I am finally feeling better after a long illness that took a cocktail of medication to fix. My wife is primarily responsible for my return to health. Nevertheless, I am in Illinois about to gather more source material for tomorrow. I am anxious and excited, to say the least. It is a bit silly for someone my age to be excited about sitting in a room with old documents for hours on end, but I can do nothing to change my passions.
Back in February, a new series came out on Hulu called "Shogun" based on James Clavell's novel. It takes place in the Sengoku period of Japan when competing warlords fought each other for total control of Japan to become "Shogun" or military dictator. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate after his victory at Sekigahara in 1600. After the death of Ieyasu, Japan was peaceful for roughly 250 years until Western powers intervened in Japan and established trade with this isolationist nation—Japan, which led to more civil war. Consequently, the emperor assumed total control of Japan in these civil wars. Emperor Meiji was one of the first to modernize the country and develop institutions similar to the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Meiji sent envoys to the United States during Ulysses Grant's Presidency.
Grant treated these envoys well, and Emperor Meiji, reading about Grant's military exploits, became quite fond of him. During Grant's world tour, Emperor Meiji met with Grant and asked him to be his "teacher." Grant and Meiji had extensive conversations about politics, trade, and the military during his time there. Some Japanese people named Grant "Shogun" for his success during the American Civil War. Japanese authors wrote extensively about Grant's career, which still survives. At the passing of Ulysses Grant's death, his memoirs were translated into Japanese and then put in Japanese military academies for study. My biggest recommendation for anyone interested in Grant is to read Ulysses S. Grant and Meiji Japan, 1869-1885 by Ian Patrick Austin. He provides insight into Grant's influence on a world scale. Grant remained one of the most popular figures of the 19th century.
