Complete Enumeration of Scenic Places in Foreign Nations: City of Washington in America

Washington, D.C., became famous in Japan after President James Buchanan held a reception in May 1860 for the first Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States. The inscription reads in part:

"The metropolis called Washington is…said to be bounded by the borders of the states of Virginia and Maryland and the Potomac River...Although there are many kinds of merchandise for sale in the shops, bookshops and tobacco shops are numerous…Its prosperity is first among the nations of the world."

The artist, who was unable to read English, relied on a newspaper illustration of Agra, India, to render the buildings and figures at the left and right.