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samurai in new york city
Samurai in New York City
posted by John Spacey, June 17, 2012
It's one of the strangest events in history — in 1860 a group of 76 Samurai went on a diplomatic tour of the United States.
This was a interesting time in Japanese history. It was near the end of the Edo-era. Within 17 years the last Samurai battle would take place (Battle of Shiroyama in 1877). The Samurai were about to disappear into history.
The Samurai were the toast of New York. The youngest of the group Tateishi Onojiro was affectionately nicknamed Tommy by the American media. Tommy became a heartthrob in the US. A song was composed in his honor — Tommy Polka. It was a number one hit.
It's hard to imagine the culture shock these Edo-era Japanese men experienced in the United States. Just 7 years earlier Japan had been completely closed to the World.The Samurai had it rough after returning to Japan. They faced accusations of having been Westernized. Some of the Samurai had converted to Christianity on the trip. Within years, the Shogunate lost power and the Samurai lost their status as an elite military class.
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