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.