This list contains notable Europeans and Americans who visited Japan before the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. The name of each individual is followed by the year of the first visit, the country of origin, and a brief explanation.

16th century

* Two

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

traders, António da Mota and Francisco Zeimoto (possibly a third named António Peixoto), land on the island of

Tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New ...

in 1543. They are the first documented Europeans to set foot in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. *

Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (; c.1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' ( pt, Peregrinação) (1614), his autobiographical memoir. The historical accuracy of the work is debatable due t ...

(1543,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) Claimed to be one of the first Westerners who visited Japan and wrote about the introduction of

guns A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

to the Japanese, though the account is almost certainly untrue. *

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

(1549,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(on Portuguese mission)) The first Roman

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missionary who brought

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to Japan. *

Cosme de Torres Cosme de Torres (1510 – October 2, 1570) was a Spanish Jesuit from Valencia and one of the first Christian missionaries in Japan. He was born in Valencia and died in Amakusa, an island now in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Early life (1510–154 ...

(1549, Spain) A Spanish Jesuit (on Portuguese mission) who successfully converted

Ōmura Sumitada Ōmura Sumitada (大村純忠, 1533 – June 23, 1587) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' lord of the Sengoku period. He achieved fame throughout the country for being the first of the daimyo to convert to Christianity following the arrival of the ...

to Christianity – the first Christian ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

''. * Luis de Almeida (1552, Portugal) A Portuguese Jesuit who established the first western hospital in Japan and negotiated the opening of the port of

Yokoseura Yokoseura (横瀬浦) is a port located at the northern tip of the Nishisonogi Peninsula on the Japanese island of Kyushu, administratively under Saikai city, Nagasaki Prefecture. It was developed as an entrepot by the Portuguese in 1562 with th ...

to Portuguese traders. * Gaspar Vilela (1556,

) A Portuguese Jesuit who, in a departure from Xavier's methods, learned the Japanese language and talked directly with daimyos, opening the center of Japan to the mission. *

Luís Fróis Luís Fróis (1532 – 8 July 1597) was a Portuguese missionary who worked in Asia during the second half of the 16th century. While in Japan in 1582, he witnessed the attack on Honnō-ji, a Buddhist temple that ended in the death of Oda Nobuna ...

(1563,

) A

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

who befriended

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

and published the account later. His record still serves as an important resource for Japanese historians. * João Rodrigues (1577,

) A Portuguese

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest who carried out missionary work in Japan and served as an interpreter for both

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

and

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

. Rodrigues is also known for authoring notable works on Japanese culture and language. * William Adams (1600, England) – The first Englishman to reach Japan. Among the first Westerners to become a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, under ''

Shōgun , 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 Kamakur ...

.''Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan.'' By Giles Milton''Pars Japonica: The First Dutch Expedition to Reach the Shores of Japan. Brought by the English Pilot Will Adams, Hero of Shogun,'' (2006) by William de Lange. * Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn (1600, Dutch Republic) – Adams' shipmate, also among the first Westerners to become a samurai, who became an advisor for the ''shōgun''. He is remembered in Japan (based on their variation of his name) in the

Yaesu is a district in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, located north of Ginza, west of Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi, and adjacent to the east side of Tokyo Station. The Yaesu exit of this station, which faces Nihonbashi, is recent and primarily provides access to ...

area of Tokyo and as Yaesu on one exit of the Tokyo Station.

17th century

Cristóvão Ferreira 170px, Ferreira was interred in the gravesite of his son-in-law Sugimoto Chūkei's family. Cristóvão Ferreira (c. 1580–1650) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and Jesuit missionary who committed apostasy after being captured and tortured ...

(1609, Portugal) – A Jesuit missionary who committed

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...

after being tortured in the anti-Christian purges of Japan. His apostasy is the main theme of the novel ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the ce ...

'' by

Shūsaku Endō was a Japanese author who wrote from the rare perspective of a Japanese Catholic. Internationally, he is known for his 1966 historical fiction novel ''Silence'', which was adapted into a 2016 film of the same name by director Martin Scorsese. ...

