rowed instead of being sculled, and made less speed than was usual with the
Japanese government boats. As soon as it arrived alongside of the Powhatan
several Japanese officials eame on board. On their arrival they were
presented with the letter the Commodore bore from the Japanese commissioners,
and a copy of the treaty in the Chinese language. They stated that
the officers from Yedo, who had been delegated to meet the Americans at
Hakodadi, had not yet come; and that the people had been greatly alarmed
at the arrival of the ships, as there had been no previous intimation of the
intended visit of the squadron, and they had not even heard of the treaty,
or of the opening of Simoda. The Japanese officials were then informed that
on the next day a delegation of his officers would be sent by the Commodore
on shore to confer with the authorities.
Preparations were immediately made, on the arrival of the steamers, for
a complete survey of the harbor, and this having once been begun was carried
on diligently during the stay of the ships, until a very effectual examination
of the whole harbor waB made, as had been the case at Simoda.
On the succeeding morning, (May 18,) as had been appointed, the flag-
lieutenant, accompanied by two American interpreters, Mr. Williams and
Mr. Portman, and the Commodore’s secretary, paid a visit to the governor.
On their arrival at the government house, the governor Yendo Matzaimon
presented himself in company with Ishuka Konzo and Kudo Mogoro, two
of the principal personages of his suite. The Americans were received with
the usual ceremonious courtesies, and, being seated in a handsome hall with
the ordinary appointments of a Japanese apartment, were ready to proceed
at once to business. The governor was a middle-aged man, with a very benevolent
expression of face, and of the characteristic mild and courteous
manners; and his companions, though obsequious in the presence of their
superiors, were also very creditable specimens of Japanese gentlemen. The
conference hall was large, and opened by a wide open doorway from a narrow
courtyard, in which could be seen various entrances with carved wood
cornices, and stair-cases leading to other apartments of the building.
Windows and doorlights, constructed in form like our own, but with paper
panes, lighted the place, and handsome mats carpeted the floor, while there
was but the ordinary meagre supply of furniture, consisting only of a half
dozen camp stools. A shallow recess at one end of the room, with an
elaborate carved moulding along the border, contained the usual arm-chair
and idols, showing it to be dedicated to the rites both of hospitality and of
family worship. Attendants frequently passed in and out with supplies of
tea, cakes, confectionary, pipes and tobacco, and the governor and his Companions
were never forgetful of their duties as hosts, but politely pressed
their guests at every moment to refresh themselves.
The American officers now explained the object of their visit, and stated
in effect that the Commodore had come to Hakodadi with his squadron to
carry out the stipulations of the treaty between the United States and J a pan,
agreed upon on the 31st of March, and that any deviation from the
spirit and letter of that treaty on the part of the authorities of Yesso would
lead to serious consequences. I t was then demanded that arrangements
should be made at Hakodadi, as had been at Simoda, securing to the Americans
the privilege of going where they chose, through the streets or out into
the country, into the shops and public buildings. I t was further required
that the shopkeepers and market people should be allowed to sell their articles,
and that a temporary currency be established for the mutual convenience
of buyer and seller; that three different houses or temples be appropriated
by the authorities as places of resort severally for the Commodore,
the officers, and the artists of the expedition; that such supplies as the
country afforded be furnished to the ships according to a fixed tariff of
prices, and that not only articles of necessity, but those productions of
Yesso and specimens of natural history which might be objects of curiosity
and interest in America, be also provided, for which a just price would be
paid.T
he governor, on hearing these demands, asked for a delay until the
officers appointed by the commissioners, whom the Commodore had stated
he expected, should arrive with instructions from Yedo. The governor
accounted for the delay in the arrival of the Japanese officials by the long
distance of the capital from Hakodadi, sayingthat it was a journey of thirty-
seven days’ length in winter and thirty in summer. He also declared that
he had no special commands himself but what were contained in the letter
presented by the Commodore, which merely commended the Americans to
the ordinary welcome and good treatment, and enjoined upon the authorities
to supply the ships with provisions and water. After some discussion,
in the course of which the American officers reiterated their demands and
the governor his objections, it was agreed that the views of the authorities
of Hakodadi should be stated at length in writing, and submitted next day
for the consideration of the Commodore.
Accordingly, on the succeeding morning, the following communication
was received from the governor and his coadjutors: “ Hakodadi is an outlying,
remote region, and its population sparse and ignorant, so that when
your honorable ships arrived recently in this place, all, both old and young,
fled away into the interior, although the local officers ordered them not to
scatter.”
“ You have come to this place under the impression doubtless that it
was an extensive region and well settled, not with the least desire to rob or
rudely force your way into it without permission. The common people
here being ignorant and easily alarmed, we have been unable to get them to
come before us, so that we could instruct them in this matter personally,
for such is their waywardness; and it accounts for their timidity, as you saw