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in the Land of the Shogun |
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"A story that reads like fiction. . . . [Schodt] is particularly well-qualified to discuss Japanese perspectives on MacDonald's story and has uncovered material hitherto untouched by writers on the subject. "What a gem! Readable and meticulously researched, this book presents a colorful character In 1848, against all odds, a half-Chinook, half-Scot man named Ranald MacDonald entered feudal Japan—when it was still closed to the outside world. Here is the true story of how this remarkable twenty-four year old journeyed on his own to a forbidden land and helped open it to the modern world. Frederik L. Schodt's fascinating history documents MacDonald's early years in the Pacific Northwest as the oldest son of a Hudson's Bay Company chief factor, his education at the Red River settlement in central Canada, and his employment in St. Thomas, Ontario. It then tracks his going to sea in the New England whaling fleet and his stopover in Hawaii, where he prepared his adventure to Japan. Ranald MacDonald marooned himself in northern Japan and was promptly arrested. From original records, Schodt tracks MacDonald's movements through Japan—his encounter with the indigenous Ainu, his capture by the local authorities, and his seven-month incarceration in Nagasaki. Far from being a passive detainee, MacDonald charmed his guards, intrigued his interrogators, and transcribed the Japanese language he learned. MacDonald taught English to the interpreters of a nation under increasing pressure from the outside world. His students used the knowledge he gave them, and later served Japan well when it had to negotiate with English-speaking foreign visitors, including Commodore Perry when he arrived on his "Black Ships" in 1853. MacDonald helped "crack the seal" on Japan. He gave American officials hints on how to impress the Japanese, and equipped Japanese officials with tools for understanding the intruders. His life was, and is, a bridge between wildly different cultures, races, and eras. Drawing richly on primary source materials in Japan, Canada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest, Schodt reveals a man of rare courage and daring, while laying to rest the romantic myths that have built up around the MacDonald story. With 53 illustrations, 7 maps, a bibliography, notes, and index, this book is a detailed and valuable contribution to our understanding of early globalization. Fluent in spoken and written Japanese, FREDERIK L. SCHODT is an author, interpreter, and translator who has written extensively on Japanese culture and Japan-U.S. relations. He lives in San Francisco.
• How MacDonald was raised as an elite in the Columbia River watershed on the fringes of the civilized world, the son of a high-ranking fur trader and a Chinook princess. • How MacDonald's father sent his ten-year-old boy to be educated at the Red River settlement in today's Canadian province of Manitoba. At the time, the settlement was the center of a proud but short-lived Métis culture, a true hybrid of diverse white and native societies. • How the eighteen-year-old MacDonald struck out for Sag Harbor, a bustling whaling port on Long Island, New York. How he then sailed to Hawaii, the crossroads of the Pacific, and on to the rich whaling grounds off Japan.
• How MacDonald's natural gregariousness and mixed ethnicity affected his dealings with the Japanese. • How MacDonald secretly and illegally compiled a Japanese glossary while confined in Nagasaki. • How MacDonald's many attempts to publicize his story all failed, and how other treatments of his life have been fraught with error and half-truths, such as the mistaken notion that his adventure was inspired by his having met the "three kichis," the well-known Japanese castaways. • How MacDonald may have provided key strategic advice and understanding that would help the U.S. force Japan to open its ports to foreign trade.
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| Other titles of interest
Dreamland Japan by Frederik L. Schodt The Four Immigrants Manga by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama, trans. Frederik L. Schodt |