渋沢栄一書翰 ジェームス・ディー・ローマン宛 （1914.12.20） （ジェームス・ディー・ローマン氏所蔵）
(COPY)
Baron E. Shibusawa
Tokio, Japan.
Dec. 20, 1914.
J. D. Lowman, Esq.,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Sir :
I am very happy to inform you that we, the late Honorary Commercial Commissioners to the United States, held the fifth annual reunion at the Nihonbashi Club, Tokio, on the nineteenth of this month, the object of the gathering being, as you very likely know well, to commemorate the kind reception of your countrymen so generously given to us during our long memorable trip throughout the States in 1909. It was a most enjoyable occasion, and we all talked over the delightful memories relating to our American tour. We all recalled with gratitude courtesies of yourself and others, during our trip, and what we felt most grateful for was the great personal sacrifice with which some of you accompanied us in the same train during our whole journey for three months. We all united in expressing our hearty gratitude for the warm reception accorded to us wherever we went. All this is a proof of the fact that the courtesy and hospitality of you and your countrymen have left such a deep impression upon our hearts that we can never forget them.
After we had indulged ourselves in recalling all these happy memories, it was my painful duty to report to my colleagues present the news of a very sad event which had recently occurred in America. That was the death of Mr. F. W. Dohrmann of San Francisco, who, in 1908, had visited this country as the chairman of the representatives of the Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific Coast, invited to come over by the Tokio and four other Chambers of Commerce of Japan. When I broke the sad news to my friends I could hardly restrain myself from tears, and all the rest were struck with a deep sense of bereavement.
Since his visit to Japan, Mr. Dohrmann had been a staunch advocate for the cause of betterment of the American-Japanese relation, and we had always relied upon his efforts in promoting a better understanding between the two nations, you can well imagine our sorrow and disappointment on hearing of his death.
Since we returned from your country, the late Commissioners have lost three members, namely ; Mr. Jihei Nishimura, Mr. Rinnosuke Hara, and Dr. Riuta Hara ; and in the early summer of this year, Mr. Kokichi Midzuno, the late Consul-General in New York, who had accompanied us from the beginning of our trip to the end, died in Peking. Our misfortune did not end there, for the news of the death of Mr. Dohrmann, one of the truest friends of Japan, has quite overwhelmed us with sorrow.
Five years have already passed away since our return to Japan, and during all this time we have been making constant efforts to promote a more friendly feeling and better understanding between your country and ours ; but, unfortunately no tangible results seem as yet to have been gained.
Indeed, we greatly regr et toseet hat the anti-Japanese bill in some form or other is, year after year, brought up in the legislature of a certain state on the Pacific Coast. It is, however, our strong belief that at no remote future, we shall see the happy day when each of the two nations shall become a genuine friend to the other ; and to the attainment of this happy end, we are all determined to devote our best energies.
With sincere wishes for the health and prosperity of yourself and your family, I beg to remain,
Yours ever sincerely,
(Signed) E. Shibusawa
Representing the Late Honrary Commercial
Commissioners to the United States.
（『渋沢栄一伝記資料』第32巻p.475-477掲載）
