ABSTRACT
‘Will no one raise a glass with me to toast our safe return? This journey has, after all, been nothing short of a grand adventure in space, spanning 3,000 years and 10,000 leagues there and back.’ 1 As he stepped off a landing boat in Shinagawa shortly before noon on 30 January 1863, Ichikawa Wataru was evidently pleased to be home. At the end of the long voyage, especially in the early years, travellers were filled with pride after accomplishing such a momentous journey. They also expressed a simple sense of joy at having lived through their adventures to see their native land once more. ‘This morning we caught sight of Mount Fuji’, wrote Nire Kagenori at the end of his voyage in 1867. ‘The summit was covered in snow, and it was indescribably beautiful.’ 2
