This article examines the handling of a contract between the Shogunate of Japan and private agents in the United States for the construction of three ships of war in 1862. Robert H. Pruyn, the U.S. minister, received the original order and down payment from the Japanese government and assigned the contract to two private citizens in Albany, New York. Over the course of the next three years, complications from the U.S. Civil War and fluctuations in the currency markets made it impossible for the U.S. builders to fulfill the order in full; the Japanese received only one ship. Historians consistently have accused Pruyn of mishandling the contract and of using the funds as investment capital for his own personal gain, but evidence shows that Pruyn was scrupulously careful with the contract and the payment, and that he averted a disastrous result which could have soured U.S.-Japan relations.

本文考察了日本幕府与美国私人代理人之间在1862年建造三艘战舰的合同的处理情况。政府，并将合同分配给纽约奥尔巴尼的两名私人公民。在接下来的三年中，由于美国内战的复杂性和货币市场的波动，美国建筑商无法完全履行该命令。日本人只收到一艘船。历史学家一直指责Pruyn处理合同不当，并利用这笔资金来谋取自己的个人利益，但有证据表明Pruyn谨慎对待合同和付款，