed a ceremonial form based on its own tradition, as well as consistent with the Western practice. The endeavours of Tokugawa retainers on the frontline of external affairs at the time, prior to the Meiji Restoration (1868), was the true first step of Japan's entry into the international community. The formation of diplomatic ceremonial, progressed as a different layer from more political negotiations, provides an alternative history of bakumatsu (late years of the shogunate) foreign relations that has been overlooked in previous studies.

Sano Mayuko works at the Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University. Her recent publications include the edited volume Expo-logy: Expos as a Method of Grasping the World (Shibunkaku, 2020), and the monograph Meiji Period Daily Life Written about by Clara Whitney (Rinsen Book, 2019).

Foreword to the English Edition, Introduction, I The Background of Bakumatsu Diplomatic Ceremonial, Chapter 1 The Ceremonial and Foreign Relations of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Part 1. Palace Ceremonial of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Part 2. Ceremonial for Receiving Korean Missions in Practice, Part 3. The Accumulation of Diplomatic Experience: Shogunate Retainer Tsutsui Masanori, Chapter 2 Diplomatic Ceremonial in Western, Part 1. Standards of Diplomatic Business, Part 2. Advances into Non-Western Areas and Views of Ceremonial, Chapter 3 United States Consul General Harris's Audience with the Shogun (1857), Part 1. How the Audience Came to Be Agreed Upon, Part 2. The Day Townsend Harris Appeared at Edo Castle: The Twenty-First Day of the Tenth Month of Ansei 4, Part 3. Conclusion: Continuity from the Early Modern to Modern Era, Chapter 4 The Evolution of Bakumatsu Ceremonial through Trial and Error, Part 1. Shogunal Audiences for the Representatives of the Netherlands and Russia (1858), Part 2. Townsend Harris's Second Audience (1859) with the Shogun and Its Aftermath, Part 3. Conclusion: Towards Sustainable Diplomacy, Chapter 5 The Establishment of Ceremonial Forms, Part 1. Developments Based on the Permanent Ceremonial that Will Endure Unchanged, Part 2. Arriving at a Stable Diplomatic Ceremonial Regime, Part 3. Conclusion: Diplomatic Ceremonial Taking Root and Significance of the Ceremonial, Chapter 6 Tokugawa Yoshinobu's Audiences for Representatives of Four Western Nations (1867), Part 1. The Background of, and Preparations for, the Osaka Audiences, Part 2. Osaka Castle on the Days of the Audiences, Part 3. Developments after the Osaka Audiences, Part 4. Conclusion: The Further Unfolding of Bakumatsu Diplomatic Ceremonial, Conclusion: How Bakumatsu Diplomatic Ceremonial Brought About Diplomacy between Equals, Sources, Afterword, Timeline, Index .