First Japanese Visitor to USA Describes American Life // 1860 Tokugawa Embassy // Primary Source

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Here we have an extract from the autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi, famed Japanese reformer and a member of the first Japanese embassy to The United States after 200+ years of isolation.
Extract from The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi translated by Eiichi Kiyooka, 1934 edition.
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- Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly
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Thanks to:
By World Imaging (talk) - Own work, photographed at Japan Currency Museum, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Fumiya Fujihara / CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
TANAKA Juuyoh (%u7530%u4E2D%u5341%u6D0B) / CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
army.arch
Mare Island Naval Shipyard, CA Hospital Historic Photo 1920s
Cliff
3rd Floor Smithsonian American Art Museum

[@VoicesofthePast]

Hello one and all! Great response to the video. More from Fukuzawa Yukichi this Saturday - the 1862 tour of Europe 🇬🇧🇫🇷 edit: here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqOspWN7fq6nm6M

[@portulanka]

Definitely looking forward to that!

[@sven9900]

Just imagine that the first Japanese person describe the American

[@ericcadman1329]

Is this the same diplomatic mission that sent Samurai to Rome?

[@redfish337]

@@ericcadman1329 That was far earlier, before their 200 years of relative isolation in early 1600s. Though I'm not sure of all the itineraries so it's possible another may have stopped by later. Those sorts of ties with Catholicism were the sort of thing that caused the shogunate to close the country in the first place. Christians rebelled against an anti-Christian crackdown, and that was put down. Most foreigners were expelled except for the Dutch who had sided with the shogunate and were less religiously meddlesome, and were allowed to maintain limited trade. These missions of Fukuzawa were sent after things were reopened in the mid-1800s, which is why we see a different set of players- the missions in this period focus more on GB, France, USA, Germany, and Russia and such.

[@IkeFoxbrush]

@@ericcadman1329 That would have been the 1613 mission of Hasekura Tsunenaga: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasekura_Tsunenaga#The_1613_embassy_project

[@ch33zer]

"I was surprised at the high cost of daily commodities in California" Me too brother.

[@rbrtck]

And now many/most things cost more in Japan than California, from what I've seen.

[@skilz8098]

It appears that some things never do change...

[@EvilPaladin11]

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[@lYakuzal]

@@rbrtck For commodities not really. There are things that are certainly more expensive in Japan now, but at the same time there are also a bunch of things there that are very affordable in comparison to other countries. Japan has options that allow you to live comfortably and inexpensively in Japan, which is amazing. Obviously it's not how the average Japanese person would live, but it is still a good way to live nonetheless.

[@mats7492]

@@lYakuzal ive actually never ate as cheapas i did in tokyo.. a good tasty meal is easily obtainable for 6-7 dollars, tea included for free, snacks (onigri) at the 7/11 for less than one dollar ..... as a tourist, only accomodation is expensive.. food and drink is cheap

[@captainplexiglass6475]

"what are the whereabouts of the children of Washington?" "Sir this is a Wendy's"

[@ino7604]

😂😂😂

[@4T3hM4kr0n]

I found the comment to be funny because he assumed that the leaders were treated like the royal family with bloodlines and the like.

[@paulm3952]

@@4T3hM4kr0n I wonder if they would be if George Washington had any biological children, especially if he had had a son.

[@nathanplunkett1633]

@@paulm3952 Washington's granddaughter was married to Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General.

[@roguishpaladin]

@@paulm3952 No, they wouldn't have. Washington did have heirs of a sort, people who inherited his papers and legacy. One, his nephew Bushrod Washington (I'm serious), even served on the Supreme Court for about 30 years. So, the level of attention that Washington's relatives received were about what we experience nowadays. This video covers the Washington "lines" (for there's three, depending upon which concept of inheritance you choose) in more detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKnRc6mbpNVopNE

[@ubertuber3d]

The Japanese encountering modern machinery: ... The Japanese encountering ice cubes: *R E A L S H I T*

[@arthas640]

I have no idea what the price of ice was in Japan in spring but in some time periods it could be worth more then its weight in silver or close to gold. It's a bit like going to mexico and finding out they wipe their ass with silk

[@kwj_nekko_6320]

@@arthas640 In East Asia there were some manmade caves for ice stockpile, similar to thermo bottles but basically a giant storage made of stone. Still, they weren't big enough.

[@TwistedSynn]

Also the reason why Wine cellars exists to keep the alcohol nice and chilled before drinking. Lower into the ground you are in the dark, the cooler things stayed. All this was just to have cool drinks before Ice Cubes or refrigeration.

[@SuperJoshuaAguilar]

@@arthas640 Wait that was a think in Mexico? That's funny if it's true lol.

[@arthas640]

@@SuperJoshuaAguilar I meant that seeing Americans throwing ice into any random drink would be viewed as decadent/extravagant, such as wiping your butt with silk. Ice used to be super expensive depending on the country, time of year, and time period, I've heard at some times/places ice could be worth its weight in silver or gold. If you ever saw the movie Kingdom of Heaven they had a scene were Saladin gave the crusaders a cup of ice to cool their throats during a negotiation and it was basically a power move (I'm so rich and powerful I can get ice in the desert while you noblemen can barely even get enough stale water to stay alive) since ice would have been insanely expensive. Before refrigeration, trains, and modern tech they had to either save ice from winter In special ice houses or carry it in from nearby mountains, hoth of which were expensive, doubly so in hot areas like California where the Japanese emissaries were visiting. Little cultural things like that can be funny, when my dad visited south Vietnam he had a guy trade him a set of silk clothes for blue Jean's and another guy trade "the nicest silk shirt I've ever seen" for an american zippo lighter, a chocolate bar, and some marlboros

[@alexanderholzer7392]

Japanese: These people are weird, but I like them. Americans: These people are weird, but I like them.

[@Noplayster13]

Almost my exact same thought when I visited Japan a year ago. “These people are weird, but it’s a good weird.”

[@alakazoomedia9275]

Literally the same as today

[@robertarmstrong2470]

Iam English, i think the same of both, in a nice way.

[@alexanderholzer7392]

@@robertarmstrong2470 Same to you brother.

[@mannamedisaak3316]

Japanese people are very kind and I hope They see us as kind Long Live Japan and the United States of America 🇯🇵🤝🇺🇸

[@flaviusbelisarius7517]

Set himself on fire just to avoid asking for an ash tray. I like this man.

[@NeostormXLMAX]

reminds me of the scientist dude in ajin who only asked for 2 fingers left to smoke a cigar

[@sparklesparklesparkle6318]

yeah back when I smoked I've had the same thing happen to me more than once.

[@peterblood50]

I've got plenty of 'seed holes' in my casual shirts and pants from smoking, although I've never touched tobacco. 😉

[@BlckJohnnyQuest]

Don’t worry I won’t like this comment so it stays at 666

[@LMvdB02]

@@peterblood50 yeah man everyone I know that smokes and wears tracksuits have a lot of little holes in the lap area.

[@adriannaranjo4397]

Americans: *serve ices with drinks* Japanese embassies: Hmm, yes _crunchy._

[@omirie]

LOL

[@stephentremblay1465]

Gdi. I came here to learn, not bust a gut. 😂😂😂

[@thenorthstarsamurai]

I mean y'all ever crunch those ice cubes?

[@peyuko5960]

THE COLD SAMURAI yes, it’s quite satisfying.

[@Macorian]

Spoiling champagne (!!!) with ice, how horrid!

[@jinhunterslay1638]

Fun Fact: The man who wrote this autobiography is the same man on the 10, 000 yen bank note right now (Fukuzawa Yukichi)

[@yvonnecampbell7036]

Cool!

[@thejoulesthief6841]

That’s awesome.

[@azjeffs]

No way! Never would have thought after seeing his face every pay day while I lived in Japan I'd be eventually hearing his stories!

[@AradSP]

Cool fact!

[@NguyenTran-eu1pw]

True. It’s him.

[@MattNeufy]

“Though I called myself a teacher...I was still a student, along with those I was instructing”

[@17-MASY]

Wise line

[@vincentlaw1415]

That quote should be hanging over every class room in the world

[@pattymelt6577]

Same can be said of parenting.

[@MarcDufresneosorusrex]

@@pattymelt6577 what if you have no children though? BURN~~ ... .. sorry for trolling..

[@pattymelt6577]

@@MarcDufresneosorusrex here's my quotable statement, if you have not learned from your children, you have no children. Does that work for you?

[@gemusefachlummel6467]

Imagine a Japanese man tries to learn English and comes to America with a heavy Dutch accent 😁

[@jurisprudens]

I am myself a non-native speaker, and the native speakers often laugh at the mixture or British and American features, or low and high style, that I allow into my speech.

[@Wolf_Larsen]

Broken English is the language of the world, after all.

