Mitford's Japan: Memories and Recollections 1866-1906. . - Reviews - book review

Contemporary Review, June, 2003

Mitford's Japan: Memories and Recollections 1866-1906. Hugh Cortazzi, editor. Japan Library (Taylor and Francis). [pounds sterling]16.99 p.b. 307 pages. ISBN 1-903350-07-7. This is a revised version of the volume first published in 1985 by the Athlone Press. Algernon Bertram Mitford (later Lord Redesdale) entered the diplomatic service and served in Japan from 1866 to 1870 (during which time the Shogunate was overthrown).

He revisited Japan in 1873 and again in 1906. In 1871 he published Tales of Old Japan and in his old age he wrote Memories, a three-volume memoir. The first edition of this book was composed of selections, mainly from the Memories, but also from other sources long out of print. The first edition, however, did not include anything from Tales of Old Japan and this omission has been rectified in this new edition. This new edition, therefore, has, in addition to the selections from the Memories and Tales of Old Japan, the essays on 'Old and New Japan', 'Feudalism in Japan', 'A Holiday in Japan', 'The Garter Mission, 1906', and 'Gardens in Japan'. Mitford was an acknowledged Japanophile but he was also an acute observer and a good writer and his work gives us a unique insight into an important era in Japanese history, a work which it is good to have in print once again.