Britain had a functioning consular service in Japan from 1859 after the signing of the 1858 Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce between

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, (20 July 181120 November 1863) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. He served as Governor of Jamaica (1842–1846), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847–1 ...

and the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

until 1941 when Japan invaded British colonial empire and declared war on the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Consular Officials

The Consular Service was established with officials who were expected to serve their entire careers in Japan. The entry-level position was as

student interpreter Student interpreter was, historically, an entry-level position in the British and American diplomatic and consular service, principally in China, Japan, Siam and, in the case of the United States, Turkey. It is no longer used as a title. A number o ...

who were expected to learn Japanese. In the early years almost all dealings with Japanese officials were in Japanese and British consular officials had a high standard in the spoken and written language. This declined over time as more Japanese officials learnt English.

British Consular Courts in Japan

Until 1899, British Consular Officials exercised

extraterritorial jurisdiction Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries. Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the externa ...

over British subjects in Japan. Consular officials sat as judges in

consular court Consular courts were law courts established by foreign powers in countries where they had extraterritorial rights. They were presided over by consular officers. Extraterritoriality Western powers when establishing diplomatic relations with count ...

s in all

treaty ports Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...

. Until 1865 appeals from decisions of consular officials were made to the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. From 1865 appeals from decisions could be made to the British Supreme Court for China and Japan in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. From 1871 to 1878 a judge from Shanghai was based in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

sitting first as a branch of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan. Later they were treated as a judge of the Kanagawa Consular Court. In 1879 a

British Court for Japan The British Court for Japan (formally Her Britannic Majesty's Court for Japan) was a court established in Yokohama in 1879 to try cases against British subjects in Japan, under the principles of extraterritoriality. The court also heard appeals ...

was created in Yokohama which had first instance jurisdiction in Kanagawa and appellate jurisdiction from other consular courts in Japan. Appeals from the Court for Japan lay to Supreme Court in Shanghai.Richard Chang, The Justice of Western Consular Court in Japan

Notable consular officials

Rutherford Alcock Sir John Rutherford Alcock, KCB (25 May 1809''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812''2 November 1897) was the first British diplomatic representative to live in Japan. Early life Alcock was born in St J ...

William George Aston William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea. Early life Aston was born near Derry, Ireland.Ricorso Aston, bio notes/ref> He dis ...

* Henry Bonar * James Joseph Enslie *

Abel Gower Abel Anthony James Gower (1836 in Livorno, Italy – 1899?) was a British Consul (representative), consul at two posts in Japan during the Late Tokugawa shogunate, Bakumatsu period: Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki and Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hakodate. ...

John Harington Gubbins John Harington Gubbins (24 January 1852 – 23 February 1929) was a British linguist, consular official and diplomat. He was the father of Sir Colin McVean Gubbins. Education Gubbins attended Harrow School and would have gone on to Cambridge Un ...

John Carey Hall John Carey Hall (22 January 1844 – 21 October 1921) was a leading British diplomat who served in Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. His last position was as British Consul-General in Yokohama. Early life Hall was born on 22 January 18 ...

Joseph Henry Longford Joseph Henry Longford (25 June 1849 in Dublin – 12 May 1925 in London) was a British consular official in the British Japan Consular Service from 24 February 1869 until 15 August 1902. He was Consul in Formosa (1895–97) after the First ...

, served 1869 to 1902 *

Harry Smith Parkes Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

* Frank Playfair * Russell B. Robertson *

Ernest Mason Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow, (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist. Satow is better known in Japan than in Britain or the other countries in which he served, where he was known as . He was a key fig ...

, served 1862 to 1883 and 1895 to 1900 *James Troup *

Hiram Shaw Wilkinson Sir Hiram Shaw Wilkinson, JP, DL (1840–1926) was a leading British judge and diplomat, serving in China and Japan. His last position before retirement was as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Corea. Early life Hira ...

1864 to 1881

British Judges in Japan

The following judges were based in Yokohama from 1871 to 1877 before the establishment of the

. *

Nicholas John Hannen Sir Nicholas John Hannen (24 August 1842 – 27 April 1900) was a British barrister, diplomat and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1891 to 1900 and also served c ...

, Acting Assistant judge British Supreme Court for China and Japan 1871-1874 *

Charles Wycliffe Goodwin Charles Wycliffe Goodwin (1817–1878) was an English Egyptologist, bible scholar, lawyer and judge. His last judicial position was as Acting Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan. Early life Goodwin was born on 2 April 1 ...

, Assistant Judge British Supreme Court for China and Japan 1874-1876, Acting Chief Judge 1876-1877 *

, Acting Law Secretary, British Supreme Court for China and Japan, 1877 to 1878 Between 1865 and 1872, Sir

Edmund Grimani Hornby Sir Edmund Grimani Hornby (29 May 1825 – 17 November 1896) was a leading Jewish-Italian British judge, with family interests in diamond-rich Antwerp. He was the founder and Chief Judge of both the British Supreme Consular Court at Constantinopl ...

, the Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan also heard cases in Japan when traveling on circuit. The following were full-time judges of the

. Most of the above consular officials named above also acted as judges as part of their consular duties. *

; Judge,

, 1881 to 1891 * Richard Temple Rennie Judge,

, 1879 to 1881 * Robert Anderson Mowat Judge,

, 1891 to 1897 *

Judge,

, 1897 to 1900

References

{{reflist Japan–United Kingdom relations

Consular Officials

British Consular Courts in Japan

Notable consular officials

British Judges in Japan

See also

Further reading

References