. *

Luis Sotelo Luis Sotelo, in English known also as Louis Sotelo, (September 6, 1574 – August 25, 1624) was a Franciscan friar from Spain who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Early life Luis was born in Sevilla ...

(1609, Spain) – A

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar who proselytized in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

of Japan with the help of Daimyo

Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all ...

. He was executed after re-entering Japan illegally in 1624. *

John Saris John Saris () was chief merchant on the first English voyage to Japan, which left London in 1611. He stopped at Yemen, missing India (which he had originally intended to visit) and going on to Java, which had the sole permanent English trading sta ...

(1613, England) – Captain of the English ship ''Clove'', who met with ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieyasu to establish a trading post in Japan. *

Nicolaes Couckebacker Nicolaes, Nicolaas, or Nicolas Coeckebacker or Couckebacker was twice Chief of the Dutch trading factory at Hirado, the Japanese trading post of the Dutch East India Company. He arrived in 1633 and stayed until fall 1635. His second stay as VOC Op ...

(1633, Dutch Republic) – VOC Opperhoofd (chief Dutch trader/agent) in

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The component ...

, who assisted the government in 1638 to suppress Japanese Christian rebels led by

Amakusa Shirō , also known as , was a Japanese Christian of the Edo period and leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Shogunate. His Christian name was Geronimo and later Francisco. The uprising led by Shirō ...

. (Note: In 1639, the Japanese government promulgated the

Sakoku was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...

policy, which prohibited foreigners from entering Japanese territory. The only exceptions were Dutch traders and associated workers permitted to live on

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...

Island. This policy lasted until 1854.) *

Giuseppe Chiara Giuseppe di Chiara (1602 – 24 August 1685) was an Italian Jesuit missionary active in 17th century Japan.Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer (16 September 16512 November 1716) was a German naturalist, physician, explorer and writer known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels. ''A ...

(1690, Dutch Republic) – A German naturalist and physician. His descriptions in ''History of Japan'' (posthumously published in English in 1727) became the chief source of Western knowledge about the country for nearly two centuries. *

Giovanni Battista Sidotti Giovanni Battista Sidotti (1668 – 27 November 1714) was an Italian secular priest and Apostolic Missionary of the Pontifical Congregation of Propaganda Fide. During the Edo period, he entered Japan illegally and was arrested, whereupon he was c ...

(1700, Italy) An Italian Jesuit priest who entered Japan illegally and was arrested. His communication with the scholar

Arai Hakuseki was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo period, who advised the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi (君美). Hakuseki (白� ...

resulted in the book Seiyō Kibun.

18th century

*Robert Janson (1704, Ireland), a native of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

seized off the coast of Kyushu and brought to Dejima Island. *

Martin Spanberg __NOTOC__ Martin Spanberg (d. 1761; russian: Мартын Петрович Шпанберг, ''Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg'') was a Danish naval officer in Russian service who took part with his compatriot Vitus Bering in both Kamchatka expedition ...

(Denmark) visited the island of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

in 1738, being in command of the first Russian naval squadron specifically sent to seek for a diplomatic encounter with the Japanese. The Russians landed in a scenic area which is now part of the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park. Despite the prevalent policy of

sakoku was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...

, the sailors were treated with politeness if not friendliness.Glynn Barratt. ''Russia in Pacific Waters, 1715–1825''. UBC Press, 1981. . Pages 35–37. *

Isaac Titsingh Isaac Titsingh FRS ( January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Isaak Titsingh" in . During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the ...

(1779–1784) A Dutch East India Company ("VOC")

Opperhoofd ''Opperhoofd'' is a Dutch word (plural ''opperhoofden'') that literally translates to "upper-head", meaning "supreme headman". The Danish equivalent ''overhoved'', which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch or Low German word, is als ...

at Dejima in Nagasaki Bay. *

Adam Laxman Adam Kirillovich (Erikovich) Laxman (russian: Адам Кириллович (Эрикович) Лаксман) (1766 – 1806?) was a Finnish–Swedish military officer and one of the first subjects of Imperial Russia to set foot in Japan. A l ...

