Shimoda Story.

Honolulu, HI University of Hawaii Press, 1986. Paperback First Edition Thus (1986); so stated. First published in hardcover in 1969. First Edition Thus (1986); so stated. Very Good in Wraps: shows indications of careful use: a crease near the lower corner of the front panel; moderate wear to the extremities; rubbing to the wrapper covers; the white areas of the background field of the rear panel show a little faint soiling; former bookseller's inventory stickers to the lower rear panel and back-strip; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing some wear and notable cosmetic flaws. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (9.25 x 6 x 1.4 inches). xvii, 627 pages. Extensive Index, Notes, Sources. Liberally illustrated in black & white. Maps. Language: English. Weight: 28.8 ounces. First published in hardcover in 1969. University Press Paperback. "Shimoda Story" is a remarkable piece of scholarship based not only on Townsend Harris's and Heusken's diaries but town, temple, provincial and bakufu records. Primarily a day-by-day account of the first American legation at Shimoda, it is most of all a document of village life in pre-industrial Japan. A long but rewarding story about the bumbling incompetence of an american political appointee and the confusion sown in the japanese officials who mistake his stupidity for brilliant cunning.. Reminiscent of Lafcadio Hearn and most valuable as a record of two cultures in collision, with Statler bringing as much empathy and understanding to bear for the Japanese side as for the American.