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I have been reading about Townsend Harris, the first Consul General sent by the U.S. to Japan in 1856. After arriving at the designated consulate town of Shimoda, Harris was allowed 'temporary' use of a temple across the bay at Kakisaki as a residence. The temple had a pond with carp, of course. In reports describing the residence, the carp were not ordinary carp. They were described as 'golden carp'. I suspect these were brownish or yellowish carp, and not what we would consider 'golden' today. Nonetheless, it was considered notable at the time that these were not ordinary carp. They were carp of a different color and presumably more auspicious for that reason.
I find it interesting that within days of arriving in Japan, Harris' personal secretary was noting the presence of these 'golden carp'. Not a typical sort of matter to record, but, then, everything about Japan was novel to those american eyes.
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