January 2020 – Rutgers Meets Japan: Early Encounters

Katsu Kaishū

January 31, 2020 | By Emily Y. Sun | Japanese,People

Katsu Kaishū, originally born as Katsu Yoshikuni, was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer towards the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji period. He was … Read More

John Mason Ferris

January 31, 2020 | By Jindavid Sebastian | Missionaries,Missionaries

John Mason Ferris was the son of Isaac Ferris, who, as the first secretary of the Reformed Church Board of Foreign Missions, helped modernize education in Japan through sending out … Read More

Yokoi Saheita

January 31, 2020 | By Devin A. Busono | Japanese Students,People

Saheita (left) and Daihei Yokoi Born in 1845 in Kumamoto, Saheita Yokoi played an instrumental role in the forging of the cross-cultural relationship between the United States and Japan. Along … Read More

Yokoi Daihei

January 31, 2020 | By Devin A. Busono | Japanese Students,People

Saheita and Daihei Yokoi (right) Born in 1850 in Kumamoto, five years after his brother Saheita, Daihei Yokoi played an instrumental role in the forging of the cross-cultural relationship between … Read More

Edward Warren Clark

January 31, 2020 | By Aishwarya Sridhar | Oyatoi,People

Edward Warren Clark was born in 1849 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was one of the oyatoi gaikokujin, foreign experts who were sent to Japan by the Japanese government to … Read More

Samuel Robbins Brown

January 31, 2020 | By Jindavid Sebastian | Missionaries,Missionaries

Samuel Robbins Brown was a well-known missionary and teacher for the Dutch Reformed Church who went to China and Japan as a part of his efforts but is primarily known … Read More

Yokoi Shonan

January 31, 2020 | By Raj Malhotra | Japanese,People

Yokoi Shonan was born on September 22, 1809 and died on February 15, 1869. Shonan was both a scholar and an activist for political reformation during both the Bakumatsu and … Read More

Matsumura Junzo

January 31, 2020 | By Camille D. Romano | Japanese Students,People

The photo above is of Matsumura Junzo during his time as a student at Rutgers College (today’s Rutgers University). Born in 1842 and originating from Satsuma, Japan, Matsumura Junzo was … Read More

David Murray

January 31, 2020 | By Rachelle Y. Cha | Oyatoi

David Murray was born in Bovina, New York on October 15, 1830. He graduated from Union College in 1852. After serving as the principal of The Albany Academy in New … Read More

Mori Arinori

January 31, 2020 | By Shrusti Goswami | Japanese,People

Mori Arinori (1847-1889) was one of the most well known Japanese diplomats and scholars of his time. He was born in Kagoshima, Satsuma province, Japan in a family of samurai … Read More

Month: January 2020