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The first few weeks at sea were mercifully uneventful. You and your colleagues made use of the down-time to unpack your things, become more acquainted with the personnel of the other missions, and enjoy what is essentially an all-expenses-paid vacation.

That all changed when you got within a hundred or so miles from San Francisco.

The Great Eastern happened upon what seemed like a quick squall at first. That was nearly five days ago, however. You brace against the wall of your cabin as another wave slams into the side of the ship, sending it rocking in the opposite direction from the previous one. Rain slashes against the hull of the ship, hard enough that you sometimes worry about the glass of your cabin’s portholes holding up. In these heavy seas, full-course meals have been suspended in favor of canned food. You and your cohorts have been advised to remain in your cabins until the storm clears up.

“Is this how it was when you came over to Japan?” Nakajima braces against the wall next to you, her eyes wide as she prepares for another sudden movement of the ship.

You shake your head, nearly being tossed to the floor as a wave hits again. “It was never quite this bad,” you admit. “I just hope the captain knows what he’s doing.”

Admittedly, it turned out that the captain did know what he was doing. Later that same day, the storm seems to die down. A crewman comes to your cabin at around suppertime to let you all know that the restriction on passenger movement has been lifted. You and Nakajima decide to head up to the top deck for some fresh air, and clearly you aren’t alone in your decision. Nearly all of the passengers do the same. The skies are overcast, and you can tell by the rocking of the ship that not all of the storm has passed, but things seem to be much calmer than they were. As you stand atop the paddlebox, leaning on the railing, you sigh. Lighting a cigarillo, your first in several days, you rub your eyes. The stormy weather didn’t do well for your sleep, and you’re beginning to suspect most of your time in San Francisco will be spent in your cabin catching up on missed shut-eye.

You look to the side and see Captain Thompson exiting the ship’s deckhouse, walking toward the bow. “Captain Thompson,” you greet him.

“Ah, General.” He nods at you. “Now that the storm is passed, I assure you things will go more smoothly.”

>”Say, how far from San Francisco are we?”
>”Now that we’re on smooth seas again, could I make good on that offer to see the engine rooms?”
>”I wasn’t aware that such ferocious storms happened on the Pacific Ocean. Was that an unusual occurrence?”
>Write-in.

>>3870747
>”Now that we’re on smooth seas again, could I make good on that offer to see the engine rooms?”

>>3870747
>>”Now that we’re on smooth seas again, could I make good on that offer to see the engine rooms?”

“Now that we’re on smooth seas, do you suppose I could get that tour of the engine rooms?”

The Captain raises an eyebrow, then nods once. “I can arrange it, follow me.” He begins walking and you do as instructed, following him down a flight of stairs into a below-decks area labeled as “crew only.” He turns a corner, speaking again. “My chief engineer has his office in here.” Stopping at a door, he knocks twice before entering. “Mr. Cole?”

“Ah, Captain.” A middle-aged man stands near a desk in the center of the room, sipping a cup of tea. He wears black trousers and a heavy-looking plaid shirt, with a knitted cap covering his head. Raising an eyebrow, his gaze turns to you.

Thompson nods. “This is General Stockton, one of the men on the Japanese Government’s outreach mission.” He looks at you. “He was curious to see the engineering spaces of the vessel.”

Cole takes a step toward you, scratching his beard. “General, eh? A bit young for such a lofty post.” He then extends a hand, shaking yours roughly. “Raymond Cole, chief engineer of the Great Eastern.”

“Daniel Stockton,” you reply.

“So,” he says bluntly. “You want to see the engines? Ever been around heavy machinery before? Work in a factory maybe?”

You shake your head. “Not really. I was a farmer before I was in the army.”

Cole nods slightly. Turning to the captain, he speaks. “I’ll give him the tour. Need anything else?” You note that he seems a bit quick and blunt in his speech, almost as though he has little patience for everyone around him.

Thompson shakes his head, chuckling slightly. “I believe I should head back up to the deck.” He gives a small salute, which Cole returns immediately, then leaves the office.

“A farmer and a general,” Cole speaks to you. “Can’t say we have much in common.” He motions for you to follow him, which you do. The two of you exit his office and walk down a small corridor. “A bit odd, you being interested in steam engines. Mind if I ask why?”

>”I suppose it’s just curiosity for curiosity’s sake.” (personal interest)
>”Well I’ve considered putting some money into industrial pursuits. It’d be good to get some experience being around various machinery.” (civil interest)
>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)
>Write-in.