[@evershumor1302]

@@Wolf_Larsen true 😂

[@evershumor1302]

Jes ei woeld leik tree horses plies.

[@Psychol-Snooper]

Nobody would have noticed. Nothing has changed in that regard in the US. XD

[@user-bx2sj4nz3m]

"I was surprised at the high cost of daily commodities in California." Some things never change smh.

[@cgmason7568]

The more things change the more they stay the same

[@pauskie6]

Changes - 2Pac

[@Taschip]

Ok, who copied who?

[@brytonwallis4817]

Just look at Florida; Andrew Jackson made it part of the states but he sure didn’t tame it, or how China has had bad leaders or the fact Germany has had multiple economic depression that have led to people fleeing.

[@pankourlaut]

Since you can get an 8oz can of oysters for $2 at Walmart today, it's the equivalent of paying $200.

[@dorkmax7073]

His note on the use of iron in America is fascinating. He talks about Westerners wasting iron, and I had heard previously that Japan was never resource rich, geographically. It makes sense that their lack of iron would make them more inclined to recycle it whenever possible.

[@romannasuti25]

Dorkmax Its also why they traditionally had world-class high carbon steel: Iron wasn't common enough to waste on things that could easily and quickly break like swords, so if they were to have samurai swords, they'd have to get the most out of them, hence their extremely hard and sharp high carbon steel swords.

[@malthus101]

they do have iron sands. the tamahagane used in katana is made in Japan from Japanese sands. maybe not much though, I'm not sure.

[@jic1]

@@romannasuti25 Actually, that's not really accurate: they weren't able to produce large amounts of high-quality steel, which is why they got around it by only using high-carbon steel for the cutting edge, with the rest of the blade being made of mild steel, or sometimes even iron. This allowed them to produce high-quality blades with limited resources. Similar techniques were used in Europe before around the 15th century.

[@Nonsense010688]

The thing is with pre industrial societies is that every metal is very valuable, because producing the heat to melt it is really expensive. This is why you find stories how Apollo and Herakles, a God and a Hero, are basically arguing about a cooking pot, because it was made out of bronze. With the rise of Industrial steel works, steel became much cheaper to produce and more common.

[@KyleP133]

@@Nonsense010688 Can you elaborate on what the different points of view were on the bronze cooking pot? My curiosity is piqued!

[@pilotman9819]

When you Master Dutch but everyone spoke English in the Ports. _Back to the Drawing boards._

[@readyforlol]

Years of academy training, wasted !

[@IllyasvielChan]

dat zal ik zeer zeker niet een twee drie zeggen hoor, just because.

[@inisipisTV]

In fact that what Fukuzawa did, he started studying English and became their first English translator.

[@wowjack8944]

@@IllyasvielChan Dat zou ik zeer zeker niet één-twee-drie zeggen hoor.* Is a better translation of what you just said. Although we dutch would phrase it like this: ''Dat zou ik niet zo één-twee-drie zeggen.

[@Frogkhan915]

They're reaaaal close languages, it could be worse

[@lancemannly]

Gotta say I'm pretty proud of the way they received and hosted the Japanese delegation, respecting their customs like that

[@kallebirgersson710]

For once a pleasant meeting between vastly different cultures

[@Guywiththedimpples]

Most people would prefer people to think everyone in the past where raging racists and bigots that hated anyone different. But I believe the average person was accepting of new types of people, out of curiosity. Granted they would be viewed as someone foreign to them and their customs but most of the time I would like to believe they where willing and able to try to understand one another.

[@GhostofTradition]

Yep it's almost like "muh racism and oppression" is exaggerated. History isn't what you learn in school

[@BrettonFerguson]

Imagine if this guy had a time machine and visited modern San Francisco. Junkies shooting up in the streets, people pooping on the sidewalks. Riots, looting, He/shes. I bet he would have a heart attack.

[@mokuseinoosa]

I'm japanese and recently read some travel memoirs from Meiji era written by japanese who went to USA and european countries. They noted that they were surprised that european hotel men were respectful to them unlike japanese to foreigners back then. I was quite surprised at the fact tbh.

[@wyattrivers700]

As a preface to the video, the reason Yukichi was disappointed after visiting the foreign merchants in Yokohama and finding that he could not understand them, is that up until this point he had devoted himself to learning Dutch (and was regarded as being quite proficient at it as well). He attempted to converse with the merchants in Dutch only to find they were speaking predominantly English. And thus began his quest to master yet another foreign language.

[@philosophicaljay3449]

I find it a little funny, actually. At this point in time English was already a language that had spread far and wide, yet the most common "western" language many people in Japan, and even possibly China and Korea, were exposed to was Dutch. I honestly think that many people that wanted to visit the west would have thought that Dutch was the language of choice.

[@germanikolaas]

@@philosophicaljay3449 It's because in the 1500s to late 1600s the Dutch had a very prosperous Golden Age where technology, science, military, philosophy and art were among the most acclaimed in the world leading them to be a maritime and thee economic powerhouse in all of Europe unrivaled until the rise of England's maritime Empire. But at that time the Dutch were arguably the most economically wealthy and scientifically advanced of all European nations, which put them in a unique position to transfer Western knowledge to Japan. The Dutch East Indian Company was one of Europes first modern mega corporations that had a monopoly given to them by Japan to exclusively trade with Japan. From 1640 to 1840 the Dutch was the only window into European life for Japan. The Japanese were very very weary of foreigners but were fascinated with the Dutch/German culture particularly the industrial and scientific revolution at the time. The Dutch were instrumental in transmitting to Japan some knowledge of the industrial and scientific revolution then occurring in all of Europe. The Japanese purchased and translated numerous scientific books from the Dutch they call this new learning "Rangaku" which means Dutch learning. Then from the 1850s onward they dropped Dutch and went with English. A lot of this caused great turmoil in the heartland of Japan where some Japanese did not want to deal with these foreign countries while others wanted to and couldn't ignore the innovations. Kind of summed up in the movie The Last Samurai.

[@dj_koen1265]

@@germanikolaas i kinda wish dutch was still hold in higher regard :p , but there isnt much reason to learn it nowadays

[@deadby15]

CommandoDude More precisely, Europeans other than the Dutch were expelled because it was exposed they were selling Japanese people as slaves. That Christian priests have been turning a blind eye enraged the Shogun and Christianity was also banned.

[@germanikolaas]

