Carl von Eisendecher

Carl von Eisendecher began his career at sea. As a young naval cadet he accompanied the Prussian expedition to East Asia that concluded the 1861 treaty with Japan. After further naval service, he worked at the German legation in Washington and became naval attaché there before moving into senior diplomacy. ¹

As Germany’s representative in Tokyo from 1875, Eisendecher supported Japanese efforts to revise the unequal treaties, oversaw construction of a new legation, and helped organize Prince Heinrich of Prussia’s visit. He returned to Washington as minister in 1883 and remained until 1884, then spent the rest of his diplomatic career as Prussian envoy in Karlsruhe. His photographs, watercolors, and letters from Japan later became a substantial historical collection at the University of Bonn. ¹