>>3870889
>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

>>3870889
>>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

>>3870889
>>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

nearly missed this

>>3870889
>>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

>>3870889
Hey ZAP dumb question but if we go with the military interest, it can be filtered down too Civil interest as well right?

>>3871188
Sure. This is more of what Stockton's personal interest is in regards to the steam engines. Also my apologies for taking off and not updating earlier. I'll run some late mini-sessions when I get home from work throughout the week to make up for it.

>>3871286
Ah dope, and its fine.

So then are steamers really the most modern shipbuilding? I don't know shit about boats.

>>3870889
>>”Well I’ve considered putting some money into industrial pursuits. It’d be good to get some experience being around various machinery.” (civil interest)

>>3870889
>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

>>3870889
>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)
But
>”Well I’ve considered putting some money into industrial pursuits. It’d be good to get some experience being around various machinery.” (civil interest)

>>3871333
>So then are steamers really the most modern shipbuilding? I don't know shit about boats.
Yep. Although you would still see almost all ships continue to use sails for awhile yet. There's also the fact that Steam ships had serious limits compared to sail that meant ships such as Clippers (fast, light cargo ships) continued to remain relevant for years. Naval history is a bit of a clusterfuck to read into but basically, steam and sail coexisted for awhile yet (with iron hulled versions of sail ships existing right up to the turn of the century) with ships slowly but surely transitioning over.

For military concerns, the pattern is a bit different: steam was massively useful for a fight since it meant you were independent of the wind; yet it consumed massive amounts of fuel meaning you couldn't run it for the whole time you were at sea; therefore most ships were under steam for battle but would travel by sail to save fuel ignoring ships that were meant for port defence or as floating batteries since they weren't expected to have long range.

Thus there's a series of generations of steam ships as nations went from sail-ship conversions of their existing assets to mixed propulsion as the technology developed and then finally full-steam but we are years away from that final stage. This for example was a ship design that was finished only last year in universe, having started in december 28th 1863 so more accurately about two years prior, and as you can see it still has sails yet it is quite modern for the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bellerophon_(1865)

>>3870889
>>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

>>3870889
>Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

>>3870889
>”Japan is an island nation. It would do well for us to learn as much about modern shipbuilding as possible.” (military interest)

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As it would turn out, working at a factory is not conducive to having a lot of energy once you get home. Sorry for the lack of those late-night sessions I promised. We should have a regular one tomorrow though. Unless someone from my crew calls off and I have to cover for them.

>>3878997
Here's hoping you weather the QM curse man. Binged this quest and liked it so far.

>>3879415
Namefag living up to his title. Nice.

>>3878997
Honestly OP I don't mind, so long as you ain't abandoning this. Fact is QM's have taken longer absences for worse reasons and you are running a more interesting quest than most of them.

Gonna try for a short session tonight starting at 8PM, then we’ll have a normal one tomorrow at the usual time.

>>3880564
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs

Also a dumb question, do Nakajima's family control any noteworthy lands or businesses?

>>3880564
Well I'm here, and what the fuck factory do you work in?

>>3880592
they are kinda nobility and her father was a war hero so I suspect they do

>>3880636
I would hope so, because that'd make an ideal place to start our economic ventures since we can probably talk with them on far more favourable terms than most Japanese people. Plus they might even be interested in outright investing in our work.

>>3880609
It’s a bacon factory. Though the department where I work makes bacon bits for pizza toppings.

>>3880650
Not to mention that Daniel is sleeping with their daughter and the Shigeru outright asked him to court her

>>3880658
I predict a lot of weight gain in your future kek

>>3880658
Oof

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>>3880663
Unfortunately I work with raw product exclusively. Working around nasty raw slice all night makes me not want to even think about bacon when I get home.

Anyway, session goes live in half an hour.

>>3880881
Glad I woke the fuck up for this. I was passed out asleep.

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You frown slightly. “Well, Japan is an island nation. It would be smart for us to learn as much about shipbuilding as possible.”

Cole nods slowly. “Makes sense.” The two of you arrive at a metal door, rusted around the edges. “Well, here’s our first stop.” He opens the door and you both enter onto a catwalk that runs between two massive, steel pistons which are moving at an alarming speed, considering their proximity to you. Cole walks forward without a care in the world, hands in his pockets. “Don’t stick anything out past the railing, you don’t want to see what these things can do to a person.” The pistons move with little sound save for some chuffs of steam when they reach the bottom of their travel. You note that they are in opposed positions, so that when one is all the way up, the other is all the way down. “These are the reciprocating engines that run the paddlewheel. We’ve got two of them.”

