page_title: Kalākaua's 1881 world tour
section_title: Japan: March 4–18
hierarchical_section_title: Kalākaua's 1881 world tour / Asia: March 4 – June 7 / Japan: March 4–18
caption_attribution_description: English: Front row (l-t-r): Lt. Gen Imperial Prince Higashifushimi Yoshiaki; King Kalākaua of Hawaiʻi; and Sano Tsunetami, Japanese Minister of Finance. Back row (l-t-r): Col. Charles Hastings Judd, Kalākaua's aide; Tokunō Ryōsuke, Japanese Finance Ministry Printing Bureau Director; and William Nevins Armstrong, Hawaiian immigration commissioner and Kalākaua's aide. 日本語: 前列左から、帝国陸軍中将 東伏見宮嘉彰親王、ハワイ王国 カラーカウア国王、大蔵卿 佐野常民。 後列左から、国王侍従兼侍従武官 チャールズ・ジャッド合衆国陸軍大佐、大蔵省印刷局長 得能良介、王国司法長官兼移民局長官ウィリアム・アームストロング。
context_page_description: The 1881 world tour of King Kalākaua of the Hawaiian Kingdom was his attempt to save the Hawaiian culture and population from extinction by importing a labor force from Asia-Pacific nations. His efforts brought the small island nation to the attention of world leaders, but sparked rumors that the kingdom was for sale. Critics in Hawaii believed the labor negotiations were just an excuse to see the world. The 281-day trip gave Kalākaua the distinction of being the first monarch to circumnavigate the globe; his 1874 travels had made him the first reigning monarch to visit America and the first honoree of a state dinner at the White House.
  Kalākaua met with heads of state in Asia, the Mideast and Europe, to encourage an influx of sugar plantation labor in family groups, as well as unmarried women as potential brides for Hawaii's existing contract laborers. While in Asia, he tried to forestall American ambitions by offering a plan to Emperor Meiji for putting Hawaii under the protection of the Empire of Japan with an arranged marriage between his niece Kaʻiulani and a Japanese prince.
context_section_description: The party sailed on the Oceanic out of San Francisco on February 8. Reaching the Empire of Japan on March 4, they were surprised by elaborate welcoming ceremonies that included the playing of the anthem Kalākaua had written, "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī". They had not given advance notice to the Japanese government of their pending visit, but the government had been alerted by a telegraph from the Imperial General Consul in San Francisco. Believing a formal reception was required by their 1871 treaty with the Hawaiian Kingdom, they welcomed the King as a friendly head of state. In deference, Kalākaua acquiesced to his being treated as if he were on an official state visit.
  The King and his small group spent just under three weeks on their tour of Japan. They were formally welcomed at the Tokyo Imperial Palace and taken to Shintomiza, the Imperial Theatre, to be entertained by a kabuki drama. The following day Emperor Meiji held a state dinner for his visitors. The Emperor presented the King with two suits of Japanese armor, and bestowed upon him the Order of the Chrysanthemum with Badge, and the Star of the Order. The King reciprocated with a royal painting of Queen Kapiolani and himself, and presented the Emperor with the Grand Cross of Kamehameha. In the same ceremony, Judd and Armstrong were given the Order of the Rising Sun. By way of understanding local education and industries, the King toured the College of the Imperial Guard, Imperial Engineering College, and the Oji Paper Company. Two of Japan's generals gave him a guided tour through the empire's arsenal.
  Concern over a possible United States seizure of the Hawaiian Islands motivated Kalākaua to hold a secret meeting with the Emperor to bring Hawaii under the protective aegis of the Japanese empire. He proposed to unite the two nations with an arranged marriage between his 5-year-old niece Princess Kaʻiulani and 13-year-old Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito. Historian Ralph Kuykendall said the proposal was rejected both by Yorihito, upon advice of his father, and by the government of Japan. The Hawaiian king also recommended that Emperor Meiji create a "Union and Federation of the Asiatic nations and sovereigns" with Japan as its head, although the Emperor politely declined this idea at a later date.
  Japanese newspapers cautioned about looking for an emigrating labor force in Japan, stating that their own country had large areas of available agricultural land that went untouched. A ball was planned in the king's honor by the Masonic Fraternity of Yokohama, which he bowed out of when he learned of the assassination of Alexander II of Russia. The Kalākaua group arrived in Kobe on March 18 for a sightseeing tour and lunch with the mayor. On March 22, they embarked on the steamship Tokio Maru bound for Shanghai.
  Adieu Japan – Beautiful Japan. I felt as if I would have a continual longing to see this interesting country with its kind and hospitable inhabitants for a long long time. Aloha Nui
  — Kalākaua's diary entry
caption: Col. Charles Hastings Judd, Jugai Tokuno Riyosaki, and William N. Armstrong, Prince Yoshiaki, King Kalakaua, and Yoshie Sano Tsunetani in Japan (1881)
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