​@CommandoDude Great point, The hostility of Christianity is no understatement and shouldn't have gone unmentioned in the restriction of Europeans from Japan, Ok here we go. The initial appeal for Japan to trade with Portugal was actually due to the fact that Japan had been prohibited from trade with China by the Ming dynasty because of Japans piratical raids against China in the previous decades. Thus making Chinese goods a scarce supply in Japan. So the Japanese initially were actually looking forward to acquiring Chinese goods via the Portuguese which had already established trade with China since the early 1500s. The Portuguese now found a lucrative opportunity to act as middlemen between the two realms of China and Japan. Trading Chinese goods like silk and porcelain for Japanese silver made the Portuguese a killing, some Dutch accounts say that they made more profits just from Japan then the Dutch did with all of Asia at the time. The state of civil war in Japan was also highly beneficial to the Portuguese, as each competing Japanese Daimyo Lord sought to attract trade to their domains by offering better conditions for the Foreigners to trade, Which is also why Christianity was relatively tolerated in the beginning because the Portuguese were more willing to stop at ports belonging to a Christian lord, which for the Japanese Daimyo Lord meant better access to European firearms. Foreigners were murdered in places like Hirado when they would land so the Portuguese looked elsewhere until they found someone like Omura Sumitada who was the first Japanese Daimyo Fedual Lord to convert to Christianity via the Portuguese Jesuit missionaries, so in 1580 the fishing village of Nagasaki became the definitive port for the Portuguese and its lord Omura Sumitada leased it to the Jesuits and thus the city transformed from just a fishing village to a prosperous community, the entirety of which was Christian. The reason Omura Sumitada is credited for converting to Christianity was the fact that other Daimyo's were attacking him and he found Christianity to be the answer to these invasions, that may be his reason, But I personally believe there were also other reasons why he was chosen by the Jesuits over other Daimyo. None the less what is not disputed is the fact that Omura Sumitada was a complete radical in his Christian faith , razing Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, defacing his ancestors' graves, and forcing Christianity on people of his domain. So alien to the Japanese they have never seen such behavior before. But even Spain got jealous of the profits Portugal was making in Japan that they launched there own decree via Friar and the Franciscan Order. The Friars entered Japan through the Philippines in 1593, and they began to openly proselytize. The Portuguese Jesuits complained of the Spanish Friars illegality because of Toyotomi Hideyoshi 1587 Edict expulsion against Christianity but the Franciscans ignored them due to their successes in the Americas and Philippines. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was close to unifying Japan and was getting ready for an invasion of Korea and the Jesuit Gaspar Coelho offerd his support in his ability to summon Portuguese warships and rally Japaneses Christian Daimyo for Hideyoshi's upcoming invasion. Even though this was in his favor he recognized the power this foreign religion had over his people and its potential to decentralize factions away from his control to possibly be used against him. So in 1587 he created the edict, although it wasn't really enforced. But in 1596 "The San Felipe Incident" occurred and was one of the main catalysts that set into motion the anti Christian resentment and purge of Portuguese out of Japan for good. The Spanish ship San Felipe was shipwrecked in Urado on the Japanese island en route from Manila Philippines to Acapulco Mexico. The local Daimyo, Chosokabe Motochika seized the cargo of the richly laden Spanish Manila Galleon, When the Spanish crew protested, Motochika claimed it was standard procedure. Motochika suggested that they take their case to Hideyoshi, the de facto head of government the ruling taikō of Japan. Motochika recommended they seek help from his personal friend Mashita Nagamori, one of the five commissioners under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Jesuits caught wind of the matter and offered to intercede on behalf of the Spanish crew. Mashita Nagamori acquainted himself with the Spaniards, who entertained him. He then asked Pilot Major Francisco de Olandia where they came from and how they came to Japan. At this point Olandia produced a map showing the extent of the Spanish Colonial Empire, and insinuated that Spain gained its Empire by first converting native populations to Christianity with missionaries and then sending in conquistadors to join the newly converted in an invasion of conquest as had been done in the Americas and the Philippines. Mashita Nagamori then inquired about the relationship between Spain and Portugal, and was angered when the Pilot and the Ensign of the ship both replied that the two empires shared one King. BUT the Portugal Jesuits had long explained to the Japanese that the two countries were different and separate. So this exchange was promptly reported to Hideyoshi, who reacted with fury. The Pilot's revelation was a confirmation of Hideyoshi's suspicions of Christian "fifth columnists" in Japan. He responded quickly, ordering all the missionaries in Japan to be rounded up.This led to the crucifixion of 26 Christians in Nagasaki, the first lethal persecution of Christians by the state in Japan. Then in 1637 to 1638 "The Shimabara Rebellion" was the largest civil conflict in Japanese History during the Edo period, It was an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Tokugawa Shogunate led by Amakusa Shirō Tokisada. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops supported by the Dutch to suppress the rebels and defeated them after a lengthy siege against their stronghold. Following the successful suppression of the rebellion, Amakusa Shirō and an estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers were executed by beheading, and the Portuguese traders suspected of smuggling priests into Japan aboard their vessels and helping the rebels were expelled from Japan. Japan's persecution of Christianity was tightened and the Tokugawa Shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of Sakoku to promote political stability. So this marks the beginning of the Dutch and Japanese Relationship as they shared a common enemy at that time. The Dutch back in Europe from 1566 to 1648 also fought against Spanish Colonialism because it was occupied by Spain until the Dutch Revolt that gained them there independence against the rule of the Habsburg King Philip II of Spain, The northern provinces (the Netherlands) eventually separated from the southern provinces (present-day Belgium and Luxembourg). This political economic union today is called Benelux, The first two letter of each of the three countries name although at one time were all one country. The northern provinces adopted Republicanism whereas the southern provinces became wholly Catholic. The Dutch Revolt has been viewed as the seedbed of the great revolutions from France, England to America. The Dutch also engaged in piracy and naval combat to weaken Portuguese and Spanish shipping in the Pacific, and ultimately became the only Westerners to be allowed access to Japan from the small enclave of Dejima after 1638 and for the next two centuries. In 1712 the Dutch Republic was financially exhausted, it withdrew from international politics and was forced to let its fleet deteriorate, making what was by then the Kingdom of Great Britain the dominant maritime power of the world. The Dutch economy, already burdened by the high national debt and concomitant high taxation, suffered from the other European states' protectionist policies, which its weakened fleet was no longer able to resist. To make matters worse, the main Dutch trading and banking houses moved much of their activity from Amsterdam to London after 1688. Between 1688 and 1720, world trade dominance shifted from the Netherlands to Britain. Thus marking the end of the Dutch Golden Age and the Beginning of English Dominance.

[@couplemonkeys1429]

"As if our host had put us in the palm of his hand to see that we lack nothing" is a strangely powerful saying to me

[@TARINunit9]

I am 99% sure that's an allusion to the omnipotent Buddha and the prankster antihero Sun Wukong, if you want some cultural context

[@JTmachine13]

Like a tiny Chihuahua

[@Iruka1991]

@@TARINunit9 im still failing to see how that is a sign of lacking nothing

[@nekoqueen5524]

@@Iruka1991 It's more, "the palm of the hand," thing, I think. Personally, it made me think of when the Buddha asked Wukong to jump out of his hand, only to discover the entire universe was in his hand. So perhaps it's an illusion to the Buddha making sure that the universe is taken care of? I lack the knowledge and context to say for sure

[@kingkasai]

@@Iruka1991 Maybe it's that being put into one's palm implies close attention? A way to say the host goes out of their way to ensure everything is taken care of.

[@ZgermanGuy.]

"i felt like a girl before her wedding" Is a sentence i dint knew i wanted to hear

[@sarphog]

You're clearly new to history of all stripes

[@davebeecher6579]

Kinda nervous? Haha

[@jldldr3933]

"The beaches are littered with iron made trash" Huh. Now we do it with plastic.

[@aazo5]

Modern scholars describe antiquity as the Bronze Age. Future scholars will describe our time as the Plastic Age

[@qawamity]

Japan is a country with little in the way of mineral resources. When you hear about Japanese sword smiths and their folding techniques? Yeah, European and Middle Eastern smiths had similar techniques. The Japanese leaned heavily on them, though, because those techniques tended to squeeze out impurities in the metal. The quality of Japanese iron ore is abysmal, they didn't have a lot of choice. A shockingly large amount of the metal used by the Japanese in ships, planes, and other instruments of war in WWII was purchased from the US as scrap metal.

[@m1ckyg21]

@@aazo5 Or more simply oil

[@hectornonayurbusiness2631]

Nope, you’re thinking of India, China and Africa.

[@josephpanagos8167]

actually America only contributes around 1% to sea pollution

[@olorin4317]

Mr. Fukuzawa sounds like a pretty cool dude.

[@zabrak999]

Was thinking 'sounds like a cool guy. He'd be good on Joe Rogan'

[@mrgsudo]

@@zabrak999 "Mr. Fukuzawa, did you ever try DMT?"

[@atmark666]

that is why he is on 10,000 yen bill.

[@phillipwilson8973]

Yeah, Id love to smoke one of those hemp sandles with the dude 😊

[@nilspochat8665]

"Notice me Fukuzawa Senpai"

[@gilanbarona9814]

Though he was a teacher, he deemed himself a student like those he was teaching. Such humility. We can learn much from each other if we followed this example. It would be a timely one these days.

[@Zorro9129]

A good teacher is also a good student.

[@dragonheart5312]

To be honest, most people are. it is just that the stupid ones are the loudest

[@ericblaire8384]

@@dragonheart5312 They lack the humility referred to is all. They exist heavily in the ego and are out of balance. By God are they loud though... especially these days. Its out of control.

[@gilanbarona9814]

@ｋｙｓ you miss the point entirely.

[@worlds3061]

@ｋｙｓ Your name defines you a lot

[@phantomwraith1984]

"Where are the descendants of George Washington?" "Sir, do you mind? This is a bathroom and I'm taking a piss."

[@hex1740]

😂😂😂

[@kaguth]

"How do you honor the family of George Washington?" "I dunno, who cares?"

[@user-hh2is9kg9j]

by taking down their statues and yelling "BLACK LIVES MATTER"

[@admiralmudkip9836]

@@user-hh2is9kg9j lmao

[@doscassette871]

last shadow “He who controls the past controls the future”

[@mshara1]

@@user-hh2is9kg9j > 1860 Welcome honoured guests. > 2020 Build a Seawall and make the Emperor pay for it!

[@MacGuffinExMachina]

@@user-hh2is9kg9j As we should. He was a slave owner. I'd rather honor some of the overarching things the US represents than all its history, such as freedom, equality, rationality, rebelliousness, etc. And frankly, I don't give a shit whether it was considered American or not. My morality is based on a kind of pragmatic compassion.

[@AYhatterthanyoouu]

This guy is awesome, he's also the founder of keio University in tokyo

[@ufosrus]

Thank you Angelo for the extra information.

[@wyattrivers700]

This guy's so cool he's on the 10,000 yen note. Like the Japanese Ben Franklin.

[@juanzulu1318]

A man of curious thinking. A true open mind, and I am not astonished at all to hear that he was the founder of a university.

