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81-727: Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan . He negotiated the Harris Treaty between the US and Japan and is credited as the diplomat who first opened Shogunate Japan to foreign trade and culture in the Edo period . Harris was born in the village of Sandy Hill (now Hudson Falls ), in Washington County in upstate New York. He moved early to New York City , where he became

162-759: A jōkamachi (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province , became the de facto capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate . Edo grew to become one of the largest cities in the world under the Tokugawa. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 the Meiji government renamed Edo as Tokyo ( 東 京 , "Eastern Capital") and relocated the Emperor from

243-433: A consul is a consulate and is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy or – between Commonwealth countries – high commission . Like the terms embassy or high commission , consulate may refer not only to the office of consul, but also to the building occupied by the consul and their staff. The consulate may share premises with

324-442: A consulate general and is a consul of the highest rank serving at a particular location. A consul general may also be responsible for consular districts which contain other, subordinate consular offices within a country. The consul general serves as a representative of their state in the country where they are located, although ultimate jurisdiction over the right to speak on behalf of a home country within another country belongs to

405-726: A fortified residence, probably around the edge of the Musashino Terrace , that would become Edo castle. Shigetsugu's son, Edo Shigenaga ( 江戸重長 ) , took the Taira's side against Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180 but eventually surrendered to Minamoto and became a gokenin for the Kamakura shogunate . At the fall of the shogunate in the 14th century, the Edo clan took the side of the Southern Court , and its influence declined during

486-564: A minor power may accredit a single ambassador with several neighbouring states of modest relative importance that are not considered important allies). Consuls are posted in a nation's capital, and in other cities throughout that country, especially centres of economic activity and cities with large populations of expatriates . In the United States for example, most countries have a consulate-general in New York City (the home of

567-504: A refuge. The estate of the upper residence was attributed by the shogunate according to the status of the clan and its relation with the Shogun. The middle residence ( 中屋敷 , naka-yashiki ) , a bit further from the castle, could house the heir of the lord, his servants from his fief when he was in Edo for the sankin-kotai alternate residency, or be a hiding residence if needed. The lower residence ( 下屋敷 , shimo-yashiki ) , if there

648-535: A separate entity out of the Free Academy's secondary-level curriculum; the school survived until 1942 when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia closed it because of budget constraints. Townsend Harris High School was re-created in 1984 as a public magnet school for the humanities. Harris, though anxious to get to his new post in Japan, went first to Bangkok , to update the 1833 Roberts Treaty . In his formal audience with

729-515: A stone lantern, a cherry tree, a dogwood tree, and two commemorative stones, in commemoration of the continuing respect and affection of the Japanese people for Harris. Harris was portrayed by John Wayne in the 1958 movie The Barbarian and the Geisha , directed by John Huston . Although the primary plot, dealing with Harris' attempt diplomatically to achieve détente between the U.S. and Japan,

810-671: A successful merchant and importer from China . In 1846, Harris joined the New York City Board of Education , serving as its president until 1848. He was an avid and critical reader and also taught himself French , Italian and Spanish . He founded the Free Academy of the City of New York, which later became the City College of New York , to provide education to the city's working people. A city high school bearing Harris's name, Townsend Harris High School , soon emerged as

891-399: Is essentially accurate, the subplot dealing with the love affair between Harris and Okichi is substantially fictional. Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consul

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972-516: Is generally part of a government's diplomatic corps or foreign service , and thus enjoys certain privileges and protections in the host state, albeit without full diplomatic immunity . Unlike an ambassador , who serves as the single representative of one government to another, a state may appoint several consuls in a foreign nation, typically in major cities; consuls are usually tasked with providing assistance in bureaucratic issues to both citizens of their own country traveling or living abroad and to

1053-491: Is not admitted publicly, consulates, like embassies, may also gather intelligence information from the assigned country. Contrary to popular belief, many of the staff of consulates may be career diplomats, but they do not generally have diplomatic immunity unless they are also accredited as such. Immunities and privileges for consuls and accredited staff of consulates ( consular immunity ) are generally limited to actions undertaken in their official capacity and, with respect to

