Sold – Ulysses S. Grant Appoints the American Consul to the Emperor of Japan

In the Treaty of Kanagawa signed between the United States and Japan, the insular Japanese were anxious to carefully limit the points at which nationals of the two countries would interact. So provisions were inserted that established Simoda and Hakodadi (which Admiral Perry had visited in 1851) as the two ports for the reception for American ships, where they can be supplied with wood, water, provisions and coal, and other articles their necessities may require. The Japanese would also hand over any stranded seamen it picked up there and use the towns as exchange points in other matters as well. Thus, the American consuls in these towns were essentially its ambassadors to Japan.

Tenno is a Japanese term meaning “heavenly emperor,” and in 1871 Emperor Meiji was newly established on his throne. His rule marked the beginning of a national revolution developing Japan into an industrial and military world power. He introduced Western ideas and technology into Japan, and was the first emperor to grant farmers titles to their lands and to institute universal public education.

Document Signed as President, large folio, March 15, 1871, appointing E.E. Rice as consul at Hakodadi to “His Imperial Majesty, The Tenno of Japan.” It is countersigned by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.