Hatsutaro, a peasant from Awa, joined the crew of the Eiju-maru owned by Nakamuraya Ihei of Hyogo in August 1841. The ship had a crew of thirteen, captained by Zensuke Inoue of Susami in Kishu. On a voyage from Hyogo to southern Oshu, the ship drifted in a storm and the crew were rescued by a Spanish vessel. The crew were later separated, but Hatsutaro, Zensuke and others landed at San Lucas in Mexico in 1842. Later transferred to San Jose and Mazatlan, they were eventually returned to Nagasaki by way of Macao and Zhapu (Zhejiang province, China).
　　The incident was recorded for posterity by Confucian minister Bunzo Maekawa in A-Boku shinwa, after Hatsutaro was handed over to the Awa clan and interviewed by the clan lord.
　　This makimono is thought to have been painted based on Hatsutaro's reports; the scroll is headed "North America, depicted by Naoyuki Ide on the 27th day of the 10th month of the 15th year of Tempo." The scroll shows scenes, people, clothing, food, houses, flora and fauna etc. of Mexico and other regions described by Hatsutaro.