Sakuma Shōzan
sometimes called Sakuma Zōzan, was a Japanese politician and scholar of the Edo period. Biography Born Sakuma Kunitada, he was the son of a samurai and scholar and his wife , and a native of (or Shinano Province) in present day's Nagano Prefecture. At the age of 23, he went to Edo and for 10 years studied Chinese learning (). He then started to study Western sciences ("''rangaku''") at the age of 33, with the help of the ''rangaku'' scholar Kurokawa Ryōan (). In 1844, he obtained the ''Huishoudelyk Woordboek"'', a Dutch translation of Nöel Chomel's encyclopedia, from which Sakuma learned how to make glass, and then magnets, thermometers, cameras and telescopes. The encyclopedia was later translated into Japanese by Utagawa Genshin () under the title ''Kōsei shinpen'' (厚生新編). In 1849, he learned about electricity, through the book of the Dutch scientist Van den Bergh, and created Japan's first telegraph, five years before the gift of such a telegraph by Commodore ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yamamoto Kakuma
was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who went on to become an educator and politician in the Meiji era. Biography A native of Aizu, Yamamoto claimed descent from the famed military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke. A child prodigy, he could read at age four, and recite Chinese ''Jueju'' poetry at age five. He was sent to Edo at age 22, to study with Katsu Kaishū, under the direction of Sakuma Shōzan, ''rangaku'' and modern military science. He returned to Aizu at age 28, and became an instructor of hōjutsu at the Nisshinkan, the Aizu domain's academy. In 1862, he was assigned to assist the Aizu Domain ''daimyō'' Matsudaira Katamori during the latter's tenure in Kyoto as ''Kyoto Shugoshoku.'' The situation in Kyoto was very unsettled, and Yamamoto fought against Chōshū Domain samurai during the Kinmon Incident on August 20, 1864. After the start of the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, he did not participate in the nearby Battle of Toba–Fushimi, but remained ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria (modern-day Northeast China and Outer Manchuria). It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing dynasty lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura period, shoguns were themselves figureheads, with real power in hands of the Shikken of the Hōjō clan. The office of shogun was in practice hereditary, though over the course of the history of Japan several different clans held the position. The title was originally held by military commanders during Heian period in the eighth and ninth centuries. When Minamoto no Yoritomo gained political ascendency over Japan in 1185, the title was revived to regularize his position, making him the first shogun in the usually understood sense. The shogun's officials were collectively referred to as the ; they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.Beasley, William G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from merchants at Canton and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite the opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China. Opium was Britain's single most profitable commodity trade of the 19th century. After months of tensions between the two nations, the British navy launched an expedition in June 1840, which ultimately defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons by August 1842. The British then imposed the Treaty of Nanking, which forced China to increase foreign trade, give compensati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elekiter
The is the Japanese name for a type of generator of static electricity used for electric experiments in the 18th century. In Japan, Hiraga Gennai presented his own ''elekiter'' in 1776, derived from an ''elekiter'' from Holland. The ''elekiter'' consists of a small box that uses the power of friction to generate electricity and store it. The ''Elekiter'' relied on the various Western experiments with static electricity during the 18th century, which depended on the discovery that electricity could be generated through friction, and on the invention of the Leyden jar in the 1740s, as a convenient means to store static electricity in rather large quantities."電気の実験が盛んになったのは、18世紀になりガラス版の円盤を摩擦する強力な起電機と、1740年代なかばのライデン瓶の発明によります”: "The development of experiments with electricity, relied on the creation of powerful static electricity through the friction o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matthew Calbraith Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Perry was interested in the education of naval officers and assisted in the development of an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered "The Father of the Steam Navy" in the United States. Lineage Matthew Perry was a member of the Perry family, a son of Sarah Wallace ( née Alexander) (1768–1830) and Navy Captain Christopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818). He was born April 10, 1794, South Kingstown, Rhode Island. His siblings included Oliver Hazard Perry, Raymond Henry Jones Perry, Sarah Wallace Perry, A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pigeon post is not. Ancient signalling systems, although sometimes quite extensive and sophisticated as in China, were generally not capable of transmitting arbitrary text messages. Possible messages were fixed and predetermined and such systems are thus not true telegraphs. The earliest true telegraph put into widespread use was the optical telegraph of Claude Chappe, invented in the late 18th century. The system was used extensively in France, and European nations occupied by France, during the Napoleonic era. The electric telegraph started to replace the optical telegraph in the mid-19th century. It was first taken up in Britain in the form of the Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph, initially used mostly as an aid to railway signalling. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Van Den Bergh
Van den Bergh, Van Den Bergh is a Dutch surname, a variant of Van den Berg. Notable people with the surname include: *Arnold van den Bergh (notary) (1886‒1950), Amsterdam civil law notary *Dave van den Bergh (born 1976), Dutch footballer *Dimitri Van den Bergh (born 1994), Belgian darts player *Frans Van den Bergh (1914–1990), Belgian businessman *Freddie van den Bergh (born 1992), English cricketer *Frederik van den Bergh (1559–1618), Dutch soldier *George van den Bergh (1890–1966), Dutch lawyer and astronomer * Gert Van den Bergh (1920–1968), South African actor * Gertrude van den Bergh (c. 1793 – 1840), Dutch classical pianist and composer *Gustaaf Adolf van den Bergh van Eysinga Gustaaf Adolf van den Bergh van Eysinga (27 June 1874 in The Hague – 26 May 1957 in Haarlem) was a Dutch theologian. From 1936 to 1944 he was professor in New Testament exegesis at the University of Amsterdam. He belonged to the Dutch school o ... (1874–1957), Dutch theologian *Hendri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Utagawa Genshin
The name Utagawa may refer to: *The Utagawa school The Utagawa school () was one of the main schools of ukiyo-e, founded by Utagawa Toyoharu. It was the largest ukiyo-e school of its period. The main styles were bijin-ga (beautiful women) and uki-e (perspective picture). His pupil, Toyokuni I, to ... of Japanese woodblock print artists *One of the artists of the Utagawa school, including: ** ** **, also known as Andō Hiroshige **, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III ** ** ** ** *, Japanese ornithologist and academic *, Japanese scholar of Western Studies {{disambiguation, surname Japanese-language surnames ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kurokawa Ryōan
{{disambiguation, geo ...
Kurokawa may refer to: Places * Kurokawa, Niigata * Kurokawa District, Miyagi * Kurokawa Domain Other uses * Kurokawa (surname) * , a manga publisher in France * Siege of Kurokawa * Kurokawa Station (other) * 10365 Kurokawa * Kurokawa Dam * Ogisai Kurokawa Noh (or simply Kurokawa noh) is a noh festival in Kushibiki, Yamagata, Kushibiki in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It became an official Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan, Intangible Cultural Asset in 1976. Noh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |