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