No. 190.
Mr. Bingham to Mr. Fish.
Tokei, Japan, February 9, 1877. (Received March 9.)
Sir: On the 1st instant, upon the invitation of His Majesty the Emperor, I proceeded with my colleagues to Kiôto to be present at the opening of the recently constructed railway between that ancient capital of Japan and Kobe, a distance of about fifty-five miles. On the 5th instant His Majesty, attended by the officials of his court, visited the railway and passed over it, stopping at the stations in Kobe, Osaca, and Kiôto, and in the presence of the governors of each city, of the officials of the imperial court, of the foreign representatives accredited to Japan, and of immense numbers of the people of Japan, declared the railway open for travel hereafter and for the transportation of merchandise. On this occasion the foreign representatives, through Sir Harry S. Parkes, presented a congratulatory address to the Emperor, a copy of which, with the Emperor’s reply, I shall forward as soon as I shall have received the same.
It was very apparent that the people of Japan retain much of the old-time reverence for His Majesty the Tenno, as their rightful sovereign.
I have only to add that I was absent on this duty but eight days, during which time I was within telegraphic communication with the legation, which was open from day to day, Mr. Stevens remaining in Tokei.
I have, &c.,