This text is thought to be the work of Manjiro Nakahama (1827-1898), a sailor from Tosa who in 1841 was shipwrecked in a storm while out fishing, rescued by the American whaling ship John Howland (captained by W. Whitfield) and taken to America, where he remained for eleven years or so before returning to Japan.
　　The book gives a detailed account of the shipwreck and rescue from Torishima Island by the American ship. The crew were taken to Honolulu on Oahu Island in the Kingdom of Hawaii (not yet an American possession); descriptions are given of contemporary life in Hawaii and America and of the crew's eventual return via the Ryukyus, and hand-painted illustrations of American steamships, tubers grown on Oahu etc. are included.
　　Manjiro learned the art of navigation in America, subsequently gaining wide experience of oceanic voyages and whaling. After his return to Japan, he played a major part in negotiations with foreign countries, and in 1860 accompanied the Kanrin-maru mission to America, acting as an interpreter.