1134-645: Is what the President wishes to establish with Siam , and such is the object of my mission. Finalization of the Bowring Treaty of 1855 delayed Harris for about a month, but he had only to negotiate minor points to transform it into the Harris Treaty of 1856. Re-designated the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation , the amendments granted Americans extraterritorial rights in addition to those in

1215-526: The Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600. He formally founded the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603 and established his headquarters at Edo Castle . Edo became the center of political power and the de facto capital of Japan, although the historic capital of Kyoto remained the de jure capital as the seat of the emperor. Edo grew from a fishing village in Musashi Province in 1457 into the largest metropolis in

1296-553: The Imperial Palace . During the Edo period, there were about 100 major fires, mostly begun by accident and often quickly escalating and spreading through neighborhoods of wooden nagaya that were heated with charcoal fires. In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in the Meiji Restoration by supporters of Emperor Meiji and his Imperial Court in Kyoto , ending Edo's status as the de facto capital of Japan. However,

1377-507: The Muromachi period . In 1456, a vassal of the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan started to build a castle on the former fortified residence of the Edo clan and took the name Ōta Dōkan . Dōkan lived in the castle until his assassination in 1486. Under Dōkan, with good water connections to Kamakura, Odawara and other parts of Kanto and the country, Edo expanded as a jōkamachi , with

1458-552: The United Nations ), and some have consulates-general in other major cities . Consulates are subordinate posts of their home country's diplomatic mission (typically an embassy , in the capital city of the host country). Diplomatic missions are established in international law under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , while consulates-general and consulates are established in international law under

1539-442: The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations . Formally, at least within the US system, the consular career (ranking in descending order: consul-general, consul, vice-consul, honorary consul) forms a different hierarchy from the diplomats in the strict sense. However, it is common for individuals to be transferred from one hierarchy to the other, and for consular officials to serve in a capital carrying out strictly consular duties within

1620-471: The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , there are few formal requirements outlining what a consular official must do. For example, for some countries, consular officials may be responsible for the issue of visas; other countries may limit "consular services" to providing assistance to compatriots, legalization of documents, etc. Nonetheless, consulates proper will be headed by consuls of various ranks, even if such officials have little or no connection with

1701-441: The consular section of a diplomatic post, e.g., within an embassy. Between Commonwealth countries, both diplomatic and consular activities may be undertaken by a High Commission in the capital, although larger Commonwealth nations generally also have consulates and consulates-general in major cities. For example, Toronto , Sydney and Auckland are of greater economic importance than their respective national capitals, hence

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1782-453: The court nobles , its Buddhist temples and its history; Osaka was the country's commercial center, dominated by the chōnin or the merchant class. On the contrary, the samurai and daimyō residences occupied up to 70% of the area of Edo. On the east and northeast sides of the castle lived the Shomin ( 庶民 , "regular people") including the chōnin in a much more densely populated area than

1863-407: The first Japanese Embassy to the United States , during which a false report of his death reached the US. Unfortunately he was addicted to alcohol and the complaints about his functioning led to his departure in 1861. Upon his departure, senior Japanese diplomat Moriyama wrote to him "You have been more than a friend. You have been our benefactor and teacher. Your spirit and memory will live forever in

1944-440: The machi , where single floor nagayas , the uranagayas ( 裏長屋 , litt. "backstreet long houses") were located. Rentals and smaller rooms for lower ranked shonin were located in those back housings. Edo was nicknamed the City of 808 towns ( 江戸八百八町 , Edo happyaku yachō ) , depicting the large number and diversity of those communities, but the actual number was closer to 1,700 by the 18th century. Edo's municipal government

2025-438: The 1850s and 1860s, alongside fellow Western diplomats Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek , Max von Brandt , Rutherford Alcock and Gustave Duchesne, Prince de Bellecourt . Although these men were bound by personal friendship, national rivalries and differences in dealing with the Japanese led to conflict and antagonism. However, the chaotic and ungovernable circumstances of the first few years forced them to cooperate. Harris demanded

2106-718: The Australian commission had been renamed the consulate-general in 1986. Owing to Hong Kong's status as a special administrative region of China , some countries' consulates-general in Hong Kong report directly to their respective foreign ministries , rather than to their embassies in Beijing , such as those of Canada , the United Kingdom and the United States . Some consuls are not career officials of

2187-573: The English-speaking and Western-oriented Second King, Phra Pin Klao , Harris stated America's position: The United States does not hold any possessions in the East, nor does it desire any. The form of government forbids the holding of colonies. The United States, therefore, cannot be an object of jealousy to any Eastern Power. Peaceful commercial relations, which give as well as receive benefits,

2268-778: The Japanese think of me?" Griffis asked Townsend why he had not published his journals from those years. Griffis felt that Harris had not appreciated the extent of his favorable effect in Japan from his work in the five years as envoy, as Griffis later wrote in a 1919 article in The New York Times . Griffis obtained the journals from the niece of Harris in 1893, and had those journals published in 1895 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in New York, with additional biographical sketches and annotations. That book, Townsend Harris, First American Envoy in Japan , and translated into Japanese,

2349-568: The King. This distinction between consular and diplomatic functions remains (at least formally) to this day. Modern consuls retain limited judicial powers to settle disputes on ships from their country (notably regarding the payment of wages to sailors). The consulado de mercaderes was set up in 1543 in Seville as a merchant guild to control trade with Latin America . As such, it had branches in

2430-669: The Roberts Treaty. American missionary Stephen Mattoon , who had acted as translator, was appointed the first United States consul to Siam . President Franklin Pierce named Harris the first Consul General to Tokugawa Japan in July 1856, where he opened the first US Consulate at the Gyokusen-ji Temple in the city of Shimoda , Shizuoka Prefecture , soon after Commodore Matthew Perry had first opened trade between

2511-661: The US and Japan and paving the way for greater Western influence in Japan's economy and politics. During treaty negotiations in June 1857, Harris requested the provision of teenage sex servants for himself and his translator. A 17 year-old named Tôjin Okichi was forced to have sex with Harris. Harris rejected her after three days because of a skin eruption on her back and demanded "cleaner" girls. Japanese officials provided him with two other teenagers in Spring and Summer 1858. He served during

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2592-483: The US and Japan in 1854. At that time, Japan was not a nation united under one leader, but was politically made up of jealous feudal principalities; the Shogunate ended in 1868, in part in response to Harris as envoy from the US since 1854, as William Elliot Griffis described the changes inside Japan after it opened itself to trade with the US and European nations. Harris played an important political role in Japan in

2673-743: The Uesugi clan, which fell to the Later Hōjō clan at the battle of Takanawahara in 1524, during the expansion of their rule over the Kantō area. When the Hōjō clan was finally defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, the Kanto area was given to rule to Toyotomi's senior officer Tokugawa Ieyasu , who took his residence in Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged as the paramount warlord of the Sengoku period following his victory at

2754-618: The United States (1860) that the restrictive lifestyle for Townsend Harris as ambassador in Japan "had forever molded the opener of Japan into a hermit" for the rest of his life while in New York City. Harris died in New York City on February 25, 1878, at age 73. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn , New York. In 1986, the nation of Japan presented a gift of a refurbished gravesite including paving stones,

2835-539: The castle bordering a cove (now Hibiya Park ) opening into Edo Bay , and the town developing along the Hirakawa River running into the cove, and on Edomaeto ( 江戸前島 ) , the stretch of land on the eastern side of the cove (now roughly where Tokyo Station is). Some priests and scholars fleeing Kyoto after the Ōnin War came to Edo during that period. After the death of Dōkan, the castle became one of strongholds of