“My god, they’re enormous.” You stay close to Cole, not wanting to get clipped by any moving machinery. As you pass right next to the piston, you feel the wind cast off of it when it moves, sending shivers up your spine.

Cole nods once, looking back at you as he rests a hand on the railing. “Have to be. Those paddle wheels are the size of a building. Moving them takes more horsepower than the average cavalry regiment.” He then motions over his shoulder. “Let’s move on to the boiler rooms.”

You almost feel as though you should be taking notes as Cole continues explaining the various machinery during your walk. From what you gather while traversing the boiler rooms, steamships operate under a pretty simple theory: boilers use fire to heat water, turning it into steam that is then sent through high-pressure lines. That steam is forced into the pistons, which makes them move up until the steam can be released. The pistons then turn a crank, which either turns a paddlewheel or a propeller, depending on the application. Cole himself prefers propellers to paddlewheels, which he claims are inefficient for blue-water applications. He also mentions wanting to build a prototype for a ‘triple-expansion’ engine, whatever that means.

As the two of you exit the boiler rooms and head further aft, you enter another tall room lit via skylights. “This is the rear engine room.” He points at another set of pistons, not quite as large as the ones up front, but moving far faster. “Those are the reciprocating engines that power the propeller. We only have one, but I’ve heard of attempts to have multiple propellers situated parallel to each other. Once they get the technology for that sort of setup to work reliably, I doubt there will be many more side-wheelers.” He leads you up to the catwalk so that the two of you can look down at the engines while they operate. Sighing, he rests against the catwalk railing. “Do you have any questions so far?”

>”You seem to have a lot of opinions regarding technology and design. Do you have a background as a designer of engines?”
>”I noticed that the Great Eastern has sails. Does this ship mostly use sail or steam to move?”
>”Is this engine setup the most advanced available, or are there more modern styles out there?”
>”Perhaps I’m reading you wrong, but it seems like you don’t like people very much.”
>Write-in.

>>3880929
>”You seem to have a lot of opinions regarding technology and design. Do you have a background as a designer of engines?”

>”Is this engine setup the most advanced available, or are there more modern styles out there? I after all noticed the Sails and now these giant things?

>>3880933
+1

>>3880929
>”You seem to have a lot of opinions regarding technology and design. Do you have a background as a designer of engines?”

Triple expansion would be a tremendous benefit for either fuel mileage or power.

>”Is this engine setup the most advanced available, or are there more modern styles out there?”

>>3880929
>>”You seem to have a lot of opinions regarding technology and design. Do you have a background as a designer of engines?”
>>”I noticed that the Great Eastern has sails. Does this ship mostly use sail or steam to move?”

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“Is this engine setup the most modern style available?” You raise an eyebrow.

Cole shrugs. “It’s pretty much the world standard for large marine steam engines.” He looks over at you, then continues. “There may be more advanced prototype setups, but they’re likely unique to specific ships. These engines are basically just scaled-up versions of the type used on virtually every ocean-going steamer.” He clears his throat. “Though, the original engines this ship had were a bit underpowered, unreliable too. That was when steam technology was still pretty new.”

“And what of those sails?” You gesture upward. “Do they mostly use those, or the engines?”

“Well, when the Great Eastern was new, they used the sails more often than not,” Cole explains. “But after they refitted her to lay cable, they added more reliable steam engines and expanded the coal bunkers.” He points at the engines themselves. “Those reciprocators are less than three years old. Nearly bankrupted the company to put them in. But it means we don’t really need the sails anymore, so that’s a bonus. More and more ships are doing away with their rigging entirely, especially as the top speed of steam engines increases.”

“I see,” you nod. “You seem to have quite the grasp of engineering and design.” Crossing your arms, you look back at the engines again. “Do you have experience as an engine designer?”

Cole’s expression brightens for just a moment, then sours. There is a solid half-minute of silence, then he sighs. “I almost did,” he finally says. “But things didn’t work out… Seems like it just wasn’t meant to be.”

>”Care to explain?”
>”Well if you’d be interested in pursuing a career as a ship designer, I’m sure the Japanese government would be willing to retain your services.”
>”You seem to be a good chief engineer, to say the least.”
>”Sorry to hear it.” (drop the subject)
>Write-in.

>>3881025
>Well if you keep up this impression and knowledge then I do believe you may end up as one, The Japanese Government is after all always seeking those with services it lacks during its modernization.