(1792, Russia) Son and representative of Finnish-born researcher Eric Laxman, led a Russian expedition to Hokkaido, ostensibly to return

Daikokuya Kōdayū (1751 – 28 May 1828) was a Japanese castaway who spent nine years in Russia. His ship landed at Amchitka, in the Aleutian Islands. The crew managed to travel to the Russian mainland and Catherine the Great allowed them to go back to Japan. T ...

to Japan. *

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...

(1775, Sweden) A Swedish naturalist who came as a surgeon on a Dutch East India Company ("VOC") ship. He was a follower of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

whose scientific activities resulted in the first detailed description of the flora and fauna of Japan. * Hendrik Doeff (1799, Dutch Republic) former Dutch East India Company ("VOC") Opperhoofd (Chief Officer) who maintained the Dutch nationality of Dejima even after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

conquered the Netherlands. He presided over the Dutch East India Company ("VOC") during the Phaeton incident.

19th century

Nikolai Rezanov Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (russian: Николай Петрович Резанов) ( – ), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperors of All Russia� ...

(1804, Russia) A Russian diplomat who stayed in Nagasaki for 6 months. He was commissioned by

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

as Russian ambassador to Japan to conclude a commercial treaty, but his efforts were thwarted by the Japanese government. *

Vasily Golovnin Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (Russian: Василий Михайлович Головнин; , Gulyniki, Ryazan Oblast – , Saint Petersburg) was a Russian navigator, Vice Admiral, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences ( ...

, Fedor Mur, Andrey Khlebnikov with the crew (1811, Russia) – Russian navigators who were held captive for two years on the island of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. Golovnin's book, ''Captivity in Japan During the Years 1811, 1812, 1813'', was widely read by Europeans. Khlebnikov's mémoires left unpublished. *

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

(1823, Netherlands/Germany) A German physician, botanist in Dutch service at

who brought Western medicine to Japan. He was expelled from Japan after being accused as a spy (Siebold Incident). * Heinrich Bürger (1825..1835, Netherlands/Germany), A German scientist in Dutch service who became a pharmacist and botanist on Dejima. * Mercator Cooper (1845, United States) First formal American visit to Edo (now Tokyo), Japan. *

Ranald MacDonald Ranald MacDonald (February 3, 1824 – August 24, 1894) was the first native English-speaker to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Co ...

(1848, Scottish-Canadian), The first native English-speaker to teach English in Japan, who taught

Einosuke Moriyama was a samurai during the Tokugawa shogunate, and an interpreter of Dutch and English. He studied English under Dutch merchants and Ranald MacDonald. He was called upon to assist shogunate officials during the "Manhattan Incident" of 1845, durin ...

, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry 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 ...

. *

Matthew C. 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 o ...

(1853, United States) A

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

of the U.S. Navy who opened Japan to the West in 1854. *

Townsend Harris Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the "Harris Treaty" between the US and Japan and is credited as the di ...

(1855, United States) The first United States Consul-General to Japan. *

Henry Heusken Hendrick Conrad Joannes Heusken (January 20, 1832 – January 15, 1861) was a Dutch-American interpreter for the first American consulate in Japan, established at Gyokusen-ji in Shimoda, Shizuoka in the late Bakumatsu period.rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...

. His diary was published as ''Japan journal, 1855–1861''. * José Luis Ceacero Inguanzo (1855, Spain) Spanish Captain in Manila, Philippines. He was named samurai by the lord of Chikuzen. Advisor to the Meiji Government. *

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 ...

(1859, United Kingdom) The first British diplomatic representative to live in Japan. His book, ''The Capital of the Tycoon'', became one of the first books to describe Edo-period Japan systematically. *

James Curtis Hepburn James Curtis Hepburn (; March 13, 1815 – September 21, 1911) was an American physician, translator, educator, and lay Christian missionary. He is known for the Hepburn romanization system for transliteration of the Japanese language into ...

