Kusakabe Taro
Kusakabe Taro, born as Yagi Yasohachi, was a trailblazer who was the first Japanese student to graduate from Rutgers College in 1870. Taro was a samurai who came to the … Read More
Japanese Students
Matsukata Kojiro
Matsukata Kojiro was born December 1st, 1865 in Satsuma (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture). His father was Matsukata Masayoshi, a politician who served as prime minister twice during the Meiji era. Matsukata … Read More
Takagi Saburō
Takagi Saburō was a Japanese diplomat and businessman during the Meji period. Born on March 9th, 1841 as the son of a samurai under the Shōnai Domain in Tokyo, Saburō … Read More
Tadaatsu Matsudaira
Tadaatsu Matsudaira, born in 1851, was the younger brother of Tadanari Matsudaira and son of Tadakata Matsudaira, Daimyo of the Ueda domain. In 1872, he and his brother traveled to … Read More
Tadanari Matsudaira
Tadanari Matsudaira, born in 1850, was the older brother of Tadaatsu Matsudaira and the third son of Tadakata Matsudaira, Daimyo of the Ueda domain. In 1859, Tadanari was made the … Read More
Yokoi Saheita
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
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
Matsumura Junzo
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
Hattori Ichizo
This photo is of Hattori Ichizo himself, probably taken for the Epsilon Chi fraternity. Hattori Ichizo was born 1851 in the Choshu Clan in the Yamaguchi prefecture. He came to … Read More
Katsu Koroku
In 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry came to Japan and demanded that they open up to the West. Japan had for hundreds of years remained closed off, immersed in its own … Read More