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 one of the Satsuma students who embarked on a journey to Great Britain in 1865. He was a top-ranked student and among a group of samurai who all decided to study under the wing of Thomas Lake Harris, hoping that he would take them abroad to study in the west. His major course of study was English, and by studying abroad in Britain, he would be able to immerse himself in the language.
Later, in 1867 he fell into a financial hardship and decided to move his life to the United States. Matsumura was hoping that Thomas Harris would be able to help him and the other Satsuma students continue to study abroad in the states, but later decided that he could not follow Harris’ thoughts and ideas, and in 1868 enrolled in Rutgers College to continue his studies in English.
After studying for one year at Rutgers, Matsumura Junzo entered the United States Naval Academy to become an officer. His goal was to learn the naval arts. Later, he then returned to Japan in 1873 to focus the rest of his life on naval education in Japan. He ended up becoming the president of the Japanese Naval Academy. In 1919, he passed away at 76 years old.
“THE HISTORY OF THE SATSUMA STUDENTS.” SATSUMA STUDENTS MUSEUM, ssmuseum.jp/contents/en/history/.
Nagamimi. “Days in Rutgers.” Kozo Web, www.tomoland.net/nagamimi/kozo-web-e/2018/06/23/days-in-rutgers/.