The West's Encounter with Japanese Civilization 1800-1940 (Japan Library, Vols. 1-14)

This indispensable collection of material picks up the story of Western contact with Japan (after some 200 years of isolation) at the beginning of the 19th century.
Volumes 1-8: From Japan's 'Closed Country' Period to Early Industrialization
Volumes 9-14: From Meiji Modernization to Regional Superpower