I mean, We will need to expand our navy. God damn the Shogun is gonna be so confused when we come back with abunch of different trained personal and like no allies.

>>3881025

>”Well if you’d be interested in pursuing a career as a ship designer, I’m sure the Japanese government would be willing to retain your services.”

>>3881025
>Write-in.
"Now I wouldn't say that, fact is you are standing on a ship filled with various parts of the Japanese government. Hell you are talking to one of the generals of the Japanese military.

If you have the skills and are willing to do the work, chances are you can make a tidy sum. Like I said earlier, the Japanese are a island nation and will almost certainly want a modern navy. Nothing more modern than a good steamship."

>>3881033
To be fair, if we can bring back some true Wunnderwaffe he might forgive us. More seriously though, who do we want to try for in Europe? The Spanish and Italians are irrelevant militarily, the French are French, the British are our expected enemies and that leaves Russia or the Germanic states.

Christ we should've went on the trip to the US.

>>3881044
Honestly, I'm looking forward too italy we brought our gunsmith with us if I remember correctly, And the German states as well are the best bet. The Russian Empire would be... more political an arrangement then a anything else but would change history quite abit.

France usually backs the enemies of the english... So we have that bargingin chil.

>>3881044
I'm betting high on the French, for the time period they are extremely useful

>>3881044
France is a good bet given all the aid they gave the Shogunate OTL.

“You’re on a ship carrying a good chunk of the Japanese government.” You smile. “I’m sure that they would welcome a capable ship designer.” You shrug. “If they’ve had me modernizing the army for the last year, I’m sure they’re wanting someone to modernize the navy as well.”

Cole raises an eyebrow, looking at you with incredulity. “I highly doubt they’d want to hire me. I’ve got no official qualifications.”

You chuckle. “I was a sergeant before I came to Japan last year.”

The man’s expression changes slightly, almost as though he’s waiting for some sort of punchline. Finally, he leans toward you. “Your offer is mighty tempting, General, but I also wonder if anyone could run this ship’s engines as smoothly as I do. Give me some time to think it over.”

With that, you both continue on your tour, which ends shortly thereafter. The two of you exit the engineering spaces and find yourselves up on the deck again, after which Cole bids you farewell and heads back into the engine room.

You lean against the rail for a moment, lighting a cigarillo as you look out at the sea. It amazes you, seeing all of this technology. The world truly seems to be entering a period of rapid change. After a few minutes, your cigarillo is nearly burnt to the nub, so you toss the last of it overboard. It’s early afternoon, just after 2 o’clock, you learn from a glance at your watch, and you’re not completely sure of what to do with the rest of the day.

>Meet with your officers and see what they’re up to.
>Get better acquainted with the statesmen and diplomats you’re to be traveling through Europe with.
>Just enjoy the view from the deck.
>Return to your cabin for a while.
>Write-in.

>>3881077
>>3881082
The French mission was a separate option, as were the Russian and British ones. The General European Outreach Mission will encompass Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Prussia and the other German states, Italy, and Austria.

Also pausing the session here for the night. We will resume tomorrow at around 6PM.

>>3881103
Sorry didn't know. Seems weird that people voted for it then, I would expect Stockton to be best used either back in the States or Britain. Also if we're headed to Europe why are we sailing east across the Pacific? Shouldn't we be heading the other way?

>>3881092

>Meet with your officers and see what they’re up to.

>>3881049
>Honestly, I'm looking forward too italy we brought our gunsmith with us if I remember correctly
True but there are limits to what I think we can expect to get in terms of support from Italy. Given they are coming out of a series of wars that resulted in the country unifying near-completely less than 5 years ago. Plus they are "meant" to be at war later this year so they might not want to divide their attention to much.

>German states as well are the best bet
If nothing else Denmark has decent shipbuilding capacity, we might be able to get some hulls for military ships or something off of them.

>Russian Empire would be... more political an arrangement then a anything else but would change history quite abit.
Yeah, it would certainly be a different world if the Russians and Japanese were close allies but on the other hand the Russians are a mixed bag when it comes to allies: they are a second or first rate power with the navy of a fifth rate even at the best of times; given how long it would take to redeploy their troops to Japan (assuming that the Japanese felt comfortable housing that many foreign troops) and the weakness of their fleet I can't advise we place too much hope in them.

>France usually backs the enemies of the english... So we have that bargingin chil.
The French will be vital if nothing else because they will be able to supply vital war material on a scale other nations will probably not. The French land army is one of the largest in the world at this point and is one of the most well trained, they can provide decent rifles or cannon if nothing else.

