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Lot Essay
Takeaki Enomoto (1836-1908) was a key player in the events which led to the establishment of the Meiji period government. He also made a significant contribution to Japan's interactions with the West in the late 19th century. He was born as a lower-ranking samurai, but rose up to hold various important posts in the government.
Enomoto studied Dutch naval science in Nagasaki, which during the Edo period was the only city in which the Dutch were permitted to take up residence and to trade. He then continued his studies in Holland from 1862, and he became fluent in English and Dutch. In 1867, he returned to Japan and was appointed to a senior naval post in the Tokugawa bakufu [government].
However, in 1868, the Tokugawa bakufu was overthrown by the warlords of Satsuma and Choshu, and the Meiji Emperor was reinstated as the figurehead of a new government. Enomoto is particularly well known for having resisted the takeover of the Meiji government by fleeing with eight warships to Ezo (Hokkaido) and establishing a Tokugawa 'republic' as the last military stronghold opposing the new regime. Enomoto surrendered in spring 1869, and peace was officially restored to the whole of Japan.
Enomoto's conduct impressed the Meiji government, as when he surrendered he sent his notes that he had made on navigation in Holland to the commander of the government army, stating that they would be useful for the country. He was imprisoned rather than executed, and he was pardoned in 1872. He was immediately appointed to office in the government and sent to St. Petersburg as a diplomat in the negotiation over ownership of the Sakhalin and Kuril islands. He was successful in concluding a treaty giving the Sakhalin to Russia but keeping the Kurils for Japan. His achievement was celebrated as the treaty was the first of significance in which Japan was treated like an equal to a Western power. Enomoto rose to cabinet rank within the Meiji government, and his positions included that of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce.
The globe and book here are clear references to his international experience. The book bears a coat-of-arms with notable similarities to that of Napoleon III (1808-1873), who was Emperor of the French from 1852-1870. During this time, negotiations between France and Japan began and, sent by Napoleon III the first French military mission to Japan arrived in 1867. With the mission came Captain Jules Brunet (1838-1911), a military officer who later became a leader of the military effort of the Shogunate and fled north with Enomoto to Ezo, assisting with the establishment of the 'republic'.
Enomoto studied Dutch naval science in Nagasaki, which during the Edo period was the only city in which the Dutch were permitted to take up residence and to trade. He then continued his studies in Holland from 1862, and he became fluent in English and Dutch. In 1867, he returned to Japan and was appointed to a senior naval post in the Tokugawa bakufu [government].
However, in 1868, the Tokugawa bakufu was overthrown by the warlords of Satsuma and Choshu, and the Meiji Emperor was reinstated as the figurehead of a new government. Enomoto is particularly well known for having resisted the takeover of the Meiji government by fleeing with eight warships to Ezo (Hokkaido) and establishing a Tokugawa 'republic' as the last military stronghold opposing the new regime. Enomoto surrendered in spring 1869, and peace was officially restored to the whole of Japan.
Enomoto's conduct impressed the Meiji government, as when he surrendered he sent his notes that he had made on navigation in Holland to the commander of the government army, stating that they would be useful for the country. He was imprisoned rather than executed, and he was pardoned in 1872. He was immediately appointed to office in the government and sent to St. Petersburg as a diplomat in the negotiation over ownership of the Sakhalin and Kuril islands. He was successful in concluding a treaty giving the Sakhalin to Russia but keeping the Kurils for Japan. His achievement was celebrated as the treaty was the first of significance in which Japan was treated like an equal to a Western power. Enomoto rose to cabinet rank within the Meiji government, and his positions included that of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce.
The globe and book here are clear references to his international experience. The book bears a coat-of-arms with notable similarities to that of Napoleon III (1808-1873), who was Emperor of the French from 1852-1870. During this time, negotiations between France and Japan began and, sent by Napoleon III the first French military mission to Japan arrived in 1867. With the mission came Captain Jules Brunet (1838-1911), a military officer who later became a leader of the military effort of the Shogunate and fled north with Enomoto to Ezo, assisting with the establishment of the 'republic'.