Was Andrew Jackson ever involved with Japan?

Question

I was discussing the movie, "The Last Samurai" with a co-worker the other day. He wanted to know what I thought about it, and I told him that it was a good piece of fiction, but that I wouldn't recommend it due to the fact that it inaccurately injects America into a historical event that it had nothing to do with. While I'm telling him what I think, another one of my co-workers is standing behind me and decides to challenge me. He goes on to say that America was involved and did help train the Japanese military and that somehow Andrew Jackson was involved. He goes on to patronize me, telling me that Jackson was one of our presidents. This urked me and I just ignored him. I've been doing some research and I can't seem to find any mention of Jackson ever being involved in Japan's history.

Would someone be so kind as to post a link to something that talks about America's role in the modernization of their military? Everything I've read so far only credits the French, United Kingdom, and Prussia. Nothing makes many mention of America.

Answer 1

Sorry I don't know who is Andrew Jackson.
I will tell you what is talked in Japan (I am Japanese living in Tokyo)

It is said the scenario(film script) was written for Takeshi Kaneshiro first.
He is Japanese, in his nationality, actor. But born in Taiwan and half Taiwanese/Japanese.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi_Kaneshiro

You can watch him on the China movie "LOVERS".

But before filming, Tom Cruise or his agent bought this scenario, and it is said Tom changed and added some parts to it.
So, Mr. Kaneshiro declined to act in the movie.

In the Japan history, there is no American for military affairs in the Meiji-period, the era of "The Last Samurai".
The government hired from Europe basically.
If there were American, they would been "unknow" employees.
Because Japan was "paid better" at that era.

eg. (for military affairs only)
Klemens, Wilhelm Jakob, Meckel (Germany: maybe Prussia at that time)
Jules Brunet(France)
Léonce Verny (France).
Archibald Douglas (UK)

The model of "The Last Samurai" is said Jules Brunet, French.
and the age of the story in Japan history is around 1870's.

Actually the movie was little weired. In that era, ppl(even politicians) couldn't meet the Emperor in that close distance.
If Captain Algren, Tom Cruise, slashed down to the Emperor, Japan would be into chaos easily. haha...


See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-yatoi_gaikokujin

Answer 2

You and your co-worker are both wrong. Andrew Jackson was before the US had formalized relations with Japan. However after the Civil War former US soldiers were hired to act as trainers for armies around the world. This was at the same time that Japan was modernizing after its period of forced isolation during the Shogunate. Japan was hiring military experts from Europe and America to train its army and Navy to modern western standards. So though the actual story is fiction there is an historical precedence for it.

Answer 3

The political and economic relationship between the US and Japan began in 1854 with the Treaty of Yokohama. Millard Fillmore was the President of the US. Andrew Jackson was dead.

Answer 4

Not directly. One of the problems between the US and the Shogate was that whalers who wrecked on the islands were mistreated. This occurred during his administration, but formal contact did not occur until 1852 under Perry.

Before Perry the contacts were:

From 1797 to 1809, several American ships traded in Nagasaki under the Dutch flag, upon the request of the Dutch who were not able to send their own ships because of their conflict against Britain during the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1837, an American businessman in Canton, named Charles W. King saw an opportunity to open trade by trying to return to Japan three Japanese sailors (among them, Otokichi) who had been shipwrecked a few years before on the coast of Oregon. He went to Uraga Channel with Morrison, an unarmed American merchant ship. The ship was attacked several times, and finally sailed back without completing its mission.

In 1846, Commander James Biddle, sent by the United States Government to open trade, anchored in Tokyo Bay with two ships, including one warship armed with 72 cannons, but his requests for a trade agreement remained unsuccessful.

In 1848, Captain James Glynn sailed to Nagasaki, leading at last to the first successful negotiation by an American with "Closed Country" Japan. James Glynn recommended to the United States Congress that negotiations to open Japan should be backed up by a demonstration of force, thus paving the way to Perry's expedition

Answer 5

it extremely is a shame he did no longer practice what he preached... That replaced into in elementary terms an incendiary speech seeking to sway public opinion to assist his determination. the fact of the subject is that Andrew Jackson had a private vendetta against all and sundry with funds as he felt that his toddlers were stolen from him as a results of fact his family members replaced into undesirable. by utilising feeding that sufferer mentality he replaced right into a bitter and spiteful guy who ordered the main important human rights atrocities this united states has ever committed as nicely as pursued the main important overstepping of Federal Authority of any president to this factor.

Answer 6

Your cow-orker is wrong. Interaction with Japan occurs later. The Last Samurai is set in the post civil war era.