An entertaining and adventurous story of discovery, this historical rendering presents the Japanese experience of American culture based on the records and travelogues of Japanese envoys sent to the United States in 1860. Scores of samurai left copious records of the event, detailing the travelers' accounts of shopping at Tiffany's and some disturbing encounters with xenophobia. Illuminated are the startling beginnings of the attitudes and judgments that have helped form American and Japanese perceptions of each other ever since. This retrospective aims at a more precise understanding of the similarities and differences between Japanese and Westerners, providing a revealing critique of the roots of intolerance, and offering continued efforts at international and intercultural understanding.