A fascinating primer on 19th century Japan as seen through the eyes of a British solider. Information in the book is not a definite source of wisdom on the Japan of yesteryear, but rather should be seen as a diary of a Westerner in a strange land trying to make sense of the local customs, with all the biases that this entails. The book reveals as much about old Japan as it does about the mentality of Westerners then and that makes this a worthy albeit a bit too fast of a read.