These volumes contain the record of the daily activities of the Embassy which left Japan on December 23rd, 1871, and returned on September 13th, 1873 – about one year and nine months later. It was led by Iwakura Tomomi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Europe and the United States.

The Embassy first crossed the Pacific Ocean and traversed America, then sailed across the Atlantic and travelled around England and Scotland. After that, it crossed over to Europe to visit France, Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Russia, Denmark and Sweden, subsequently passing through Germany to Italy, Austria and Switzerland. From there it went to southern France, and from the Mediterranean it sailed through the Arabian Sea into the Indian Ocean and the China Sea and so back to Tokyo. Thus, the Embassy visited most of the major cities and towns in the continents of America and Europe.

During the journey through the West, the secretaries collected all the official documents and also kept a diary of formal functions and meetings with foreign dignitaries. The councillors, who had been dispatched by various government ministries, gathered information and made numerous detailed reports pertaining to the politics, education, military affairs and commerce of each country, and these were later compiled into several large volumes. In addition to the official business of the ambassador, this book records all the facts and the actual situation observed in each region.