Gift from the Mikado.

the long version

This is a children's book about an American missionary family living in late-19th century Japan. The Poate family (of which the author is an infant born near the end of the stay in Japan) is composed of parents, two sons and another daughter. Chapters in the book describe episodes in which the family are presented with a special cabinet from the Mikado (Emperor of Japan) which immediately elevate their status in the eyes of their Japanese friends and neighbors, their move via horse-drawn cart to a new city and the adventures and cultural adjustments of a western family to Meiji-era Japan. A charming book describing a pre-war Japan and the cultural adjustments of both the family and their Japanese friends and neighbors to each other's customs.