[@gilgabro420]

That guy is fascinating I'll do a presentation about him in school if I get the chance.

[@michaelparker2887]

Yes, I would love to hear more from him, a truly likable person.

[@Myemnhk]

I love how he mentioned Americans wearing shoes indoors and we still do. Nothing has changed lol and japanese still take them off first thing

[@thenorthstarsamurai]

Everytime I see that in movies and stuff it still disturbs me

[@remyandreurne7661]

Norway here.. we also take off our shoes when we go inside..

[@SuperRavensblood]

Well Americans like to be ready for anything. A little dirt on the floor is nothing compared to not being prepared to run out of the building at a moments notice.

[@andro7862]

@@remyandreurne7661 Same in Croatia, and pretty much every other country in the world.

[@linhlopbaya]

Quite sure the same mostly everywhere else.

[@thecursor1]

Seven years from "What is a steamship?" to "Transpacific Crossing without help". Japan really is amazing.

[@CptDangernoodle]

Surely you mean transpacific

[@speedy01247]

@@CptDangernoodle yeah the guy is lowering the achievement, transatlantic is much less of an achievement then transpacific.

[@billastell3753]

Not really amazing. The Japan was surrounded by water like England. Many of their people made a living on the sea as sailors/fishermen. The ship was not built by them. They had European navigation tools and 8 English/American seamen on board.

[@Mattdewit]

@@billastell3753 I thought it was weird when he said the Dutch taught them navigation and then goes on to say they crossed without help of foreign experts.

[@NanoLT]

@@speedy01247 I mean transpacific is longer, but transatlantic has rougher seas.

[@Fredrikschou]

all good teachers are still students

[@sirreepicheeprules7443]

The greatest fool of all is he who thinks he has nothing left to learn.

[@dman7425]

Wonderful.

[@SirAntoniousBlock]

@@sirreepicheeprules7443 _'The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest Greek, because I alone among men understood that I knew nothing.'_ Socrates.

[@PinoyAbnoy]

"im still learning" - michelangelo ,age 87

[@stefanschleps8758]

Thats a fact. Been a student for forty-five years. Became a sincere student in 2000 when I received my first degree. Just keep studying.

[@Comrade.Question]

Oh god I love how shocked they were to see Americans walking on carpet with shoes on. I totally understand man.

[@EnderHeart5911]

I’ve heard that some people do allow shoes on in the house, but as someone who was born and raised in America their whole life, I find that to be pretty uncommon overall. I used to actually get yelled at for wearing my shoes inside.

[@yourmajestythequeen8147]

GG bro you gotta proud cos that american carpet is no match for a persian carpet thats why people are walking all over it. You see people walking all over persian carpet? Nah man, that’d be hung on the walls

[@speedy01247]

Well it really depends, like where I live shoes go off at the door, but say me at a hotel, like hell I know what people were doing there shoes stay on, or at minimum socks stay on. (Unless I am going swimming as I will need to shower afterwards anyway)

[@airmanjoe]

I’m an American and I’ve grown to hate it

[@rbrtck]

It seems to depend on one's ethnic heritage--yes, even among whites. ;) For example, many whose families originally came from Great Britain might wear outdoor shoes indoors (although of course there are exceptions), while most whose families came from Scandinavian countries wouldn't dream of doing that, choosing instead to wear indoor slippers or socks, or go barefoot while at home. That's what I've seen, in any case. In America, practices like this depend on the individual and/or household, not any kind of broader custom.

[@ColeArmstrongSF]

"I was surprised at the high cost of daily commodities in California." Me, in 2020: Same

[@mikepowell8611]

I go to Oregon to buy gas its half an hour away and about a buck a gallon cheaper. Plus, in Oregon they pump it for you. California is trash.

[@dogguy8603]

@sneksnekitsasnek no, no its not

[@davisdelp8131]

@@mikepowell8611 nice I live in Florida very nice

[@minecraftwizzard2010]

@@mikepowell8611 abs the reason everyone is going to Texas

[@hospitallercross1155]

Wanna visited California someday.. 🔥✨

[@RenegadeRanga]

The narration is outstanding and the stories are truly fascinating.

[@JohnSmith-jz4pk]

Could of gotten a Japanese guy

[@VoicesofthePast]

@@JohnSmith-jz4pk hows your japanese mate

[@RenegadeRanga]

@@JohnSmith-jz4pk could piss off since you don't appreciate the work being done here.

[@JohnSmith-jz4pk]

freethinker1 you bit :)

[@TheMatthew393]

Thanks for putting the effort into this!

[@Lightice1]

This guy wasn't the first Japanese person to visit America. That honour goes to a simple fisherman named Manjiro who suffered a shipwreck in 1841 and was rescued by an American ship that took him along, since they weren't allowed to land in Japan. He did eventually manage to return home and was the first Japanese person to give firsthand accounts of Western lifestyle abroad.

[@superchatoalien4905]

ikr? At least the Japanese would think of him when asked about the first visitor of USA.

[@Xylos144]

That was given mention in the video - the essentially exiled fishermen who could return home, and told of interaction with foreigners. I feel like there's enough semantic room to justify calling this the first Japanese person to 'visit' America. Visit implying journeying there deliberately, meeting for a time, and then returning, all deliberately. Those who were effectively exiled did not intend that to happen, nor was their permitted return planned or predicted. That said, thank you for the name of Manjiro and the year 1841 - that should make it easy to look up his own story.

[@arifgunawan9329]

official i guess, because not all random people going to record anything they see

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

He didn't visit. Plus those shipwrecked were mentioned

[@crocidile90]

@Corvo@AZ Ignore the screechers, they are just useful idiots projecting their own prejudice to feel good about themselves.

[@thevoidlookspretty7079]

This may be my favorite tale of people discovering another culture. No real judgment, but charming bewilderment.

[@0g0dn0]

It does seem like the relationship between America and Japan has been generally more amicable than most, at least until we went and had a couple of world wars.

[@TheOpalHammer]

@@0g0dn0 More amicable than most? America literally nuked japan. Twice.

[@jaym2112]

I was thinking this, myself. It's nice to get the story without the editorial. Especially since most American history is now described from the "look at all the bad parts" perspective by self-loathing nihilists. That stuff is like having to read simple comments on nuclear bombs written without any thoughtful regard for the context. It gets old.

[@bigol9223]

@@TheOpalHammer and we've been allies ever since.

[@Lillyluri]

Indeed. You nailed it.

[@asadpuppy1259]

This man's thirst for linguistic and cultural knowledge inspires me to study Japanese harder. Wish me luck on my exam.

[@Larissa-jt5sm]

Good luck!! You can do it 🙌💖

[@Lillyluri]

Good luck! You can do it!

[@jredactedlredacted8148]

good luck or congrats if its late

[@Love-xl3vq]

@Stephen Davie bruh you jealous?

[@villagerc7130]

Good luck!!

[@MagicalBread]

My great great grandfather was one of the first couple Japanese people to settle in The Bay Area! He and a few others (who’s names I have forgotten) helped to build the Japanese community in the San Francisco Bay Area to what it is today! His name was Matsunoske Tsukamoto He sailed the Pacific in the late 1800’s

[@MonsterhunterFTWWTF]

You're family has been here longer than many white people.

[@villagerc7130]

Wow that's so cool!

[@coconutpanda]

@magicalbread similar story for my family as well. My great uncle, Gihei Kuno, was one of the first Japanese to arrive on the West coast of Canada in Steveston, BC in 1887.

[@megshimatsu8615]

Are you Japanese descent or Hapa?

[@amberg4131]

Gotta say though 15:00 “Direct descendants of George Washington?” I chucked out loud a little bit at that. Not that I didn’t understand it, I was just a bit taken back by the question is all

[@AntifoulAwl]

His cigarette caught his sleeve alight..thus Japanese game shows were born.

[@rickieroberts3697]

Bruh what is ur profile pic

[@markmayonnaise1163]

@@rickieroberts3697 ur mum

[@pinklemonade7341]

Blacklivesmatter share it

[@Phelan666]

**ding*ding*ding*ding** HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@jasonmnosaj]

This was the best comment. No question.

[@shane8037]

"I only got this job because no one else applied 😔"

[@o.oo.o5637]

Same. Every job i ever had

[@B3RyL]

I never thought I could relate to a 19th century Japanese person. But that moment, and the "I lit myself of fire because I was too shy to ask for an ashtray" moment, reminded me that we're all made out the same stuff no matter how many miles or how many generations there are between us.

[@JoeSavySC2]

This could be a movie. Why isn't this a movie!?

[@johnodonnell1222]

It’s kinda like the last samurai but the other way around

[@The_child-catcher]

If they made this a movie in current year they would gender swap the main character to a woman, and the whole movie would be about how horrible her trip to America was.