2916-413: The center of the city's commercial center and the starting point of the gokaidō (thus making it the de facto "center of the country"). Fishermen, craftsmen and other producers and retailers operated here. Shippers managed ships known as tarubune to and from Osaka and other cities, bringing goods into the city or transferring them from sea routes to river barges or land routes. The northeastern corner of

2997-405: The citizens of the country in which the consul resides who wish to travel to or trade with the consul's country. In classical Greece , some of the functions of the modern consul were fulfilled by a proxenos , which means an arrangement which a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. Unlike the modern position, this

3078-543: The city and of the Sumida River , a massive network of canals was dug. Fresh water was a major issue, as direct wells would provide brackish water because of the location of the city over an estuary. The few fresh water ponds of the city were put to use, and a network of canals and underground wooden pipes bringing freshwater from the western side of the city and the Tama River was built. Some of this infrastructure

3159-544: The city was considered dangerous in the traditional onmyōdō cosmology and was protected from evil by a number of temples including Sensō-ji and Kan'ei-ji , one of the two tutelary Bodaiji temples of the Tokugawa. A path and a canal, a short distance north of Sensō-ji, extended west from the Sumida riverbank leading along the northern edge of the city to the Yoshiwara pleasure district. Previously located near Ningyōchō,

3240-403: The city's fresh water distribution system, garbage collection area and communal bathrooms. A typical machi was of rectangular shape and could have a population of several hundred. The machi had curfew for the night with closing and guarded gates called kidomon ( 木戸門 ) opening on the main street ( 表通り , omote-dori ) in the machi . Two floor buildings and larger shops, reserved to

3321-417: The city. Besides the large concentration in the northeast side to protect the city, the second Bodaiji of the Tokugawa, Zōjō-ji occupied a large area south of the castle. The samurai and daimyōs residential estates varied dramatically in size depending on their status. Some daimyōs could have several of those residences in Edo. The upper residence ( 上屋敷 , kami-yashiki ) , was the main residence while

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3402-404: The consulate itself, to those required for official duties. In practice, the extension and application of consular privileges and immunities can differ widely from country to country. Consulates are more numerous than diplomatic missions, such as embassies . Ambassadors are posted only in a foreign nation's capital (but exceptionally outside the country, as in the case of a multiple mandate, e.g.,

3483-413: The courtesies due to an accredited envoy and refused to deliver his president's letter to anyone but the Shogun in Edo , and to him personally. After prolonged negotiations lasting 18 months, Harris finally received a personal audience with the Shogun in the palace. After another four months, he successfully negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce , or the "Harris Treaty of 1858", securing trade between

3564-428: The district was rebuilt in this more remote location after the great fire of Meireki. Danzaemon, the hereditary position head of eta , or outcasts, who performed "unclean" works in the city resided nearby. Temples and shrines occupied roughly 15% of the surface of the city, equivalent to the living areas of the townspeople, with however an average of one-tenth of its population. Temples and shrines were spread out over

3645-407: The embassy itself. A consul of the highest rank is termed a consul-general and is appointed to a consulate-general . There is typically one or more deputy consuls-general , consuls , vice-consuls , and consular agents working under the consul-general. A country may appoint more than one consul-general to another nation. A consul general (CG) (plural: consuls general) is an official who heads

3726-626: The governments which they represent. As a matter of U.S. policy, honorary consular officers recognized by the U.S. Government are American citizens, or permanent resident aliens who perform consular services on a part-time basis. The limited immunity afforded honorary consular officers is specified in Article 71 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). Such individuals do not enjoy personal inviolability, and may be arrested pending trial if circumstances should otherwise warrant. However, appropriate steps are provided to accord to such officers

3807-433: The higher-ranking members of the society, were facing the main street. A machi would typically follow a grid pattern and smaller streets, Shinmichi ( 新道 ) , were opening on the main street, also with (sometimes) two-floor buildings, shop on the first floor, living quarter on the second floor, for the more well-off residents. Very narrow streets accessible through small gates called roji ( 路地 ) , would enter deeper inside

