Sir Ernest Satow’s encounters with food as recounted in a diplomat in Japan

「一外交官の見た明治維新」で語るアーネスト・サトウの日本での食生活

Sir Ernest Satow’s encounters with food as recounted in a diplomat in Japan

As one of the first British diplomats to be posted to Japan, Sir Ernest Satow (1843~1929) became a firsthand observer of the political situation in the country in the years immediately preceding the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Throughout his first posting in Japan (September 1862~February 1869) Satow kept a journal in which he recorded his experiences. Satow later edited this journal for publication as A Diplomat in Japan (henceforth, Diplomat ) published in 1921, many years after the events of the 1860s. The subtitle for the first edition of Diplomat was, ‘The inner history of the critical years in the evolution of Japan when the ports were opened and the monarchy restored, recorded by a diplomatist who took an active part in the events of the time, with an account of his personal experiences during that period.’ This study is an examination of Satow’s ‘personal experiences during that period’ relating to what he ate and drank, and the culinary hospitality he received. This paper will then briefly discuss what can be inferred about the eating habits of Westerners in bakumatsu Japan based on the evidence of Diplomat .

Creators Senneck Andrew