Foreigners in Mikadoland. Harold S. Williams

This is an account of life in the foreign communities and former Foreign Settlements or Concessions in Japan that flourished after Japan was opened to foreign trade in 1859. It tells of the imposters, the eccentrics, and the scandals, no less than the achievements of the scholars, the merchants, and the diplomats who contributed so much to the development of modern Japan.Here you will meet Townsend Harris, the first U.S. Consul General to Japan, the Grand Duke Alexander, and many other less well known, but just as interesting figures such as the energetic Rev. Bailey, the remarkable Mr. McLeod, and the Misses Butterfly and Chrysanthemum.All these events are portrayed in a series of chapters, arranged as nearly as possible in chronological order, each woven around some of the happenings of those times. Carefully researched, all of these events are historically accurate in every detail, and are written in Mr. Williams' highly enjoyable style.