Townsend Harris

In popular culture

Harris was portrayed by John Wayne in the 1958 movie The Barbarian and the Geisha directed by John Huston. Harris is seen in the 47th NHK Taiga Drama Atsuhime. After another four months he successfully negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce or the "Harris Treaty of 1858" securing trade between the US and Japan and paving the way for greater Western influence in Japan's economy and politics.

He negotiated the "Harris Treaty" between the US and Japan and is credited as the diplomat who first opened the Empire of Japan to foreign trade and culture in the Edo period. Townsend Harris (October 3 1804 – February 25 1878) was a successful New York City merchant and minor politician and the first United States Consul General to Japan.