The second part in our series on the 400th anniversary of UK – Japan ties notes some major events that have linked the two countries .
ANNIVERSARY
UK – Japan : History Highlights
The second part in our series on the 400th anniversary of UK – Japan ties notes some major events that have linked the two countries .
Timeline courtesy of the British Embassy Tokyo
1600 William Adams , a seaman from Kent , becomes the first Briton to arrive in Japan . Acting as an advisor to
Tokugawa Ieyasu ( the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate ), he is granted a house and land , and spends the rest of his life in his adopted country .
1613 At the invitation of William Adams , John Saris arrives in Hirado , near Nagasaki in Kyushu , and is intent on
establishing a trading factory . Adams and Saris travel together and meet the now-retired shogun , Tokugawa Ieyasu , and his son , Tokugawa Hidetada , who is ruling . In addition to a letter promising trade privileges for the UK , conveyed through Saris , King James I is sent two lacquered suits of armour that today are housed in the Tower of London .
1832 Three sailors from Aichi Prefecture — Otokichi , Kyukichi and Iwakichi — cross the Pacific Ocean from Japan . After
arriving in the United States , they join a trading ship that travels to the UK and , later , Macau . Believed to be the first Japanese to set foot on British soil , Otokichi becomes a British citizen and adopts the name John Matthew Ottoson . He later pays two visits to Japan as a Royal Navy interpreter .
1858 After 200 years of attempts by the East India Company and others to expand trade with Japan , the Earl of Elgin
concludes a treaty , which opens selected Japanese ports and secures the first permanent British diplomatic mission in Edo .
1859 Sir Rutherford Alcock KCB , the first permanent British representative in Japan , arrives in a climate
of rapidly developing trade relations . Exchanges of information and ideas proceed quickly , most notably with the Choshu clan ’ s decision to send five students to University College London . The Choshu Five return to Japan with extensive knowledge that plays an important part in the construction of the modern nation .
1863 A British fleet bombards Kagoshima , Kyushu , in retaliation for the 1862 murder of a British merchant by
the Satsuma clan . The incident reflects the still-delicate bilateral relationship .
1868 The Meiji Restoration ( 1868 – 1912 ) heralds increasing Japanese interest in foreign ideas . Trade — and the
British community in Japan — continues to thrive .
1869 Prince Alfred , the first Duke of Edinburgh ( 1844 – 1900 ), visits Japan . This is the first in a long series of exchange
visits by members of the royal and imperial families .
1870 Foreign Minister Iwakura Tomomi leads an 18-month mission to the UK , reflecting increasingly strong
bilateral relations .
1902 The signing of the Anglo – Japanese Alliance affirms the bilateral friendship and leads to closer co-operation .
1910 The Great Britain – Japan Exhibition introduces Japan and its people to a broad sector of British society .
1600 1613
1613
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Hidetada ’ s suit of armour John Saris arrived in Hirado in 1613 aboard the Clove .
16 | BCCJ ACUMEN | MAY 2013