In the spring of 1865, with Japan in the grip of internal conflict, eighteen samurai and an interpreter risked their lives to embark secretly on a voyage to the unknown lands of the barbarian West. Their destination was Britain - an island at the hub of a vast empire.

These were the students from the province of Satsuma in southern Japan, some of them still in the teens, all carrying orders from their domain to travel abroad.

The students' experience of life in the West not only transformed their perception of the outside world, but through their diverse activities in later life, had a profound impact on commerce, education and culture in Meiji Japan.

First published in 1974, Inuzuka Takaaki's original study is still the classic work on the Satsuma students' revealing tale of discovery. In this translation and adaptation by Andrew Cobbing, further details that have since emerged have been incorporated into the text or added as supplementary references to give a fresh portrayal, the first in English, of this singular episode in the opening of Japan.