The classic first-hand account of Japan’s emergence as a modern state by the diplomat who witnessed it.

Ernest Satow's storied diplomatic career followed many of the major events of Japanese history in the 19th century, from the Battle of Shimonoseki and Japan's opening to the First Sino-Japanese War and Japan's emergance as a global power. Based on the author’s detailed diary, personal encounters, and keen memory, this book is a record of the inner history of the critical years of social and political upheaval that accompanied Japan’s first encounters with the West around the time of the Meiji Restoration.