302 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
and officers of the Vega, and onr minister/Herr van Stoetwegen, 
several of the ministers and highest officials of Japan. Some 
of them spoke one or other of the European languages, others 
only Japanese, in which case officials of lower rank acted as 
interpreters, these however taking no part in the entertainment 
along with the other guests. It was arranged after the European 
KAWAMURA SUMIYOSHI. 
Japanese Minister of Marine. 
pattern, with abundance of dishes and wines. The palace 
consisted of a one-storied wooden house in the Japanese style 
of construction. The rooms, to which we were admitted, were 
provided with European furniture, much the same as we would 
expect to find in the summer residence of a well-to-do family 
in Sweden. It was remarkable that the Japanese did not take 
