{"id":894,"date":"2020-01-31T16:24:15","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T16:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rutgers-meets-japan\/?p=894"},"modified":"2022-04-04T20:45:26","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T20:45:26","slug":"katsu-kaishu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/rutgers-meets-japan\/katsu-kaishu\/","title":{"rendered":"Katsu Kaish\u016b"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Katsu Kaish\u016b, 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 born in the village of Edo, now known as Tokyo, on March 12, 1823 and died on January 21, 1899, buried with his wife, Tami, on the shores of the park, Senzoku Pond in Tokyo.Throughout his life, Katsu Kaish\u016b held many nicknames such as Rintaro, Yasuyoshi, and Katz Awa. However, the nickname and pseudonym he is most well-known for is \u201cKaish\u016b\u201d, which was inspired by Sakuma Sh\u014dzan\u2019s calligraphy, \u201cKaish\u016b Shooku.\u201d During his youth, Katsu Kaish\u016b studied military science under the Dutch and Europeans and became an expert in military technology. Kaish\u016b\u2019s expertise in the field later allowed him to play an important role in the creation of the Japanese navy. All of his proposals were adopted by the shogunate and Kaish\u016b even served as vice-commissioner from 1862-1864 for the Tokugawa Navy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from his role in the modernization of Japan\u2019s navy, Katsu Kaish\u016b was also an avid learner and a well-respected historian and writer. When Kaish\u016b visited San Francisco during the 1860s, certain aspects of American democracy and culture inspired him to modernize and democratize feudal Japan. Kaish\u016b observed that in comparison to Japan\u2019s rigid social hierarchy, \u201cThere is no distinction between soldier, peasant, artisan, or merchant. Any man can be engaged in commerce.\u201d He also states \u201cI had not expected the Americans to express such delight at our arrival to San Francisco, nor for all the people of the city, from the government officials on down, to make such great efforts to treat us so well.\u201d Kaish\u016b\u2019s memorable experience in San Francisco shaped his impressions of Americans, as seen when he sends his son, Katsu Koroku<\/a> to study under Professor David Murray<\/a> at Rutgers University in 1870. The following year, Kaish\u016b welcomed Rutgers alumni and educators William Elliot Griffis<\/a> and Edward Warren Clark<\/a> to Japan. Griffis taught western science in Echizen or Fukui, while Clark was invited to teach in Shizuoka. Clark greatly respected Kaish\u016b as an intellectual, even calling him \u201cthe Bismarck of Japan\u201d for helping stabilize and unify Japan after the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The two also met in 1894 and Clark even wrote a brief, but unpublished memoir about Katsu Kaish\u016b.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Katsu Kaish\u016b played an important role in westernizing Japan, Kaish\u016b also helped save Japan by preventing the outbreak of civil war. Though loyal to the Tokugawa until the end, after recognizing the inevitable end of the shogunate, Kaish\u016b decided to surrender Edo Castle to Saigo Kichinosuke of the opposing imperial of forces, saving millions of lives in Edo and ultimately, the face of modern Japan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

Candee, Richard M. \u201cPromoting Japan in America: the Life Work of E. Warren Clark (1849 \u2013 1907).\u201d\u00a0The Treaty of Portsmouth (Portsmouth Peace Treaty)<\/i>, www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.org\/EWClark.cfm.<\/p>\n

Clark, Edward Warren, et al. \u201cLife and Adventure in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKatsu Kaishu.\u201d\u00a0Katsu Kaishu – New World Encyclopedia<\/i>, www.newworldencyclopedia.org\/entry\/Katsu_Kaishu.<\/p>\n

\u201cKatsu Kaishu: The Man Who Saved Early Japan.\u201d\u00a0Romulus Hillsborough’s Samurai Revolution<\/i>, www.samurai-revolution.com\/katsu-kaishu-the-man-who-saved-early-modern-japan\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katsu Kaish\u016b, 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. 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