Amerika Ichijo Utsushi; Commodore Perry's Expedition to Hakodate: May 1854, A Private Account with Illustrations by Kojima, Matajiro; Alice Cheney, transl - 1953

Hakodate, Japan: The Hakodate Kyodo Bunkakai, 1953. Limited edition. Stiff card wraps. Fine. 2 volumes, 8vo. 174;102pp. Purple stiff paper wraps bound Japanese style with string ties. Double fold pages, printed paper titles, Japanese on volume 1 and English on volume 2,

Volume 1 is a facsimile manuscript of Kojima's original journal/record of the Perry call at Hakodate in March of 1854. Illustrations (50) are incorporated into the manuscript. Many are in color. There is also a double-page fold-out map. This is a facsimile of the original manuscript in the Hakodate Public Library.

Volume 2 is the English and Japanese versions of the facsimile manuscript in volume 2. Volume 1 contains the following English sections: title page, copyright notice, forwards, preface (6 unnumbered pages), 30 numbered pages of English translation of the Kojima journal by Alice Cheney, plus a listing of pictures and chart on 3 unnumbered pages. Then from back to front is the Japanese typeset version of the Kojima journal. It consists of 4 unnumbered pages followed by pages 1-59 for a total of 63 pages.

Both volumes are numbered 880 in the Japanese colophons, from an unspecified limited edition.

The author of this account, Matajiro Kojima, was a Government official present during the visit of Commodore Perry to Hakodate in 1854. The account gives the Japanese reactions to Perry's visit as well as a description of the behavior of the Americans. While Kojima's reaction to the American visitors was not totally negative, he did report some unpleasant aspects.

A fine set, housed in the publisher's wraparound case with a printed paper label bearing the same title as on volume 1.

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