3888-547: The highest magistrates of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire . The term was revived by the Republic of Genoa , which, unlike Rome, bestowed it on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to the highest. Among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included duties similar to those of the modern consul (i.e., helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with

3969-528: The historic capital of Kyoto to the city. The era of Tokugawa rule in Japan from 1603 to 1868 is known as the Edo period . Before the 10th century, there is no mention of Edo in historical records, but for a few settlements in the area. That name for the area first appears in the Azuma Kagami chronicles, which have probably been used since the second half of the Heian period . Edo's development started in

4050-631: The history of Japan." Harris was favorably impressed by his experiences in Japan at the end of its self-imposed period of isolation. He wrote: "The people all appeared clean and well-fed... well clad and happy looking. It is more like the golden age of simplicity and honesty than I have ever seen in any other country". Townsend returned to New York in 1861 after his eventful and successful period as envoy and ambassador to Japan. Author William Elliot Griffis had been in Japan from 1871 to 1874, invited to help modernize education there. Griffis met with Harris in New York in 1874. Harris asked of Griffis, "What do

4131-441: The job with their own (often commercial) private activities, and in some instances may not even be a citizen of the sending country. Such consular appointments are usually given the title of honorary consul or consul ad honorem . Such hosting and appointing varies from nation to nation, with some doing both, one or the other, or neither. The transparency also varies, with some nation-states not even including such information on

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4212-572: The late 11th century with a branch of the Kanmu- Taira clan ( 桓武平氏 ) called the Chichibu clan ( 秩父氏 ) coming from the banks of the then- Iruma River , present-day upstream of the Arakawa river. A descendant of the head of the Chichibu clan settled in the area and took the name Edo Shigetsugu ( 江戸重継 ) , likely based on the name used for the place, and founded the Edo clan . Shigetsugu built

4293-531: The local authorities). The consolat de mar was an institution established under the reign of Peter IV of Aragon in the fourteenth century, and spread to 47 locations throughout the Mediterranean. It was primarily a judicial body, administering maritime and commercial law as lex mercatoria . Although the consolat de mar was established by the Cortes of Aragon , the consuls were independent from

4374-430: The lord was in Edo and was used for official duties. It was not necessarily the largest of his residences, but the most convenient to commute to the castle. The upper residence also acted as the representative embassy of the domain in Edo, connecting the shogunate and the clan. The shogunate did not exercise its investigative powers inside the precincts of the residential estate of the upper residence, which could also act as

4455-498: The missions, United States Government policy requires that the maintenance and establishment of consular posts headed by honorary consular officers must be supported by documentation which makes it possible for the Department of State to be assured that meaningful consular functions will be exercised by honorary consular officers on a regular basis and that such consular officers come under the supervision of, and are accountable to,

4536-492: The more limited sense of consular service. Activities of a consulate include protecting the interests of their citizens temporarily or permanently resident in the host country, issuing passports ; issuing visas to foreigners and public diplomacy . However, the principal role of a consulate lies traditionally in promoting trade—assisting companies to invest and to import and export goods and services both inwardly to their home country and outward to their host country. Although it

4617-480: The nearest Finnish embassy or consulate. Certain types of notarized certificates can be acquired through an honorary consul. Together with diplomatic missions, an honorary consul promotes economic and cultural relations between Finland and the country in question and takes part in strengthening Finland's image abroad. An honorary consul can advise Finnish companies, for instance, in obtaining information about local business culture and in finding cooperation partners. Over

4698-407: The need for consulates there. When Hong Kong was under British administration , diplomatic missions of Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand , India, Malaysia , and Singapore were known as commissions . After the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, they were renamed consulates-general , with the last commissioner becoming consul-general. However,

4779-461: The new Meiji government soon renamed Edo to Tōkyō (東京, "Eastern Capital") and the city became the formal capital of Japan when the emperor moved his residence to the city. Very quickly after its inception, the shogunate undertook major works in Edo that drastically changed the topography of the area, notably under the Tenka-Bushin ( 天下普請 ) nationwide program of major civil works involving