[@ciarancassidy7566]

@Solid Water pffffftt. Like Hollywood gives a shit about any of that. They probably just don't think enough people would want to watch it.

[@v.t1947]

@@johnodonnell1222 i agree with that

[@amggaming3528]

@Solid Water Hollywood's liberal, not left. BIG difference.

[@notkaiho]

Americans: "Screw it, let's add ice cubes to Champagne to make it ~fancy~." The French: *groan and look away*

[@MrTubularBalls]

Wars have been started over less.

[@dianathompson7597]

Well,, Thay did not have ginger ail.

[@forscienceistokra1549]

@@MrTubularBalls cake

[@popkhorne5372]

Thats like the pinacle of atrocity - french dude here. Only matched by putting chocolate in pizza.

[@leonardotube]

@@popkhorne5372 Chocolate pizza is amazing.

[@sweett273]

I thought it was really pure how he compared himself to a new bride, the metaphor was cute but sounded pretty accurate

[@elguapo1690]

@Caп¡s Aпuв¡s It was convention in America at the time. Man seated, women standing at his shoulder.

[@theminuteman6211]

the bride who walks long distances to the lands of the groom's family is a trope in asian literature

[@hanhai8515]

​@Ruka Pacyfistka The guy is actually very intellectual. He is the founder of a very famous Japanese university, he is also on 10k Japanese yen bill because he introduced modern economics to Japan. I read that on Wikipedia.

[@randomvintagefilm273]

"Strange letters that were written sideways" Never really thought of it that way! I love these vids

[@user-hh2is9kg9j]

Yes Asians write up to down. Middle easterners right sideway (and thus Europeans too)

[@0MVR_0]

Some documents tend to be vertical yet sign posts in China were written right to left as is Arabic today. In character based typography the directionality is highly irrelevant.

[@moondust2365]

@@user-hh2is9kg9j Although Arabic is written right to left while Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic is written left to write.

[@bernardfinucane2061]

Some Central Asian Turkic scripts were versions of Arabic, written right to left, but Mongolians traditionally used the same script written top to bottom Chinese style. So if you were used to one script the easiest way to read the other is to hold the book sideways. Nowadays Cyrillic or Latin scripts are mostly used in Central Asia.

[@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx]

@@user-hh2is9kg9j Wow you really are brave to say that in an English channel. 😂

[@yaitz3313]

My favorite bit was with the descendants of George Washington. That was a really interesting bit where you really see the difference between the cultures.

[@iateyursandwiches]

Honestly, America is the only country that never really had to concept of nobility if you think about it.

[@JBGARINGAN]

No we have an aristocracy, look at the Bush dynasty. The father and son Georges both were elected presidents kinda like a prince inheriting the throne (though not in succession because Clinton in between their terms) and Jeb was governor of Florida. Even before the Bushes we have the Kennedy family who have an actual coat of arms and knew the royal family of Britain personally, they were very influential in American politics in their day and still are. Joseph Kennedy was ambassador to Britain, 1st Chair of the Maritime Commission and 1st Chair of Securites and Exchange commission. Of course his son John famously became president, averted World War 3 in the missile crisis, and was assassinated. His other son Robert also ran for president and was also famously assassinated. And their brother Ted was a senator and Chair of Senate Health Committee and Chair of Judiciary Committee until his death in 2009. And many of their children are political activists to this day. And even before them President Franklin Roosevelt was both President Theodore Roosevelt's cousin and nephew in law (yep intermarrying between the two lines of Roosevelt reconnecting back from Nicholas Roosevelt who lived 1658-1742, really seems like medieval noble inbreeding). And finally before even them 2nd President John Adam's son John Quincy was also became president and like the Bushes their terms were not consecutive, there were other presidents between them.

[@honkhonk8009]

@@JBGARINGAN However, in terms of culture, people despise this. Biggest point of the republicans was that Biden was in politics for 50 years. Something like that was disgusting for both sides. Culturally, Americans hate nobility, and often go out of the way to disassociate themselves with it.

[@JBGARINGAN]

@@honkhonk8009 of course, the Founding Fathers' ideals live on to today, the fear of royal nepotism coming to the republic was and still is a big deal. The fact that all the people I mentioned were related to someone else important was probably used against them in debates, stuff like this to appeal to peoples opinions: "Just because you .... was president doesn't mean that you deserve to become president more than I do, dont we have elections to avoid this sort of thing because we declared independence from England a hundred years ago to prevent tyrannical monarchy!" and they'd have to prove that they're not by saying something like: "just because my .... was president does not mean I cannot be president any more than I should be president BECAUSE my ...... was president. I am running on my own efforts, if I were to run for office using his influence sir I would gladly drop out of the race for I am an honest man.... bla bla bla" their successes was based on the fact that they could defend themselves from that point, this is why Jeb pretty much got sucker punched by Trump. The guy is a loser, no matter how controversial his brother George and his father George's presidencies were he didn't have the same personality and connection with voters. "Please clap"

@@iateyursandwiches It's not called the land of the free for nothing, At the time a nation completely led by democratically elected leaders was a total bonkers idea

[@jona.scholt4362]

These videos on Fukuzawa Yukichi and his trips are making me love the guy. Though this happened 150+ years ago he seems incredibly relatable. Also, I'm glad the US received his delegation appropriately.

[@Karlach_]

He's an amazing figure

[@ryanhernandez8324]

Hey, I guess people never change, huh? What a guy.

[@1412Bunny]

"The light that I thought I had crushed out, was quietly setting me afire." this made me laugh

[@theemperormoth5089]

“It appears I have burst into flames.”

[@tofferooni4972]

@@theemperormoth5089 "I am on fire"

[@Ihyabond009]

@@tofferooni4972 0118 999 881 991 999 725 3

[@tofferooni4972]

@@Ihyabond009 999

[@jmitterii2]

I'm imagining him saying this in Japanese. 押しつぶしたと思った光が静かに私を照らしていました。 Oshitsubushita to omotta hikari ga shizuka ni watashi o terashite imashita.

[@sadvenom7826]

"Dutch and English, strange language, written sideways, of the same origin." Yay germanic languages!

[@dinil5566]

Is it weird that I'm scrolling and just read your comment right at the moment they said the same in the video??

[@deadby15]

Also, the Norman conquest of England

[@drsnova7313]

@T Doran English has adopted a lot of romance vocabulary, but basic terms and grammar are clearly Germanic in origin.

[@hrotha]

@T Doran Everything you said would also apply to German, so I don't see your point

[@mikicerise6250]

@T Doran You mean due to the fact that the English worshipped the French for several centuries to the point they tried to pretend they were French. ;)

[@DJB1izzard]

This is a very heartwarming story showing that people from across the globe can still be hospitable to one another even when their customs and ways of living are completely foreign. Thank you for sharing!

[@Frosthief]

"You may shoot any seaman wasting water." Ahhhh the good old days.

[@antonikudlicki1100]

Shooting semen certainly wastes water, no matter the times

[@dizzytheday5586]

What an absolutely charming tale.

[@Mr2BonClay]

I read this with the thickest English accent in my head

[@kevinstein1568]

This dude was a very thorough writer. The analogies he uses are spot on.

[@pacz8114]

(The "dude" was a gentleman, dude.)

[@RIFLQ]

You're sure it's not romanticized?

[@jonbaxter2254]

It sounds surprisingly modern how he writes

[@claude-alexandretrudeau1830]

@@jonbaxter2254 The Japanese language is older than our language. As such, it hasn't changed much during the recent centuries. Our understanding of Japanese, however, changed a lot, even in the recent years. So, yeah, what you heard is a modern translation.

[@AcediaIX]

@@claude-alexandretrudeau1830 You can't translate Japanese or any other language And they can't translate English, we simply "Understand" the meaning but there's no actual translation so there's a lot of translations available for this writing

[@hopefulhyena3400]

This chap sounds like a well fine gentleman. But seriously he sounds so kind and polite. I hope he really was. That “I call myself a teacher but I am still a student” at the end was very nice.

[@kwj_nekko_6320]

By the end of Tokugawa Shogunate, because of prolonged peace, most of the samurais were merely bureaucrats, or even worse, a pacifist like Fukuzawa (he clearly states that he hates violence and blood). Just like European aristocrats. Their ideal virtue remains in military, but many of them turned incapable of valor.

[@youtube-handle-are-a-joke]

The French would be horrified at the sight of ice cubes dropped into champagne.

[@ethangellman4563]

Then maybe the French should make their own champagne

[@youtube-handle-are-a-joke]

@@ethangellman4563 Are you being sarcastic?

[@dundeelite8345]

You think that’s bad, in Beijing I met a french wines salesman who told me how the Chinese liked to add coke to the wine. He was aghast but a sale was a sale.

