As a child, Shiramine Shumme possessed the surname of Uzawa until it was changed at the age of 6. He was a samurai of Nagaoka in Echigo and was sent to Edo for schooling. His older brother was considered a pioneer of Dutch studies in Nagaoka with competencies in mathematics and surveying. This brother also worked as an instructor in shogunate school under Katsu Kaishu. Shiramine followed his path by entering the household of Katsu and studying navigation. Shiramine continued his studies in learning English in Nagasaki. He also chose to enter the Kaientai of Sakamoto Ryoma, a trading and shipping company and private navy, where he was active in contemporary politics.
Following this, in 1869 or 1870, Shiramine traveled internationally to study in America. He first passed through the Rutgers Grammar School in New Brunswick. Then, Shiramine enrolled in a Rutgers College science course in 1871. His focus of studies was shipbuilding. However, Shiramine did not graduate; he enrolled for one term and transferred to the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, where studied from 1872 to 1873. Returninf to Japan, he worked in the Navy Ministry and the Hokkaido Colonization Department.
After returning to Japan, Shiramine became famous as a naval inventor. Some of his naval inventions were applied at the times of the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. He was also known for building the first Western-style ship in Japan in 1875. Then, in 1877 he resigned from office and established a non-governmental shipbuilding organization in Kanagawa.
Burks, A. W. (2019). Modernizers: overseas students, foreign employees,and Meiji japan. S.l.: ROUTLEDGE.