(1859, United States) An American physician, educator and Christian missionary who is known for the Hepburn romanization system, enabling westerners to read and write Japanese in Roman script. *

Thomas Blake Glover Thomas Blake Glover (6 June 1838 – 16 December 1911) was a Scottish merchant in the Bakumatsu and Meiji period in Japan. Early life (1838–1858) Thomas Blake Glover was born at 15 Commerce Street, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire (council area), ...

(1859, Scotland) A Scottish merchant who supported the anti-Edo government militant

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satchō'' () is ...

. His residence in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

still remains as a museum (

Glover Garden Glover House known as ''Ipponmatsu'' (Single Pine Tree) from a drawing of 1863. The tree was chopped down in the early 20th century. is a park in Nagasaki, Japan, built for Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish merchant who contributed to the mod ...

). *Margaret Tate Kinnear Ballagh (1861, United States) An American missionary who lived in Yokohama. Her account ''Glimpses Of Old Japan, 1861–1866'' is the only book written by a Western woman staying in Edo period Japan. *

Nicholas of Japan Saint Nicholas (Kasatkin), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan, born Ivan Dmitrovich Kasatkin (russian: Иван Дмитриевич Касаткин; – 16 February 1912) was a Russian Orthodox priest, monk, and bishop. He introdu ...

(1861, Russia) A

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

priest, monk, archbishop and saint who introduced the Eastern Orthodox Church to Japan. *

Charles Wirgman Charles Wirgman (31 August 1832 - 8 February 1891) was an English artist and cartoonist, the creator of the ''Japan Punch'' and illustrator in China and Meiji period-Japan for the ''Illustrated London News''. Wirgman was the eldest son of Ferdi ...

(1861, United Kingdom) An English artist and cartoonist, the creator of ''Japan Punch'' which was the first magazine in Japan. *

Charles Lennox Richardson Charles Lennox Richardson (16 April 1834 – 14 September 1862) was a British merchant based in Shanghai who was killed in Japan during the Namamugi Incident. His middle name is spelled ''Lenox'' in census and family documents. Merchant Richardso ...

(1862, United Kingdom) A British merchant who was murdered by samurai in the

Namamugi Incident The , also known as the Kanagawa incident and Richardson affair, was a political crisis that occurred in the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the ''Bakumatsu'' on 14 September 1862. Charles Lennox Richardson, a British merchant, was killed by t ...

which later led to the

Bombardment of Kagoshima The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , was a military engagement fought between Britain and the Satsuma Domain in Kagoshima from 15 to 17 August 1863. The British were attempting to extract compensation and legal justice from ''daim ...

. *

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 ...

(1862, United Kingdom) A British diplomat who assisted the negotiations during the

, and kept a diary of his career in Japan. *

Aimé Humbert Aimé Humbert-Droz (29 June 1819, in La Chaux-de-Fonds – 19 September 1900, in Neuchâtel) was a Swiss politician, traveler and educator. He was elected President of the Swiss Council of States in 1856 and President of the Union Horlogère Su ...

(1863, Switzerland) A Swiss politician who established a treaty with Japan and later published ''Japan and the Japanese Illustrates'', which captured many detailed scenes of Edo-period Japan. *

François Perregaux François Perregaux (1834 Le Locle, Switzerland – 1877, Yokohama, Japan) was a Swiss watchmaker and businessman. F. Perregaux was the first European Watchmaker to travel to Asia (1863) and is remembered for his contribution to establishing the ...

(1863, Switzerland) The first watchmaker in Japan. * James Favre-Brandt (1863, Switzerland) Took part in the first Swiss diplomatic mission to Japan. *

Felice Beato Felice Beato (1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, ...

(1865, United Kingdom) A photographer who recorded many rare views of Edo Period Japan. *

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...

(1865, Germany) An archaeologist who stayed in Japan for two months.''La Chine et le Japon au temps présent'' (1867) * Frederik Blekman (1839, Amsterdam / Holland) reached Nagasaki on 16 April 1859 via Jakarta. Translator and empresario

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerners who visited Japan before 1868 History of the foreign relations of Japan Edo period Lists of people by activity Rangaku Japan history-related lists

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

See also

References