As interested as I am in Japanese culture and history, I had some trouble with this book. First, Hoyt does not use the traditional Japanese rendering of names, that is family name first, then given name. That upset me. Soon following that, this book was read under a cloud of suspicionfrom page 8 on. I quote from said page, where Hoyt describes the impact of Commodore Perry's visit in 1853, when among Japanese barons was "circulated the letter from American President James Fillmore...", prompting the question "Who the hell is James Fillmore"? When Perry sailed from Norfolk in 1852 the president was Millard Fillmore.Perhaps I'm picking at nits, but when an American writer can't get the name of a US president correct, that tends to cast a shadow of doubt over everything else he writes. That is a shame, for the book would have been an interesting take on the events described, had I been able to trust Mr Hoyt in the following 415 pages.