The Kamakura Murders of 1864 (Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird)

Williams, Harold S. & Naito Hiroshi

Published by Japan, 1971

About this Item

Printed by the Rokko Printing Co., Ltd., small 8vo (6 1/8 x 8 1/2 in - 15.5 x 21.5 cm), white covers with red lettering on front board and spine, no dust jacket, 10 black and white halftone illustrations, 116 pages. Harold S. Williams resided in Japan for 60 years during the period from 1919 until his death in 1989. He was a student of the role of foreigners in Japanese life with a particular interest in the foreign settlements established after the opening of Japan. This book is a chronology of the events surrounding the murder of two young British officers (Major Baldwin, age 34 and Lieutenant Bird, age 23) while they were on a riding excursion to the Kamakura Daibutsu on November 21, 1864. These murders were one of the key events rocking the foreign communities in Japan in the early tumultuous years following the opening of Japan. Williams draws upon a wealth of published information in presenting the events surrounding the murders and subsequent capture and execution of the assassins. The chapter contents are: 1) Forward, 2) At Kamakura, November, 1864, 3) The Foreign Garrison of Troops at Yokohama, 4) The Kamakura Daibutsu, 5) Post-Mortem Examination, Inquest and Investigations, 6) The Funeral, 7) The Examination of Witnesses and the Police Investigations, 8) The Flight of the Murders, 9) Kamachi Gempachi and Inaba Ushijiro, 10) The Arrest of Shimizu Seiji, 11) The Execution of Shimizu Seiji and 12) The Execution of Mamiya Hajime. The 10 black and white illustrations are: 1) Major Baldwin (from a photograph); 2) Scene of the Murder of Baldwin and Bird at Kamakura (from a photograph), 3) Communication by Sir Rutherford Alcock to the Shogun dated November 22, 1864 regarding the murders, 4) the graves of Baldwin and Bird in Yokohama (from a photograph), 5) Execution of Kamachi Gempaichi and Inaba Ushijiro (from a sketch by Charles Wirgman), 6) Japanese Procession of Shimizu Seiji (from a sketch by Charles Wirgman), 7) Execution of Shimizu Seiji (from a sketch by Charles Wirgman), 8) Sketch Purporting to Show the Head of Shimizu Seiji, 9) Head of Mamiya Hajime (from a photograph), 10) Memorial stones of Mamiya Hajime and Shimizu Seiji at Ganjoji Temple Yokohama (from a photograph). ~ Condition. The book is in Very Good+ condition with no faults. There is a gift inscription on a front free page signed by Harold S. Williams. Seller Inventory # 1971070301

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Kamakura Murders of 1864 (Major Baldwin ...

Publisher: Japan

Publication Date: 1971

Condition: Very Good