Edward Bramwell Clarke (31 January 1874 – 28 April 1934) was an educator in

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

Japan, who is credited with introducing the sport of rugby to Japan.

Early life

Clarke was born at the

treaty port 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. ...

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 T ...

, the son of a baker. He graduated with degrees in law and literature from Corpus Christi College,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in 1899. Returning to Japan at the same year as an ''

oyatoi gaikokujin The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' (Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the ...

'', he received a post as an instructor in

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

and English literature at Keio University in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Rugby in Japan

Clarke wanted to give his students something constructive to do to keep them from idling and wasting "the lovely autumn weather", and rugby which he had enjoyed as a student was what he decided to pass on to them. Together with fellow Cambridge alumni Tanaka Ginnosuke, he established a rugby union at Keio in 1899 and served as coach to the fledgling team.Koyama, Noboru. (2004). ''Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji era, 1868-1912,'' p. 173. On 7 December 1901 the members of the Keio Rugby Club, selected by Tanaka and Clarke, took part in the first rugby game with foreigners at Yokohama. Clarke that day played as full-back and Tanaka as stand-off. Clarke continued to coach rugby at Keio until 1907, after which an injury to his right leg complicated by rheumatism, led to its amputation. In 1913, Clarke moved to a teaching post in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

at the Third High School, and he became a professor of the literature department of

Kyoto Imperial University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = ...

in 1916. Clarke was an excellent academic and a prolific contributor to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'', under the initials "EB", and was in correspondence with Lafcadio Hearn. He continued to work at Kyoto Imperial University until his death in 1934 of an

intracranial hemorrhage Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), also known as intracranial bleed, is hemorrhage, bleeding internal bleeding, within the Human skull, skull. Subtypes are intracerebral bleeds (intraventricular bleeds and intraparenchymal bleeds), subarachnoid bleed ...

. His grave is at the Kobe Municipal Foreign Cemetery in Kobe, Japan.

Select works

* 1914 -- ''Representative Tales of Japan: Little Masterpieces from Present Day Japanese Writers'' with Asatarō Miyamori. Tokyo: Sanseidō.

Notes

References

* Cotton, Fran and Chris Rys. (1985). ''The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records''. London. Century Publishing.
OCLC 12549558
* Koyama, Noboru. (2004). ''Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji era, 1868-1912: Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan.'' Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Enterprises. ; * Nish, Alison (1999). "Britain's Contribution to the Development of Rugby Football in Japan, 1874-1998," in ''Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits'', Vol. III (

James Hoare James Edward Hoare (born 1943) is a British academic and historian specialising in Korean and Chinese studies, and a career diplomat in the British Foreign Office. Academia Dr. Hoare is a graduate of London's School of Oriental and African Studi ...

, editor). Richmond: Japan Library.
OCLC 277409764
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Edward Bramwell People from Yokohama Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan Foreign educators in Japan British expatriates in Japan 1874 births 1934 deaths Rugby union people in Japan History of rugby union Kyoto University faculty Keio University faculty

Early life

Rugby in Japan

Select works

See also

Notes

References