Samurai and the Sphinx

All we need now are ninja!There’s a story behind every photograph, but some photos, and the story behind them, are simply fascinating.  Take this Samurai posting by the Sphinx from Wikipedia:
The Second Japanese Embassy to Europe, also called the Ikeda Mission, was sent on December 29, 1863 by the Tokugawa shogunate. The head of the mission was Ikeda Nagaoki, governor of small villages of Ibara, Bitchū Province (Okayama Prefecture). The assistant head of the mission was Kawazu Sukekuni.
Th...