Richard Hildreth, an American born in 1807, was an experienced traveller, author, journalist, and historian. His curiosity of other cultures and interest in humanity led him to Japan in the 1850s at a time when the country was still officially closed to foreigners. On March 31, 1854, representatives of Japan and the United States signed a historic treaty led by Commodore Matthew Perry, an American naval officer. After several months of negotiation with Japanese officials, Perry achieved the goal of opening the doors of trade with Japan. Hildreth arrived right at this pivotal moment to record the historical event in attentive detail. Instead of attempting to make general observations about a culture at large, Hildreth preferred to follow a more historic method, and wishes to 'let the reader see Japan' through the eyes of such a careful observer. In these two volumes, clever observations on everything from Japanese firearms to marriage ceremonies are accompanied by daguerreotype portraits of the Japanese taken by artists attached to Commodore Perry's expedition. In this treatise, edited by Ernest W.
Clement, Richard Hildreth urges the Americans to take interest in this island empire from a cultural and not only commercial perspective.