The Watchmaker and the Samurai, or: Visions and Technologies at the Origin of Swiss-Japanese Relations

After Japan had concluded amity and trade agreements with the USA, the Netherlands, Russia, England and France in 1858, a Swiss government delegation headed by Aimé Humbert-Droz travelled to Japan under Dutch protection. After long negotiations, a treaty of amity and commerce was signed on 6 February 1864 at the Dutch embassy in Tokyo. The mission took place during a crucial period when Japan was undergoing the Meiji Restoration, a time of rapid modernization and transformation, after centuries of isolation from the rest of the world during the Edo period.

Dr. Jonas Rüegg is a scholar in Asian and Global History at the University of Zurich and belongs to a new generation of historians. He has a PhD and a M.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. in Japanese Studies and General History from the University of Zurich. In 2013, he served as Academic Trainee at the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan.
On March 2024, the journal “NZZ Geschichte” published his article: Uhren und Kanonen für ein Reich im Umbruch.

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