4860-571: The now pacified daimyō workforce. The Hibiya cove facing the castle was soon filled after the arrival of Ieyasu, the Hirakawa river was diverted, and several protective moats and logistical canals were dug (including the Kanda river), to limit the risks of flooding. Landfill works on the bay began, with several areas reclaimed during the duration of the shogunate (notably the Tsukiji area). East of

4941-628: The principal cities of the Spanish colonies. The connection of "consul" with trade and commercial law is retained in French. In Francophone countries, a juge consulaire (consular judge) is a non-professional judge elected by the chamber of commerce to settle commercial disputes in the first instance (in France, sitting in panels of three; in Belgium, in conjunction with a professional magistrate). In

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5022-458: The protection required by virtue of their official position. In addition, the consular archives and documents of a consular post headed by an honorary consular officer are inviolable at all times, and wherever they may be, provided they are kept separate from other papers and documents of a private or commercial nature relating to other activities of an honorary consular officer or persons working with that consular officer. Edo Edo, formerly

5103-469: The represented country's coat of arms, and with that country confirming the consul's son or other heir in the position on the death of the previous consul. As repeatedly referenced by Mann, a consul's wife was known as "Konsulin" and continued to bear that title even on the death of her husband. Characters in the book are mentioned as consuls for Denmark , the Netherlands and Portugal . The office of

5184-412: The represented state. They may be local people with the nationality of the sending country, and in smaller cities, or in cities that are very distant from full-time diplomatic missions, a foreign government which feels that some form of representation is nevertheless desirable may appoint a person who has not hitherto been part of their diplomatic service to fulfill this role. Such a consul may well combine

5265-690: The residence of their lord. The hatamoto samurais, in direct service of the Shogun, would have their own residences, usually located behind the castle on the Western side in the Banchō area. In a strict sense of the word, chōnin were only the townspeople who owned their residence, which was actually a minority. The shonin population mainly lived in semi-collective housings called nagaya ( 長屋 , litt. "Long house") , multi-rooms wooden dwellings, organized in enclosed machi ( 町 , "town" or "village") , with communal facilities, such as wells connected to

5346-484: The same geographical jurisdiction in spite of their name but rotated roles on a monthly basis. Despite their extensive responsibilities, the teams of the Machi-Bugyō were rather small, with 2 offices of 125 people each. The Machi-Bugyō did not have jurisdiction over the samurai residential areas, which remained under the shogunate direct rule. The geographical jurisdiction of the Machi-Bugyō did not exactly coincide with

5427-608: The samurai class area, organized in a series of gated communities called machi (町, "town" or "village"). This area, Shitamachi (下町, "lower town" or "lower towns"), was the center of urban and merchant culture. Shomin also lived along the main roads leading in and out of the city. The Sumida River, then called the Great River (大川, Ōkawa ), ran on the eastern side of the city. The shogunate's official rice-storage warehouses and other official buildings were located here. The Nihonbashi bridge ( 日本橋 , lit. "bridge of Japan") marked

5508-432: The single ambassador. Another definition is the leader of the consular section of an embassy. This consul general is a diplomat and a member of the ambassador's country team. Consuls of various ranks may have specific legal authority for certain activities, such as notarizing documents. As such, diplomatic personnel with other responsibilities may receive consular letters patent (commissions). Aside from those outlined in

5589-494: The social life of 19th-century Lübeck as depicted in Thomas Mann 's novel Buddenbrooks – based on Mann's thorough personal knowledge of his own birthplace – an appointment as the consul of a foreign country was a source of considerable social prestige among the city's merchant elite. As depicted in the book, the position of a consul for a particular country was in practice hereditary in a specific family, whose mansion bore

5670-413: The urban planning afterwards to make the city more resilient, with many empty areas to break spreading fires, and wider streets. Reconstruction efforts expanded the city east of the Sumida River, and some daimyō residences were relocated to give more space to the city, especially in the immediate vicinity of the shogun's residence, creating a large green space beside the castle, now the Fukiage gardens of

