Usaburo Shimizu

April 7, 1829 (age 80)

Saitama, Japan

When Iganokami Tsutsui, a Shogunate retainer, was appointed an official in charge of the reception of a Russian warship which visited Shimoda, Izu Province (Shizuoka Prefecture), he volunteered to be a follower of Iganokami. At Shimoda he learned about 300 Russian words from the Russian ship crew. He then learned Dutch from Gempo Mitsukuri. He frequently traveled between Edo an Yokohama, engaging in trade. When British Minister John Neale conducted negotiations with the Satsuma Clan on the Namamugi Incident in which Britons were killed and wounded by Satsuma retainers (1862), Usaburo served as an interpreter for Neale. Accompanied Akitake Tokugawa, representative of Japan, to the World Fair held in Paris at which he helped greatly in introducing Japanese arts and crafts (1867). While in Paris, he acquired wide knowledge of Western culture and diffused it when he returned home. He imported and translated books on dental surgery and also worked for founding and developing of Kana-no-Kai (Society of Kana: Japanese syllabary), an organization dedicated to improvement of the Japanese language.

Usaburo Shimizu

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卯三郎清水

also known as Shaken

Businessman

Background

Usaburo Shimizu was born in 1829. he was the third son of Yazaemon, a wealthy man at Ha-nyu Village, Musashi Province (around Edo).

Career

When Iganokami Tsutsui, a Shogunate retainer, was appointed an official in charge of the reception of a Russian warship which visited Shimoda, Izu Province (Shizuoka Prefecture), he volunteered to be a follower of Iganokami. At Shimoda he learned about 300 Russian words from the Russian ship crew.

He then learned Dutch from Gempo Mitsukuri. He frequently traveled between Edo an Yokohama, engaging in trade. When British Minister John Neale conducted negotiations with the Satsuma Clan on the Namamugi Incident in which Britons were killed and wounded by Satsuma retainers (1862), Usaburo served as an interpreter for Neale.

Accompanied Akitake Tokugawa, representative of Japan, to the World Fair held in Paris at which he helped greatly in introducing Japanese arts and crafts (1867). While in Paris, he acquired wide knowledge of Western culture and diffused it when he returned home.

He imported and translated books on dental surgery and also worked for founding and developing of Kana-no-Kai (Society of Kana: Japanese syllabary), an organization dedicated to improvement of the Japanese language.

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Usaburo Shimizu

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