[@asneakychicken322]

@@ethangellman4563 ironically only the French make champagne in the literal sense

[@Vampiracho]

@@ethangellman4563 Yeah, and if they don't like American cheese, they can try to make their own cheese. Good luck.

[@milanvondrich9749]

*"Though I called myself a teacher, I was still a student along with those I was instructing."* Damn this guy is cool.

[@romannasuti25]

Milan Vondřich he ended up founding a university, Keio, that still holds this principle: Teachers learn as much from brilliant students and vice versa, and there's rarely need for formalities or honorifics beyond Sensei. I've been studying there for a while, and while all the campuses except Hiyoshi have some sort of issues (SFC has Naval Air Atsugi nearby so American fighter jets interrupt classes, Mita campus is super constrained for space, and the other campuses are basically just tiny attachments to the admittedly really nice Hiyoshi campus), it's pretty damn cool to study there, and they can take on English-speaking students for full 4-year programs.

[@NitwitsWorld]

Japan be like *Let's close our island from the modern world* 1860: *What is this glass cube in my drink*

[@coreytaylor447]

Im picturing a similar thing would happen to north koreans "what do you mean the sky scrapers are actually filled with people and businesses?" "electricity in every house? what?" and so on lol

[@AndrewManook]

@@coreytaylor447 They already have electricity in every house and for the first one you could easily say that about America.

[@Crosshill]

japan past 1900: what if we like, conquered the entire world maybe?

[@pastaplayer0322]

Andrew Manook there is so much wrong with this comment lmao

[@coreytaylor447]

@@AndrewManook you realize we are talking about North Korea right? not to be confused with South Korea or any other country in Asia. and you would be hard pressed to find a totally vacant sky scraper without it being scheduled for demolition, for obvious economic reasons as well as the fact that sky scrapers arnt just for show in the rest of the world

[@JayTwin31]

This was way too interesting this should be a whole acted Netflix series

[@Crosshill]

naaah it'd get the chernobyl treatment of getting a lot of things really right but then be super misleading or severely dramatized at other points, and then nobody can tell fact from fiction because its a dramatized netflix series

[@MindUrBiznss]

Between dumbing down content and altering it to tic their SJW boxes, no major company or studio does historical content justice.

[@ginochristiano1397]

then it gets ruined by a completely unecessary romantic/sexual subplot

[@chefboyardeesnuts277]

Perhaps as an episode on Drunken history? I’d love to see scenes of someone the Japanese reacting to ice or the guys clothes slowly setting fire.

noo that suck. they would the japanese guy being played some gaijin , make half the cast of americans black/brown and probably force gay romance in it

[@visitur4914]

Before I moved to Asia (from America), my mother told me a story the moral of which was that if you go looking for kindness, you're likely to find it, and if you go expecting hostility, you're likely to find it, too. She was right! I think this traveller may have known a similar story.

[@ennui9745]

Interesting principle, I need to apply this in my life.

[@wallaroo1295]

"Though I called myself a teacher, I was still a student, along with those I was instructing." Those are some powerful words.

[@alexm7627]

True words

[@Karlach_]

My respect for him went up another notch after hearing that. What an amazing figure.

[@charliedeputy8981]

Yukichi Fukuzawa's Autobiography is simply an amazing read that I would recommend time and time again for anyone wanting a window into how Japan became modernized. Fukuzawa became one of the leading translators and writers of Japan at the time, by the end of his career, having wrote or translated 57 books including a much needed English-Japanese Dictionary that set the groundwork of translations for years to come in Japan. He is considered one of the Founders of modern Japan. In the Autobiography itself, Fukuzawa tells us what it was like as a member of the lower-samurai class as well as him having a crisis of faith, and he does not sugar coat how bad of a person he could be seen as in his youth, often times getting into trouble, him and many other of the Lower-class samurai who were part of a Warrior Caste, that had seemingly no purpose since by this point Japan had been at peace for around 400 years. Again, I cannot recommend his autobiography enough as it is such a joyous read for those that love history.

[@Renzsu]

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out!

[@rodanzig]

I just ordered it . I've read a few books by Japanese authors . They're style is different from ours of course . One was a novel about a European ship wreck that had the plague on board . The other an autobiography by a fisherman who was rescued by an American ship and brought to the US adapted to our ways became somewhat successful and eventually returned temporarily to Japan but chose to come back to America . I wish I could remember the titles . The few novels I've read seem to have a melancholy air about them .

[@juanzulu1318]

A remarkable character indeed. A country/culture without such open minded and curious persons will stay behind for ages.

[@theEtch]

thank you for this, I'll definitely read it.

[@raphael7557]

That's interesting. Thanks for sharing!!

[@slobodanblazeski0]

"Though I called myself a teacher I was still a student along with those I was instructing" - Great words

[@MrAnperm]

As an Australian who visited Japan, I was impressed by their technology. The toilets with inbuilt bidet, the taxis with doors that open for you and the high speed trains.

[@honkhonk8009]

My friend was half polish and half japanese. I remember visiting his house and wondering why tf there was a whole ass tablet in the toilet.

[@Vera-wl7fy]

they made them feel like blushing brides??How cute, that's some good hosting right there. The Americans must have been very excited to receive their guests XD

[@TheSleepyowlet]

@Juan Garcia On an individual level? Absolutely. As a society? Eeeehhhh...

[@m.b.82]

I get the feeling there was a directive from above to be as hospitable as possible for diplomatic purposes.

[@ranjanbiswas3233]

@Juan Garcia Yes, as individuals only. It matters person by person.

[@okramronan]

This was such a treasure.

[@bvbxiong5791]

i'm glad we americans came off as extremely hospitable and generous.

[@JoeTheToucan]

I don't know... Americans have always loved to flash their cash. I feel like it might have been akin to how westerners approach any natives they deem 'primative', failing to understand that they just might not define value of character by wealth alone. Westerners will seek out the most isolated people on the planet, with the most rudimentary of technologies, and immediately overwhelm them with nikon cameras and smartphones. It only really serves to cause confusion and comes off like they just want to see how they'll react for pure entertainment. Not saying that's necessarily why the Japanese pioneers were treated as such, but given how lavish, over the top and overwhelming it all must have been, I wonder if the intent was much the same- treating them like rare birds they just wanted to get a reaction out of. Then again, maybe they were just showing the Japanese the best of their culture. Who knows?

[@saint_matthias]

@@JoeTheToucan just shut up

[@EpicAMV911]

@@JoeTheToucan ya dude seriously shut the hell up.

[@reckyourself6948]

@@saint_matthias He confuses the state of our so called "information era" with Western culture, and I'm honestly unsure of how he came to his conclusions.

[@justinnnnnn5676]

It’s really cool to see a complete foreigners perspective on American culture. Idk just the weird little aha moments like not knowing what a carriage was until it started going. Also that dancing part was pretty funny 😂

[@airplanenut89]

"I was surprised by the high costs of daily commodities in California." Lol, some things never change. This was such a wholesome account in the history of my country and Japan.

[@mokuseinoosa]

Yukichi Fukuzawa is the man on the ¥10,000 bill.

[@shane8037]

Makes sense, he sounds about like the Japanese Ben Franklin.

[@notatallheng]

Things you learn from anime...

[@timothytt547]

So that's why I kind of recognize his face... TIL.

[@larsu-gx579]

glad his memory lives on, sounds like such a great inquisitive and brave person

[@MrBoDiggety]

Fascinating tidbit of info. Thank you for that.

[@kairos4486]

What a wonderful account! Most of the time we fixate on the violence and conflicts of the past. This is the other side of history.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Really good point

[@thatoneguy9615]

@Roger Dodger Violence does bring about change, but changes in trade routes can cause just as much if not more far reaching change than a handful of wars, redrawing entire economic landscapes and making bitter enemies into close allies and vice versa.

[@damace3838]

Thought exercise: What had the larger impact on history, the violence brought on by Genghis Khan or the trade routes established by the Mongol Empire?

[@kairos4486]

@Roger Dodger violence certainly brings about some of the most sudden and dramatic changes, but stories like this prove that sometimes a handshake is as significant as a sword thrust.

[@Radu93Z]

Words and their significance pass above some people, never to be noticed and understood.

[@LouisHansell]

If you watched this, you should read "Daughters of the Samurai". The fascinating true story of the first women from Japan to the United States.

[@RevanJJ]

It’s amazing how much we all are alike, despite language and cultural differences, this man’s recollections show just how we all are just trying to live, love, & experience a good life.

[@BOBofGH]

When he finally got his dictionary at the end, I felt that.

[@BirdTurdMemes]

Big John is cool

[@ToastytheG]

@@Rosa-lv8yw THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PEOPLE YOU RACIST, REEEEE. /s.. No seriously it's fascinating. Nice to see how friendly people were to each other despite being worlds away.

