Background
Itsunori was born in 1823.
A retainer of the Choshu Clan (Yamaguchi Prefecture).
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Itsunori Nakajima
Edit ProfileEducation
When Commodore Matthew Perry’s American fleet in 1854 came to Uraga. Itsunori, with the permission of his lord, went to Nagasaki to learn English and Dutch. He also studied physics, chemistry and metallurgy. In 1857 returned to Hagi and, at his lord’s order, studied sheep raising, wool weaving and dyeing.
Career
In 1860 Itsunori was ordered to go to Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture) and inspect a glass factory, reverberatory furnace, water mills, niter plant, and forts. From Satsuma he went to Nagasaki and there purchased a steam engine for his clan. In 1861 he taught Western dyeing methods to dyers in Yamaguchi, at the request of the governor of Yamaguch. In 1864 he made investigations about niter manufacturing at the order of his lord and then investigated iron mines in various parts of Japan. Also studied ordnance manufacturing. At the clan's order, he also made an analysis table showing the contents of gold and silver coins then in circulation. This table was the first of the kind made in Japan.
