author
Aimé Humbert
1819–1900
A Swiss politician, educator, and traveler, he is best remembered for helping open relations between Switzerland and Japan in the 1860s. His vivid writing on Japan introduced many European readers to the country at a moment of major change.
1 Audiobook
Japan De Aarde en haar Volken, 1867
by Aimé Humbert
About the author
Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1819, he built an unusually varied career as a teacher, politician, and public figure in Switzerland. He served in Swiss public life at both the cantonal and federal levels, and was known for his work during a period when modern Switzerland was taking shape.
He became especially notable for leading the first Swiss diplomatic mission to Japan. In 1864, he helped conclude a treaty of friendship and trade between Switzerland and Japan, giving him a lasting place in the history of relations between the two countries.
He also wrote about what he saw abroad, and his illustrated work on Japan became one of the best-known European accounts of the country in the late Tokugawa era. He died in Neuchâtel in 1900, remembered as a bridge between Swiss politics, travel writing, and international exchange.