Thomas Blake Glover
From Free net encyclopedia
Current revision
Image:Thomas Blake Glover.jpg Thomas Blake Glover (June 6, 1838 – December 13, 1911) was a Scottish merchant in Bakumatsu and Meiji Japan, and he is justly revered in that country for his many contributions to its modernisation. The late Sir Peter Parker once hailed him as an all-round "trader through 360 degrees".
Contents |
Early life (1838–1858)
Thomas Glover was born – appropriately for a merchant – at 15 Commerce Street, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in north east Scotland on June 6, 1838, moving to Bridge of Don, near Aberdeen six years later. His father worked for the coast guard. Upon leaving school, Glover entered into employment with a trading company and travelled widely.
Japan (1859–1911)
In 1859, Glover crossed from Shanghai to Nagasaki and worked initially for Jardine Matheson buying Japanese green tea. Two years later, he founded his own firm, Glover Trading Co. (Guraba-Shokai). His first major success was as a merchant for ships, guns and gunpowder sold to the rebellious Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa clans in Japan during the 1860s. His business was based in Nagasaki, and it was here that he had constructed his home, the first western-style building in Japan.
In 1863, Glover helped the Choshu Five get to London on Jardine Matheson ships. He was also responsible in 1865 for bringing the first steam railway locomotive called "Iron Duke" to Japan which he demonstrated on a short track at Oura in Nagasaki.
Glover assisted in toppling the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Meiji Restoration and as such, had cordial relations with the new government. These links lead to his being responsible for commissioning one of the first warships in the Imperial Japanese Navy (the Jho Sho Maru, later Ryujo Maru) which was built by Alexander Hall & Co. in Aberdeen and launched on March 27, 1869. Glover also commissioned the smaller Ho Sho Maru for the navy and the Kagoshima for the Satsuma clan from the same Aberdeen shipyard.
In 1868, Glover made a contract with the Hizen (Saga) clan and began to develop Japan's first coal mine at Takashima. He also brought the first dry dock to Japan.
Thomas Glover went bankrupt in 1870, but he stayed in Japan to manage the Takashima coal mine after the Restoration for the mine's Dutch owners until it was taken over by the Meiji government. In 1881, the mine was acquired by Iwasaki Yataro.
Glover was a key figure in the industrialisation of Japan, founding a shipbuilding company, which was later to become the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. He also helped found the Japan Brewery Company, which later became the major Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. It is rumoured that the moustache of the mythical creature featured on Kirin beer labels is in fact a tribute to Glover (who sported a similar moustache) [1].
In recognition of these achievements, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (second class), the first non-Japanese to receive such an honour.
Thomas Glover died at his home in Tokyo but was buried at the Sakamoto International Cemetery in Nagasaki.
Family
Glover's Japanese wife Tsuru is said to have been the inspiration behind the libretto for Giacomo Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly. Their son Kuraba Tomisaburo (倉場富三郎) was imprisoned as a spy during World War II in Nagasaki and committed suicide just after the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which ended World War II in 1945.
Tomisaburo was actually the son of one of Glover's mistresses, a geisha girl called Kaga Maki. When he was adopted by Glover and his wife, Kaga Maki attempted suicide, causing a local scandal.
Residences
Glover's former residences in Nagasaki and Aberdeen have both since been turned into museums, with the beautifully situated Glover Garden (グラバー園) house in Nagasaki attracting over one million visitors each year. He also had a residence in the Shiba Park area of Tokyo.
Glover's family home in Scotland, Glover House, 79 Balgownie Road, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen is now open to the public as a restored Victorian house, telling the Glover story. The house is also available as a venue for business meetings, small private functions and group tours. The home where he was born in Fraserburgh was destroyed by WWII bombing although a blue plaque marks the site of his birth.
See also
References
- Scottish Samurai: The Life of Thomas Blake Glover by Alexander McKay (Canongate Books, 1993) ISBN 0862414555 (Japanese translation 1997, ISBN 4120026523)
- Meiji Kenkoku no Youshou: To-masu B Guraba- no Shimatsu, H. Naito 2001 ISBN 4871522148