5751-402: The very beginning of the shogunate daimyōs , later hatamoto ) officials appointed to keep the order in the city, with the word designating both the heading magistrate, the magistrature and its organization. They were in charge of Edo's day-to-day administration, combining the role of police, judge and fire brigade. There were two offices, the South Machi-Bugyō and the North Machi-Bugyō, which had

5832-413: The websites of their foreign ministries. Furthermore, some do not use the honorary consul system at all. The United States of America limits whom it will recognise as honorary consuls and grants only some limited rights. In some cases "accused terror financiers, arms traffickers and drug runners" have misused their position as honorary consuls. Despite their other roles, honorary consular officers (in

5913-610: The widest use of the term) in some instances also have responsibility for the welfare of citizens of the appointing country within their bailiwick . For example, the Embassy of Finland states that the tasks of Finland's Honorary Consulate include monitoring the rights of Finns and permanent residents of Finland residing in the area in which the consulate is located, providing advice and guidance for distressed Finnish citizens and permanent residents traveling abroad to that area, and assisting them in their contacts with local authorities or

5994-489: The world, with an estimated population of 1 million by 1721. Edo was repeatedly devastated by fires, the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 being the most disastrous, with an estimated 100,000 victims and a vast portion of the city completely burnt. The population of Edo was around 300,000, and the impact of the fire was tremendous. The fire destroyed the central keep of Edo Castle, which was never rebuilt, and it influenced

6075-460: The years, Honorary Consulates have assumed growing importance particularly for Low and Middle Income Countries and for countries looking at cutting costs and has emerged as a powerful diplomatic pillar of strength. The United States Government appreciates that honorary consular officers provide important services both to the governments which they represent and to United States citizens and entities. Nevertheless, for reasons previously communicated to

6156-478: Was a citizen of the host polity (in Greece, a city-state ). The proxenos was usually a wealthy merchant who had socioeconomic ties with another city and who helped its citizens when they were in trouble in his own city. The position of proxenos was often hereditary in a particular family. Modern honorary consuls fulfill a function that is to a degree similar to that of the ancient Greek institution. Consuls were

6237-421: Was any, was on the outskirts of town, more of a pleasure retreat with gardens. The lower residence could also be used as a retreat for the lord if a fire had devastated the city. Some of the powerful daimyōs residences occupied vast grounds of several dozens of hectares. Maintenance and operations of those residential estates could be extremely expensive. Samurai in service of a specific clan would normally live in

6318-469: Was carefully attributed depending on their position as tozama , shinpan or fudai . It was this extensive organization of the city for the samurai class which defined the character of Edo, particularly in contrast to the two major cities of Kyoto and Osaka , neither of which were ruled by a daimyō or had a significant samurai population. Kyoto's character was defined by the Imperial Court,

6399-481: Was the basis for a play about Harris, written by Kido Okamoto and staged in Japan in 1919. The play was successful in Japan, reflecting how positively Harris was viewed in Japan. The actor playing Harris was made up to look like Harris, based on a photograph held in Tokyo. Masao Miyoshi , born and educated in Japan and later a teacher in US universities, asserts in his book As We Saw Them: The First Japanese Embassy to

6480-536: Was under the responsibility of the rōjū , the senior officials who oversaw the entire bakufu – the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The administrative definition of Edo was called Gofunai ( 御府内 , litt. "where the government is") . The Kanjō-bugyō (finance commissioners) were responsible for the financial matters of the shogunate, whereas the Jisha-Bugyō handled matters related to shrines and temples. The Machi-bugyō ( 町奉行 ) were samurai (at

6561-504: Was used until the 20th century. The city was laid out as a castle town around Edo Castle, which was positioned at the tip of the Musashino terrace . The area in the immediate proximity of the castle consisted of samurai and daimyō residences, whose families lived in Edo as part of the sankin-kōtai system; the daimyō made journeys in alternating years to Edo and used the residences for their entourages. The location of each residence

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