>>3881092
>Get better acquainted with the statesmen and diplomats you’re to be travelling through Europe with.

We need some friends in the negotiations to come, men with honey-words and silver tongues to turn enemies to allies and make things balance in our favour.

>>3881103
>The French mission was a separate option, as were the Russian and British ones.
You know that one American General, the one that said "Nuts!" I feel a bit like him right now...

>The General European Outreach Mission will encompass Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Prussia and the other German states, Italy, and Austria.
Well we can at the very least gather some useful support in most of those countries. Sadly Switzerland passed a law in 1860 that stops their citizens from being mercs but if we're lucky we might find a work-around or make their government sufficiently sympathetic to resolve the issue.

>>3881092
>Get better acquainted with the statesmen and diplomats you’re to be traveling through Europe with.

>>3881108
Thanks Zap, was a blast be safe!

>>3881120
All of the missions are aboard the Great Eastern, so they’re dropping the American Mission people off in the US first, then heading across the Atlantic.

>>3881092
>Get better acquainted with the statesmen and diplomats you’re to be traveling through Europe with.

>>3881092
>Get better acquainted with the statesmen and diplomats you’re to be traveling through Europe with.

Unfortunately the session will be another late one tonight. Maybe around 9 or 10 PM my time.

>>3882621
I'M READY

>>3882621
I'm ready too, although I will warn that my posting might have more spelling mistakes tonight as I've scalded a hand and it's effecting my capacity to write somewhat.

Well while we are waiting for OP to return does anyone have any ideas for investment by us, as a General or as a businessman?

>>3883186
since we have beretta I was thinking of manufacturing guns in japan, japan made guns would be awesome if we could get our hands on the machinery

>>3883186
Guns, Guns and AIRO-PLANES.

>>3883205
Manufacturing guns makes sense, although personally I'd place more focus on things like explosives (civilian and military), railroads, medicine (e,g anything from proper painkillers to bandages) or the telegraph network. As these businesses can directly benefit the military but also provide a peacetime profitability to Japan.

We might also want to consider direct purchases of surplus war material while we are here in Europe: buy guns off of Euros; sell them to the Japs at a tidy profit of 5%; spend the mark-up on businesses. Fact is the Euros odd to be happier selling to a proper-christian-even-if-he-is-american than the literal oh-they-think-their-emperor-is-a-god-how-quaint Japanese so we should get a lower price than the japanese to begin with.

>>3883209
Be realistic anon, we'd be making dirigibles at best and I imagine we all know just how shit combat-blimps are. Scouting blimps on the other hand could actually be useful for the ability to basically ignore terrain when scouting and it's fairly rare for the enemy to look up. There's also the fact that few guns are exactly deadly at the ranges we'd be talking about, especially account for accuracy, until you are dealing with proper AA fire.

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You head down to the ship’s main saloon, which is essentially a common meeting and dining area for the first class passengers, to better acquaint yourself with the statesmen and diplomats that will be accompanying you on your mission.

Said diplomats are mostly present when you arrive, many of them have chosen to remain in their traditional dress for the voyage, though few have elected to utilize western-style formalwear for their entire wardrobe.

A Japanese man of about thirty, with thinning hair and a sparse goatee, approaches you smiling. He wears a black suit with a bolo tie, and has a smoldering cigar between his fingers. You note that his jacket bears shoulder-boards with four stars on them, and immediately you recognize his face as one you’ve seen before at various meetings. He was often present during high-level planning of the Choshu campaign, though he rarely spoke to you, and you never had reason to learn his name.

“Ah, General Stockton.” He shakes your hand, speaking fluent English with a light French accent. “It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, I had been meaning to find you during our voyage.” He smiles. “Otori Keisuke, at your service.”

You point to his shoulder boards. “It would seem I’m at your service, actually.”

“Oh, these?” He gestures to his shoulder boards. “I mostly stick to planning and theory. You, sir, are truly quite the commander.” He chuckles, taking several puffs of his cigar. “Besides, I have been reassigned as the Shogun’s liaison for this mission.”

You raise an eyebrow. “So that means you’re acting in his stead?”

Keisuke nods. “I will have the authority to make top-level decisions; forging alliances, signing off on arms deals, and the like.” He points at you. “But I’ve been told that I am to follow your instructions as to which leads to pursue.”

“Interesting,” you say. “So essentially you’re here to make sure what I say gets put into effect?”

