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This book focuses on the voyage of the Japanese vessel called Senzaimaru to Shanghai in the late spring of 1862. This voyage was made for the purpose of establishing trade and diplomatic relations with China. Aboard the Senzaimaru were a motley crew and a team of shogunal officials who sought a meeting with their Chinese counterparts to evaluate the possibilities for opening commercial and perhaps diplomatic ties between the two Asian nations. The book first looks at the prehistory of the Senzaimaru before discussing the planning undertaken by the shogunal government and local officials in Nagasaki (and, to a lesser extent, Hakodate) for the mission. It also considers who were on board the Senzaimaru and how they were so privileged, as well as the perilous trip they made to Shanghai. The book shows that the Senzaimaru did not achieve much commercially during its sojourn in Shanghai, but fared better in terms of diplomacy. The 1862 meeting paved the way for the signing of the Treaty of Amity of 1871, the first modern treaty between Japan and China.

This chapter examines the Japanese government's decision to embark on a voyage to Shanghai in 1862 via the Senzaimaru despite little training or experience in building or sailing ocean-worthy vessels. It first looks at the prehistory of the Senzaimaru, focusing on the British vessel named the Armistice. It then describes the changes in the nature of regional and interregional commercial shipping worldwide, particularly the transition from wind power to steam that culminated in around 1890. It also considers the steamship trade between Britain and China; the continued strong presence of sail ships despite the increasing popularity of steamships; the key role played by Shanghai in both China's opening outward and Japan's opening to export trade; and relations between Japan and China prior to 1862. The chapter concludes by discussing the arrival of the Senzaimaru at the port of Shanghai.

This chapter focuses on the Japanese government's planning for the official mission to Shanghai in 1862 via the Senzaimaru. More specifically, it examines the role played by the Tokugawa shogunate in making the mission possible. It considers the efforts of the Nagasaki and Hakodate bugyō or Magistrates, who began investigating such possibilities from the late 1850s. The chapter also looks at the Senzaimaru and its passengers, which included cooks and deckhands in addition to the shogunal officials, and speculates as to why they were selected as part of the mission.

This chapter focuses on how the Senzaimaru reached Nagasaki. It describes the inspection and eventual loading of cargo onto the Senzaimaru, as well as the cargo that the Japanese ultimately brought to China. Although the purpose of the voyage was to seek a treaty to trade, the Japanese also wanted to make observations of the Western powers and how international trade was conducted. The chapter also looks at the arrival of the Senzaimaru in Shanghai, together with the manifold first impressions recorded by the Japanese as they approached the port over water.

This chapter focuses on business and other concerns of the various groups who were on board the Senzaimaru upon setting foot on Chinese soil. Members of the Japanese delegation were mobbed by curious locals everywhere they went. In general, their first impressions of Shanghai were not very good, mainly because the city was filthy and overcrowded while the people did not observe the rules of etiquette expected by the visitors. This chapter also describes the reaction of the Japanese to how the Chinese and foreigners lived in Shanghai, as well as the “brush conversation” in their interactions with Chinese people.

This chapter focuses on the attitudes of the Japanese, who came to Shanghai on board the Senzaimaru in 1862, toward Westerners in the city. One of the main objectives of the mission to Shanghai was to observe and assess the international community engaged in international commerce. To achieve that goal, the Japanese had to interact with and examine the Westerners in Shanghai. This chapter considers what they had to say about how the Westerners were behaving in the city. In particular, the Japanese noted the Westerners' arrogance and condescension with respect to the Chinese. The chapter also looks at Shanghai customs and the admiration of the Japanese for the West's technical achievements.

Before British and American traders arrived in China in the nineteenth century, opium had been present in the country for centuries—used primarily for medicinal purposes. The British victory in the Opium War in 1842 led to the Treaty of Nanjing and the enforcement of trade in opium. In Japan, opium was nonexistent during the late Edo period. This chapter focuses on what the Japanese aboard the Senzaimaru thought about opium and Christianity in the country. It begins by providing a background on the Taiping Rebellion launched by Hong Xiuquan, a member of the Hakka minority and a Christian convert, in an attempt to overthrow the Qing dynasty. It then considers the Japanese visitors' reactions to the rebellion.

This chapter focuses on how the Japanese aboard the Senzaimaru felt about the government officials that they encountered in China. It focuses on two people: Wu Xu, the local circuit intendant, and Theodorus Kroes, the Dutch Vice-Consul who mediated the meetings. It also considers Wu's enthusiasm for trade with Japan as well as his reflections on the guests' attitude and behavior.

This chapter focuses on the preparations made by the Japanese delegation, who went to Shanghai in 1862 aboard the Senzaimaru, on their return to Nagasaki. The Senzaimaru was sent by Japan on an official mission to Shanghai aiming to establish commercial and diplomatic relations with the Chinese. The chapter examines whether the mission was successful in terms of trade and diplomacy, considering that China refused to grant the request from the Japanese for a consulate, an agency in handling their own affairs, and future trade.

This chapter looks at Japan's subsequent missions to China in the late Edo period after the voyage made by the Senzaimaru to Shanghai in 1862. It begins by considering the shogunal authorities' purchase of the American ship Althea, which they renamed the Kenjunmaru and eventually sent on a voyage to Shanghai in 1864 carrying cargo of ginseng, dried sea cucumber, abalone, and other dried shellfish. It then examines the 1865 trip launched by a rebellious Chōshū domain, a bitter enemy of the shogunate, with Murata Zōroku leading the mission. Finally, it describes the mission dispatched to Shanghai in 1867 via the SS Ganges upon the initiative of Inoue Masanao, daimyo of Hamamatsu domain, and Hotta Masatomo, daimyo of Sakura domain.

This chapter examines depictions of the Senzaimaru in fiction and films. The story of the Senzaimaru is framed as a chapter in the evolution of Takasugi Shinsaku's intellectual and emotional development; Takasugi is the most famous member of the Japanese delegation who went to Shanghai. The chapter first considers two novels by Shiba Ryōtarō, Yo ni sumu hibi (Days of my life in the world) and Kashin (God of the blooming flower), the latter of which was broadcast by the Japanese education television station NHK in 1977. It then reviews the movie Noroshi wa Shanhai ni agaru (Signal fires over Shanghai).