19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 1
Hakodate in 1897 / Public domainBy Robert NeffIn the spring of 1860, Hakodate ― one of Japan's far northern ports ― was bustling with change. It the past it was nothing more than “a poor insignificant fishing village,” but in 1855 (after the Perry expedition) it was designated as a port in which whalers could put in for provisions (potatoes ― which were grown in great abundance ― as well as onions, tomatoes, salmon, chickens and eggs; venison, bear and later beef were also provided) and warships could find “safe and good anchorage.”The port had a population of about 24,000 people including a handful of foreigners ― nearly all were associated with the three consulates. The American commercial representative was Elisha Rice, an ex-whaler standing about six-foot-six, who lived in a former temple and was kept fairly busy; most of the whaling ships that visited the port were American and they had a tendency to play rough. The British representative (who also represented French interests), C. Pemberton Hodgson, also lived in a former temple but, unlike the lonely Am
