JAPAN AND CHINA, 1860
Autograph Letter Signed ("Franklin Blake"), an American merchant travelling in China and Japan, to his father, describing his experiences at the time of the second Opium War and offering a vivid sketch of life in Japan in the mid-nineteenth century.
10 pages large 4to, Shanghai, 2 September 1860.
A fascinating, immensely detailed letter from an American merchant in the Far East. Japan had been opened up to foreign trade a mere six years earlier thanks to the efforts of Commodore Perry, which suggests that Franklin Blake saw a Japan which had barely had time to encounter any western influence. His experiences in China were rather more fraught, as he witnessed the last days of the Second Opium War.
Writing from Shanghai, Blake tells his father that ". . . The Rebels . . . have now lately increased the panic among the Chineses (who are flying in all directions) by an attack on the city. The last attack . . . was repulsed by the French Imperialists with considerable loss . . . The Merchants are in considerable alarm . . . The U.S. "Hartford" & "Saginaw" steamed up here yesterday morning. The Rebels . . . burn, rob & murder in the most cruel manner . . . They have . . . succeeded in taking Soochow, the "Paris" of China . . . and are now burning all the towns & villages in this vicinity and quantities of headless bodies are to be seen floating down the river . . . All the streets leading out of the foreign settlement are barricaded . . . one of the vessels [western Men of War]. . . was throwing shell directly over the house nearly all day, to fall among the Rebel forces . . . they concluded that their War Joss had got angry with them or something of the sort and was sending these missels [sic] down from heaven . . ."
Going on to describe Japan (at great length) to his father, Blake explains that ". . . Japan is one of the most beautiful countries you can imagine, and both the climate & scenery at once reminded me of California. . . The Japanese . . . have very little use for articles of foreign manufacture, every thing they require . . . being made by themselves and of the finest texture & fabric, consequently there is but little trade with foreigners . . . They are a . . . proud people . . . In some respects I think their character is not unlike that of our North American Indian. . . The finest temple I saw was at Kawasaki . . . beyond which no foreigner is allowed to go. . . . The large roof is covered with very thick copper, and a great many bronze gods & ornaments all about it, also a chime of very heavy bells of splendid tone. One of the most interesting things I saw here was a Praying machine . . . It is a circular piece of wood fitted into a frame . . . when a poor devil finds his sins too burdensome, all he has to do is to go and take a turn at the crank & grind away for a while and then he is all right again. Another curious practice here is that of hireing [sic] mourners . . . As a general thing the people are very hospitable . . .
everywhere you see springs bubbling out of the hill sides. I came across one boiling spring, the water of which came up with great force, ice cold, and of the color of coffee. . . we passed within a mile of an active volcano, on an island near the entrance to the bay of Yeddo, & could distincly see & smell the sulphurous smoke . . .
The Japanese houses are build of light wood work, with partitions, doors & windows made of paper . . . The dress of the men you will have seen . . . and that of the . . . women is very similar to the dress of a Chinese lady of rank . . . The Officials . . . always carry two swords, sharp as razors, one long one for defence or attack, and the short one to disembowel themselves should they ever comit [sic] any offence that would merit it. . . Some of the men are very beautifully tattooed all over . . . with dragons, beasts, birds . . . Their amusements are also well worth seeing. Juglery [sic] & wrestling standing at the head. The wrestlers are trained to it and are perfect giants . . . they pitch into each other like mad bulls . . . You see in the shops here most beautiful silks, satins . . . fine inlaid cabinets . . . bronzes, porcelain, laquered-ware, inlaid Pearl work, basket work . . . all of the finest workmanship . . . Japan is a great country & eventually there will be considerable trade there . . . it was with the greatest reluctance that I came away from there . . ."
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