When in 1858 the first treaties were concluded by the shōgun's government with five foreign powers, the Japanese plenipotentiaries, being entirely ignorant of foreign affairs, intrusted the drafting of the articles to the American minister, and merely indorsed the provisions proposed by him. A clause was added, however, providing for revision after the lapse of fourteen years, and when it was found that the treaties contained much which was injurious to Japan's dignity and embarrassing to her independence, a strong desire to effect revision began to be generally felt. Moreover, as a result of the firing upon foreign ships by the forts at Shimonoseki, England and France, in addition to exacting an indemnity out of all proportion to the injury suffered by the ships, took advantage of Japan's internal dissensions to impose upon her greatly lowered tariff rates. At subsequent dates treaties were concluded, necessarily on the same lines, with Portugal, Prussia, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Austria-Hungary, and Hawaii, and ministers plenipotentiary were accredited to most of these countries. The knowledge thus gradually acquired of Western states and of the international usages prevailing among them, served to increase Japan's impatience against the unequal conventional conditions to which she was herself compelled to submit. The government, not less swayed by this sentiment, did everything in its power to remove obstacles which foreigners alleged to be fatal to equal international treatment of Japan. The penal laws were radically altered, and codes consistent with the principles of Western jurisprudence were promulgated. Meanwhile, the term of fourteen years fixed by the treaties had elapsed, and the time for revision having arrived it was resolved to dispatch an embassy to Europe and America for the purpose of making known Japan's real condition and acquiring knowledge of foreign affairs. In October, 1871, Iwakura Tomomi, minister of the right, was sent upon this mission, together with a number of other prominent officials. In the United States of America he met with a cordial reception, the president promising to consider favorably the question of revision, and Congress showing a disposition to return America's share of the indemnity unjustly exacted from Japan in connection with the Shimonoseki affair. (The indemnity was actually returned twelve years later.) In European countries, also, the ambassador was courteously received, but failed to obtain any serious attention for the subject of treaty revision. The embassy returned to Japan in 1873. During the next years domestic affairs engrossed the attention of the government to the virtual exclusion of everything else, and it was not until after the termination of the Satsuma rebellion in 1877 that the government found itself in a position to approach foreign powers with the object of recovering tariff autonomy and reserving the coastwise trade. The effort