Description
Book SynopsisIn a narrative history rich in colorful detail, Simon Partner uses the story of an ordinary merchant farmer as a vantage point onto sweeping social transformation and its unwitting agents. Partner’s history of Yokahama as a vibrant meeting place humanizes the story of Japan’s revolutionary 1860s and their profound consequences.
Trade ReviewTo an already lively cast of Restoration characters—rascals and rebels, poets and fighters—
The Merchant’s Tale adds a new voice: that of the rural entrepreneur. Long on dreams but short on capital, Chūemon decamped early to the treaty port of Yokohama, where he would scramble for years to gain a profitable foothold at the epicenter of Japan’s tumultuous encounter with the modern West. Simon Partner skillfully turns his letters home into a hair-raising romp across the Tokugawa/Meiji divide. A fresh take on a fascinating time. -- Karen E. Wigen, Stanford University
Like all Partner’s work,
The Merchant's Tale is beautifully written, in an engaging style, with vivid vignettes that bring to life the time and place that is his focus. -- Andrew Gordon, Harvard University
Combining his finely honed skills as a storyteller with his deep knowledge of historical context, Partner paints a compellingly human picture of nineteenth-century Japan’s integration into the global economy, helping us understand the excitement and opportunities, as well as the risks and challenges that it opened up for those who decided to seek their fortunes in the bustling treaty port of Yokohama. The remarkable story of Shinohara Chūemon is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in the origins of modern Japan. -- Daniel Botsman, Yale University
A vivid and accessible account of the events and places that helped to form modern Japan. * The American Historical Review *
A Merchant’s Tale is beautifully written and contains many thoughtful insights into the relations between Japan and the West seen from the perspective of ordinary people. . . . It will become essential reading for students of nineteenth-century Japanese and world history. -- Anne Walthall * The Journal of Japanese Studies *
Exceedingly accessible and rich in human detail. -- Eric C. Han * Journal of Asian Studies *
The book's focus on proto-industrial development, humanized through the trials and successes of Chuemon's business ventures, offers a refreshing addendum to the sociopolitical histories that currently dominate the field. * Choice *
Partner writes engaging and entertaining prose with great fluidity and authority. For anyone looking for an introduction into treaty port Yokohama, especially with sensitivity toward the Japanese predicament, Partner’s work is a great place to start the adventure. -- Simon Bytheway * H-Japan *
A fascinating read. * The Historian *
[An] enjoyable, beautifully-researched and fascinating account of Japan a few years after what Western writers are pleased to call its “opening” in 1853. * Asian Review of Books *
Table of ContentsList of Tables and Illustrations
Notes on the Text
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Out of Thin Air (1859–1860)
2. Years of Struggle (1860–1864)
3. Prosperity (1864–1866)
4. Transformation (1866–1873)
Conclusion: The Power of a Place
Tables
Notes
Bibliography
Index