He nods. “Among other things.” Looking over at the other statesmen, he continues. “My presence also inspires more confidence among these bureaucratic fools than yours might.”

>”Who are all of these people anyway? Just statesmen and politicians?”
>”I’ve seen you around before. What exactly do you do within the Shogun’s cabinet?”
>”So with you there to make it official, I can essentially arrange anything?”
>Write-in.

>>3883259
>”Who are all of these people anyway? Just statesmen and politicians?”
>”I’ve seen you around before. What exactly do you do within the Shogun’s cabinet?”
>”So with you there to make it official, I can essentially arrange anything?”

I kinda want to ask what sorts of theories he holds, get an idea of what the Japanese want to structure their army around so we can make recommendations / decisions in support of that. Also because it'd be nice to get us both on the same page so we can correct anything he might want that we know / think is improbable.

>>3883259
>>”Who are all of these people anyway? Just statesmen and politicians?”

>>3883259
>”So with you there to make it official, I can essentially arrange anything?”
”Who are all of these people anyway? Just statesmen and politicians?”

Zapp you cuck, I want all the information. You're too fucking good.

>>3883259
>>”I’ve seen you around before. What exactly do you do within the Shogun’s cabinet?”
>>”So with you there to make it official, I can essentially arrange anything?”

If we gift some stuff to the shogun I'm thinking two texts if they aren't in circulation already or the Shogun does not have them.

>Machivellis the Prince
>Sun Tzu's The Art of war
>Von Clausewitz's on War

If not we can take some if not all of these texts and apply them for Academy learning.

haven't caught in forever are still on the shoguns side and can/should we turn Japan into the Prussia of the east?

>>3883693
>Sun Tzu's The Art of war
>Von Clausewitz's on War
You do know they advocate completely opposite approaches to war?

>>3883754
It is wise to familiarise oneself with multiple opposing schools of thought, that one might select the best option from among them for any given situation.

>>3883754
No I didn't but as >>3883754 says the multitude of theories available within the texts are important to provide our officers with the best tactical, strategic and if necessary political options to achieve victory and dominance of the field.

>>388369 we are still on his side but he matsudaira may turn out to be the murderer of the previous shogun so we need to thread lightly

>>3883259
>”Who are all of these people anyway? Just statesmen and politicians?”

>>3883693
Sun Tzu, being a Chinese classic, would already be very well known in Japan. The first English translation of Clausewitz was not published until 1873 -- I suspect On War only became popular outside Germany after the Franco-Prussian War. Being a Civil War veteran, Stockton would be under the sway of Jomini.

>>3886258
Introducing Clausewitz to Japan would then be an excellent innovation. He provides a philosophical foundation upon which Japan could build a new model army in the times when military technology is undergoing a rapid change and military thinking is lagging behind. Building its army almost from scratch, Japan can adapt to the new possibilities quicker than the established Western forces.

>>3886258
Well-known is an understatement. It was basically a "must read" for anyone even trying to pretend to be a commander, but rather than academia requirement, having a very strong socio-cultural push.

>>3886299
... anon, Clausewitz is the reason WHY the military thinking was lagging behind. The reason why WW1 was so fucked-up? That's just following Clausewitz to the T. The reason why it un-fucked itself eventually? Realisation than Clausewitz is badly outdated and should be ignored.
Do I really need to remind it's a military book written in early 19th century reflecting on Napoleonic Wars that got fetishised in the 1880s, despite being awfully outdates by then? The only thing that didn't age was the introduction of fog of war to European tactics. That's about it.
You get bigger value from reading things like The Art of War (but the version by Machiavelli) or just Sun Tzu, than from reading Clausewitz. For me the only reason why it stayed in military discourse in all sort of officer training courses is "things you shouldn't be doing". A god-damn NCO handbook has more value than On War by the moment things like breech-loaded artillery and repeating firearms showed up.

And the less is said about Jomini, the better, because the reason why Clausewitz got so fetishesed is how god-damn awful Jominian military thinking is.

>>3894007
what would you advise as a alternative to it then?

>>3894041
For military book?
Absolutely nothing, because the only choice that is are either rebuttals of Jomini (so Clausewitz), Clausewitz proponents (so Clausewitz on steroids) and ancient stuff (so already covered for the most part by Sun Tzu).
For a celebritary reading as such?
Have you considered just about anything about administration and/or economy? What about engineering, especially what Japanese beloved themselves eventually: infrastructural engineering? Maybe a modern anatomy textbook, updating the Rangaku one? The sky is the limit here.