[@joostdriesens3984]

Perhaps the same it is now and people of the future will think it exciting and romantic that we had only one planet to live on and funny that it took a tremendous amount of resources to travel even within the solar system..

[@Limpshot_McGee]

It’s a big reason why I love the idea of space travel. The Earth is mundane and familiar; space is anything but.

[@ogivecrush]

I think our era of instant availability of knowledge has had the effect of making the world smaller and less mysterious, and it makes me sad.

[@Meowth666]

It's less about globalization and more about lack of interest. The Japanese back then knew as little about the West as westerners today know about, say, sub-Saharan Africa.

[@SMGJohn]

Only the most enlightened men will realise that they never will stop learning, we are all students till the day we pass away to the next plane of existence were we most likely will continue to learn.

[@jekblom123]

nah man I think I can learn everything in the universe before I die.

[@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii3048]

Japan man: so this Washington of yours. The mighty general who fought the British empire and became your first president. Where is his family now? American: Oh yeah them....uh we kinda don't give a shit about them.

[@DiggerPat]

I thought that was such a telling difference between the cultures. We remember and respect Washington because of what he did, and though I imagine his descendants were probably fine people they didn’t warrant such general admiration merely by familial relation.

[@TryinaD]

Otherwise *cough cough* ROBERT E LEE *cough*

[@stevenbrown1225]

A tribute to Washington's lack of interest in personal power.

[@DiggerPat]

@@TryinaD ...and? Were you going to elaborate?

[@inspiringer6418]

If Washington was a king it would obviously be different.

[@Jacob-yg7lz]

The little part where they didn't realize they were in a carriage until it started moving was hillarious. It's one of those "oooooooh I'm and idiot!" moments.

[@D96Fan]

I'm more surprised at how the Japanese never invented something similar. It's such a basic idea.

[@thepbg8453]

Its something you can see quite a lot of in history. Societies often develop perfectly functional tools to perform tasks, people in other places develop tools which are more efficient, but never became known to other people until much later, because no one thought to improve on the tools they had . As such a horse drawn carriage being very different to a Japanese Rickshaw is one of the more conventional examples. (Pardon if Rickshaw is the incorrect term: I did only a cursory research on the name just now.) Here are a few examples China did not develop glass until contact with Europe, because Chinas Ceramic's and paper were so advance they never had a necessity to develop an alternative hard wearing material . It was not until the 5th century they began making their own glass, after imports from Mesopotamia began to trickle in. This was a lot later than most other places in Eurasia. The Windmill was actually a middle eastern invention, and was not used in Europe until after the first crusade. It was actually due to the crusade that the technology trickled in. Europeans had been using animal or people pushed grindstones up until then, another example of a functional technology, but very much inferior to another places own way of doing things. Another interesting development, is the lack of iron weapons in the Aztec Empire. Although this is more due to resource shortages and lack of metal, than any lack of will to develop more effective weapons. The area where the Aztec empire once sat had sadly a lack of exposed iron ore veins near the surface, instead they used mostly obsidian and volcanic glass in weapons. It was perfectly capable of killing a person, and the Aztec empire due to their geographical location had it in abundance. However they never had enough hard metals to develop metal weaponry. (Gold was too soft)

[@AcediaIX]

Imagine calling people from their Time an idiot, they could be your ancestors

[@narwaler2898]

Shay Patrick Cormac I mean they can still be an idiot and related to you

[@BullShitMatador]

Carriages in Japan were unknown since they had long been forbidden. Japan is a very rugged country and at that time, its different regions were connected by a patchwork of narrow roads through mountains and forests. The wheels of carriages and carts rutted and damaged the roads, which is why they were illegal.

[@Balthazare69]

How is strange to know that this was only 150-160 years ago..

[@darrynmurphy2038]

And that Japan went from being 200 years behind the US in 1860, to being 100 years ahead of it today

[@Balthazare69]

@@darrynmurphy2038 I was thinking same thing

[@KeyserSoze23]

@@darrynmurphy2038 It's really not though. Japan is still stuck in the 1980s in many ways technology wise. Still a large use of fax machines.

[@darrynmurphy2038]

@@KeyserSoze23 I know it's not entirely representative of Japan, but things like their progression in robotics, bullet trains, having the world's largest megaopolis be both safe and clean make it arguably still the most advanced nation on earth

[@raphael7557]

@Keyser Söze I completely agree with you. I'm addicted to disk records and I'm still stuck in the 60s.xD

[@Magic-np1ws]

This was insanely interesting!! I'm learning Japanese right now, and even learning from proper books and via high-frequency words, not to mention the convenience of the internet, It's hard! Like, REALLY hard. And to learn English without even knowing the difference between it and French, and even 'hello' is insane to me. And I love ice, so to hear someone's first encounter with it was hilarious! Thanks for this!

[@waldoapex6512]

It was not the first time he saw ice it was the first time he saw it in the form of a cube

[@thedealer777]

This is a rare opportunity to view a small bit of part of 19th century American history from the perspective of a foreigner, whose culture was vastly different. I was intrigued by the fact that it wasn't our technology that he found curiously interesting but our life and social customs. His travels preceded the the Meiji Restoration and modernization of Emperor Meiji ("enlightened rule") that opened up Japan more to the West. The Japanese also brought an healthy behavior we can all appreciate today, ...daily bathing.

[@eatcarpet]

Yeah because the Dutch had already taught them most of those technologies and sciences.

[@HuevoBendito]

I'd also love to hear about his time in Europe.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Next week

[@FirefoxisredExplorerisblueGoog]

@@VoicesofthePast Hype!

[@jabloko992]

@@VoicesofthePast oh yesssss

[@joaquinandreu8530]

There was a Japanese delegation to Spain, via Mexico in the XVII century, led by Hasekura Tsunenaga. You have his accounts of the visit to the Spanish Empire, in Spanish and Japanese.

[@jabloko992]

@@joaquinandreu8530 I'd like Voices of the Past to do a video on that too at some point, as I speak neither Spanish nor Japanese (sadly, they are both cool languages)

[@theanonymousmrgrape5911]

“I was surprised at the high cost of daily commodities in California” I guess some things never change.

[@jaytb5815]

I'm waiting for someone to yell "stolen comment".

[@rbrtck]

Things do change, as nowadays even Californians are surprised at the high cost of most commodities in Japan.

[@EvilPaladin11]

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[@YKChiropter]

Something hasn't change much since then. I was a chinese student in US for 3 years, and while it is true that Americans have advanced technologies and great infrastructures, what really fascinates me is the way of thinking, social interactions and their views on life

[@charliegone1652]

They need to make a movie about this.

[@FedralBI]

Anyone else so very proud, and grateful to those now long dead people of San Francisco for showing their visitors such hospitality, and being so generous to those visitors from Japan?

[@stephaniesummer2663]

I really thought there would be a lot of racism on the Americans part. It was nice to know they were courteous.

[@coreytaylor447]

the US was a much more graceful country back in the day. recently (past 10 years or so) it just seems we recover from one tragedy only to fall into another

[@simonpayne1555]

@@coreytaylor447 I mean... The civil war did start literally the next year.

[@stephaniesummer2663]

Corey Taylor Did you forget slavery was still legal at that time?

[@coreytaylor447]

@@simonpayne1555 wasent referring to that year inpaticular but rather that era of industral revolution

[@charlesschwaboverhere5582]

What a wise and humble man. Its nice to hear from someone who loves his own culture while genuinely caring to learn about other ones. The part where they were holding back their LOL's while watching Americans dance was hilarious.

[@zaneknowlton]

Agreed

[@MarineRX179]

Fast forward to today, we have a new generation of people couldn't care less about culture and history (well they care enough to try to DESTROY them) , but only care about me me me me me, and identity politics...

[@arifgunawan9329]

@@MarineRX179 america now is far different, america now has become worthless seriously

[@pfftt2885]

@@MarineRX179 what you mean by destroying history.I’ve seen many American teens interested in other cultures especially Asia and identity politics is about background culture too.

[@MikeyCh09]

This man is nothing short of a gentleman. Loved hearing the account.

[@farkrits]

That actually raises a good question: Whatever did happen to the descendents of George Washington?

[@spectreagent00]

Washington never had children of his own.

[@SeymoreSparda]

I hope this answers your question; kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKnRc6mbpNVopNE

[@the99throgue25]

He never had children

[@Great_Olaf5]

He had no legitimate children, but we can't be completely certain he didn't have illegitimate ones. As much respect as I have for the man, he was an aristocrat and a slaveowner, so the possibility can't be discounted.

[@paul6925]

It’s impressive how quickly Japan learned and became a great world power. He’s surprisingly diplomatic about the opening of Japan for trade!

