Editor’s Note

Japan's relationship with the United States has experienced abrupt and astonishing shifts during the history of interaction between these two nations.Most recently, they have been close allies, notwithstanding time periods of disagreement and tension, since the end of World War ii.However, an intense rivalry emerged between them starting in 1899 when Secretary of State John Hay issued his first Open Door Note, challenging Tokyo's ambitions to control China, which would culminate in war in December 1941.But before this clash, beginning in 1868, Japan's Meiji government pursued amicable relations with the United States to learn from it methods for modernization.This theme issue titled "The Iwakura Mission: Networks, Knowledge, and National Identity" presents three articles describing aspects of an early key event in this period of friendship and collaboration.