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 with his brother Daihei, he seemed destined to make an impact, as their uncle Shonan Yokoi was an advocate for progressive reform. In 1866, Daihei and Saheita, were secretly sent to the US and became the first Japanese students to study at the Rutgers College Grammar School in New Brunswick. This was mainly thanks to the work of Church missionary James Ballagh and Rutgers graduate Robert Pruyn, both of whom believed that exposing future Japanese leaders to Western culture would help strengthen US-Japanese relations. The brothers were introduced to Rev. John Ferris of the Dutch Reformed Church by missionary Guido Verbeck, and upon the brothers’ arrival in America, Ferris took it upon himself to enroll the boys in school. Under the alias Sataro Ise, Saheita studied English and American culture under the tutelage of William E. Griffis, later going on to spend time studying at the US Naval Academy as well.
Though his brother had contracted tuberculosis in 1869, Sahieta was able to continue studying in Annapolis, providing valuable feedback for Daihei as he lobbied for the opening of a Western school in their hometown. Unfortunately, Saheita also contracted tuberculosis just like his brother, and in 1877, Saheita Yokoi passed away. However, Saheita’s experience in the American education system significantly helped Daihei bring about sizeable changes in the Japanese education system.
Sources:
Kaufmann, Susan. “The Japanese at Willow Grove Cemetery: revealing New Jersey’s role in modernizing a nation.” Web blog post. Hidden New Jersey. 14 October, 2013. Web. 29 January, 2020.
Notehelfer, F. G. American Samurai : Captain L.L. Janes and Japan . Princeton University Press, 1985.
Perrone, Fernanda. “The Rutgers Network in Early Meiji Japan.” Rikkyo American Studies, vol. 39, Mar. 2017
Yokoi Brothers. 1867. RUcore: https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3F47PMH