Originally published in Japan by PHP Institute, Inc., 1996.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-170)

America and the whaling ships -- Perry and Harris -- Civilization versus bigotry -- The state of the world around the time of the Meiji Restoration -- The United States and the Iwakura Mission -- The long road to treaty revision -- The passion of the educator -- Two countries bound together by silk -- Discord following the Russo-Japanese War -- Behind the scenes as the movement to exclude Japan heats up -- Standoff in Manchuria -- Old diplomacy, new diplomacy -- Expansionism, driven by necessity.

After the Pacific War, bitter enemies Japan and the United States became fast friends and allies. Most observers in the West believe Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor was unprovoked, but what had led Japan to take such action? The arrival of American "black ships" in Japan in 1853 was one cause of the fall of the Shogunate and the restoration of imperial power little more than a decade later. That set Japan on the road to international expansion in imitation of Western imperial powers. This volume recounts this saga from a pragmatic perspective, through the Russo-Japanese War and Japanese expansion in Manchuria, to the brink of war with the United States. -- Source other than Library of Congress.