[@ufosrus]

Very diplomatic. Perry forced his way into Japan.

[@dave8599]

Yamamoto tried to force his way into Pearl Harbor, while his Army friends were raping china.

[@Sheyl3319]

@@dave8599 Yamamoto got nothing to do with this.

[@succiboi4045]

Wasn't Japan's jump to world power backed by the US to put a curb on the rise of communism.

[@paul6925]

jacqueline schael Yep! I wonder if imperial japan would have happened if it weren’t for that

[@fifthofascalante7311]

I love how we get to listen to this wonderful material completely for FREE with excellent narration, good audio quality, interesting pictures to appreciate. This video is a wonder of the 21st century combined with one from the 19th.

[@astronautical1060]

Well said. Appreciating something accepted as a commodity is a very fulfilling experience, and putting our extraordinary place in history into perspective makes the process all the more easier.

[@joebeast15]

This is the kind of stuff that USED to be on the History channel. Now it’s just Pawn Stars for 14 hours straight

[@gogl0l386]

You can hear from his humbleness and his fascination of the new that this was a great and intelligent person.

[@tyranniccubone8259]

And thus American's came into contact with the revolutionary idea of bathing frequently. We had already figured out bathing infrequently, but truly it does not compare.

[@pingASS_]

Bathing daily =/= bathing frequently

[@JimmyMcCbob]

@@pingASS_ everyday is pretty frequent, especially for those times

[@TheAaronChand]

Most Asian countries China India the middle East even native Americans bathed daily

[@ilikepancakes3458]

Regarding ice: "Others bravely chewed it." Lmao

[@tylershalitis]

I noticed that too, I wonder if it's because of tooth decay and that their teeth would be really sensitive to chewing it?

[@Jacob-yg7lz]

@Abraham Girt Tbh I have tooth decay and that was the first thing that came to my mind when I wondered why they'd be afraid to chew ice.

[@Powermeta11]

@Abraham Girt I mean... Less than a hundred years ago tooth paste was treated like occasional medicine. It wasn't till adding fun bubbles and menthol to toothpaste as a habit reinforcing trigger that the whole world started brushing.

[@alexeysaranchev6118]

@@Powermeta11 Also, the abundance of sugar and fast carbohydrates may have contributed to that habit.

[@aBanabis]

if you've never experienced ice like that before, you'd certainly think it was brave to chew. Usually when you see ice in nature, it is HARD AF...you'd certainly break your teeth trying to chew that shit.

[@Artur_M.]

This was simply delightful. I'm actually thinking now about acquiring the full Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, especially since he apparently also visited Europe.

[@spyrofrost9158]

Nobody better to read than a well traveled dignitary

[@kairon156]

Do you know if he visited Canada at all?

[@Artur_M.]

@@kairon156 No, I'm basing it just on his Wiki article (rather long and detailed) but it doesn't mention Canada at all, only U.S., Britain, France, Netherlands, Prussia and Russia. Btw, the last two are honestly most interesting for me personally, as it would appear that he at least passed through the Polish lands divided between them, shortly before a major uprising against Russian Empire. This seems to be a trend since he also visited the U.S. shortly before the Civil War. I wonder if he noticed the tensions brewing before those conflicts and commend on them?

[@Radu93Z]

Wtf is this guy above me talking about? I think he is having a stroke or smth.

[@SirAntoniousBlock]

@@Radu93Z Sounds like he's been smoking his own product. 😂

[@nataliaborys1554]

"it was a strange language written sideways" I like how when with no context, you can't tell which side said this

[@bornthebjorn1490]

Very humble and self aware this man was, how interesting

[@cole445]

One of the most fascinating parts for me was his reaction do the carpet floors. With the rarity and high import cost of carpet in Japan it must have felt like walking over oil paintings - in your dirty shoes, no less.

[@djprojectus]

@mark heyne In Eastern Europe people take their shoes when they enter in the house.

[@trews1]

@@djprojectus in central europe people take off their shoes too

[@lexprontera8325]

Most of Europe, if not all, really.

[@bluewuppo]

In the U.S. people take off their shoes before entering the house lmao

[@ssjup81]

Blue Wuppo Yup, we do...my father doesn't though. He did it more when we had carpet though. Now if visiting someone else's home that's not a choose friend or family, I keep them on as it's rude.

[@jamesm1]

The part about iron is such a cool marker of Japan's history of limited iron ore.

[@kik9387]

And America's culture of wasting everything

[@user-zl3se4qj8m]

@Johnny Nemo It doesn't last forever, moron. Certainly not with stuff like oil, and the forests aren't exactly doing so well either.

[@bearddragon_]

​@@user-zl3se4qj8m Whether resources are going to run out is irrelevant to the comments point. Japan is a small island country where iron is limited, therefore they would try to conserve and recycle as much of it as possible. Compare that to the sheer size and producing power of America where people don't mind wasting resources because they have so much of them.

[@kwj_nekko_6320]

@@bearddragon_ It's not too unfair thing to mention. Japan was once rich of gold, silver and bronze, and as soon as the Europeans started the trading in 16th century they exported a lot of them, to an extent that the whole European economies were affected by it. But by the end of Tokugawa Shogunate they were all depleted, a blow to the national finance.

[@AltRockLover]

This is like a breath of fresh air, to hear account of early America that is so positive compared with all the negativity we hear today about our nation, and how it never was “great” owing to its historically brief early experiences with the slave trade. This should be required viewing in all American schools.

[@sedghammer]

230 years of slavery is not "brief".

[@goldman77700]

@@sedghammer Compared to more than 5,000 years of slavery? Yes, it is.

[@lh2823]

Your dismissiveness is disgusting

[@pfftt2885]

Our history is dark as hell (and shouldn’t be dismissed or ignored), that’s why moments like these are just nice to hear once in awhile.

[@rumble1925]

I love how humble and open this guy is.

[@bisbeejim]

"...strange language written sideways..." I kinda felt this way in my C++ class.

[@fuuryuuSKK]

Do keep in mind that although yokogaki (ltr writing) technically already existed in 1885, and is used in writing that uses western terms, tategaki (vertical writing) is still in use in manga and text spaces that are narrow, like book spines and signs, as well as traditional japanese writing

[@Xartab]

*I kinda felt this way in my C++ class;

[@jesusmora9379]

at least it has class, unlike c...

[@ayylmao8562]

This honestly hilarious, you can make a comedy out of this.

[@Alusnovalotus]

How, exactly?

[@ismaeldurocher-bergeron5700]

But can we make a religion out of this?

[@ayylmao8562]

alus nova ...

[@halflifeger4179]

I mean, that‘s a perfect example of the “Fish out of Water“ film trope in real life

[@Socially-Distance-Deez-Nutz]

I agree, this would be hilarious. Sadly however, in this age of "hyper-sensitivity", it would likely offend some group of people and get cancelled.

[@ahhhbeees1860]

I was surprised but so happy when I heard he was treated so well. That was very lovely.

[@justanothermichigander4683]

I could listen to this guys voice all day

[@fightingblindly]

“The Japanese custom of bathing frequently...” The funk back then must have been rough.

[@infiltr80r]

@Abraham Girt 3 days? Optimist. Back then the average working man was lucky to wash once every few weeks, if that.

[@YSLRD]

@@infiltr80r People spot washed daily. Saturday baths were common.

[@howardwhite1507]

Was basin's and pitchers of water were common items in every home.... it was washcloth vs immersion...

[@costakeith9048]

@Abraham Girt By that point in history, most people in America would bathe once a week. The value of bathing was appreciated by the mid 19th century, but it was a lot of work to take draw a bath and more frequent bathing was only practical for those with servants to do the task for them.

[@kissarococo2459]

They did wash themselves everyday in a basin so people did not go without wash. Actual baths were difficult because heating and amount.

[@spencersholden]

The value of metal in Japan at this time was interesting to me.

[@shorewall]

I mean, in WW2, they had the same issues with steel and other resources like Oil. It's interesting to see the innovations that come from resource poor areas, like Ancient Greece, England, and Japan.

[@Jyyhjyyh]

They came up with a bazillion ingenious joint types to be used in woodworking due to nails being too expensive.

[@TheZapan99]

@@Jyyhjyyh The complex jointery of Japanese charpenters had more to do with the island resting on a tectonic faultline. Nails tend to pry themselves out and snap under mechanical stress. Traditional houses are even resting on flat corner stones, so they can move about like a raft during an earthquake.

[@Jyyhjyyh]

@@TheZapan99 Oh okay that makes sense as well. But I remember reading the thing about nails somewhere. There could have been multiple advantages to them, no?

[@swordtaker2]

Over populated things are to rare even food thats y they have to eat bugs

[@manojisaac]

America you earned my respect.. What a great nation.. I feel honored to have learned English in this life..