Tales of Foreign Settlements Book

Here are twenty-five tales about the Foreign Settlements or Concessions in Japan following the opening of the country to foreign trade in 1859, and an additional ten strange stories that revolve around those times. The tales are historically accurate, sociologically significant and, most important of all, eminently readable. H.S. Williams has the gift of bringing to life those fabulous Settlement days, giving the reading a "you-were-there" feeling. His stories range from light-hearted fantasy to deeply moving tales of heroic tragedy. They display the tenderest sympathy and the most righteous wrath, tempered at times with a keen sense of human values - and a mature sense of humor. These Tales of the Foreign Settlements in Japan are the product of years of painstaking and scholarly research by a writer who is a business man and a recognized authority on the history of the Foreign Concessions on Japan, a man who has resided here for over thirty-five years. Interesting Chapter Headings: "Excitement in the Settlements," "The Smiths of Yokohama," "A Taxation Mystery," "The Captain's Girl Friend," "I Met a Samurai in Ueno Park," etc. Interesting Events: shipwrecks, sunken treasure, hara-kiri, hard drinking, fast living, birth control, mysteries, empty coffins, law suits, etc. Interesting Vocabulary (carefully explained): hong, shroff, banto, compradore, hatoba, godown, tiffin, taipan, etc. Interesting Places (besides the major cities): Blood Town, Dirty Village, Creekside, The Swamp, The Bluff, The Bund, Deshima, etc. Interesting People: traders, beachcombers, samurai, outcasts, gentlemen, missionaries, rogues, body snatchers, diplomats, etc.Read More