Richard Henry Brunton
FRGS MICE
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
(26 December 1841 – 24 April 1901) was the so-called "
Father of
Often, discoveries and innovations are the work of multiple people, resulting from continual improvements over time. However, certain individuals are remembered for making significant contributions to the birth or development of a field or tech ...
Japanese
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
s". Brunton was born in
Muchalls,
Kincardineshire, Scotland. He was employed by the government of
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 as a foreign advisor (''
o-yatoi 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 m ...
''), primarily to build lighthouses.
Over a period of seven and a half years he designed and supervised the building of 26 Japanese lighthouses in the
Western style, which became known as Brunton's "children". To operate the lighthouses he established a system of
lighthouse keepers, based on the one used in Scotland. He also helped found Japan's first school of
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
. In 1871, he was received by
Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
in recognition of his efforts.
Early life
Brunton was born in the Coastguard House (now 11 Marine Terrace) at
Muchalls,
Fetteresso in
The Mearns
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. His father Richard was an officer in the Coastguard Service who had married Margaret Telfor in January 1841. After training as a
railway engineer
Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, comput ...
he joined the Stevenson brothers (
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and
Thomas Stevenson) who were engaged by the
British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
to build
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
s.
Career
Life in Japan
Under pressure from British minister Sir
Harry Parkes to fulfil its obligations to make the waters and harbors of Japan safe for shipping, 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 ...
hired the
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
-based firm of D. and T. Stevenson to chart coastal waters and to build lighthouses where appropriate. The project had already begun under French
foreign advisor Léonce Verny, but was not proceeding fast enough for the British.
Brunton was sent from Edinburgh in August 1868 to head the project after being recommended to the Japanese government by the Stevensons, despite the fact that he had no experience in lighthouse building at all. He was accompanied by his wife, sister-in-law and two assistants. The party received word while docked at
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
of the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and its replacement by the
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
, and decided to continue on to Japan, reasoning that the new government was still bound by the international commitments of its predecessor.
Over the next seven and a half years he designed and supervised the building of 26 Japanese lighthouses in the
Western style, along with two
lightvessels. An obituary published in the journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers states "in ten years he had he executed 50 lighthouses".
There had been Japanese lighthouses before then, but they were short and squat buildings, such as the old Shirasu lighthouse now in the grounds of
Kokura Castle
is a castle in Kitakyushu, Japan. It was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki starting in 1602, with construction completed in 1608.
History
Construction of Kokura Castle began in 1602 and was completed in 1608. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan ...
in
Kitakyushu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuku ...
.
![Old Shirasu lighthouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Old_Shirasu_lighthouse.JPG)
Brunton also established a system of
lighthouse keepers, modeled on the
Northern Lighthouse Board in Scotland.
Aside from his work on lighthouses around Japan, Brunton also surveyed and drew the first detailed maps of
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 ...
, planned its sewage system, street paving and gas lights, established a telegraph system, and designed and built the settlement's first iron bridge. He also helped found Japan's first school of
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
. In recognition of his efforts, he was received by
Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
in an audience in 1871.
[
Brunton returned to London on a leave of absence in July 1872, and was enlisted to assist the ]Iwakura Mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...
during its visit. In September, Brunton took Itō Hirobumi
was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era.
A London-educated samur ...
and a group of his assistants to visit 28 factories around London making a variety of manufactured goods, and continued on to Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
before rejoining the main group of the Iwakura Mission in Edinburgh in early October.
Return to Britain
After disagreeing with Japanese officials he left Japan in March 1876, later receiving a prize for his paper "Japan Lights".
On his return he first set up in Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
for Young's Paraffin Oil, before moving to south London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1881 making architectural plasterwork, where he remained until his death. He is buried in West Norwood Cemetery, where his marble memorial there was restored by Yokohama Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
in 1991.
List of Brunton's Japanese Lighthouses
The names of the 26 lighthouses (Brunton's "children") constructed by Brunton, in order of north to south, and the names of their present locations after mergers of towns etc.
Memoir
Brunton wrote a memoir of his time in Japan, titled ''Pioneer Engineering in Japan: A Record of Work in helping to Re-Lay the Foundations of Japanese Empire (1868–1876)''. However, it was not published until the 1990s, when it was printed by separate publishers under two different names: ''Building Japan 1868–1876'' and ''Schoolmaster to an Empire: Richard Henry Brunton in Meiji Japan, 1868–1876''. (See below.)
The former, containing the text (with some modified spellings) as edited by William Elliot Griffis at the turn of the twentieth century, contains plates with photos and illustrations. The latter however, purports to be based on a manuscript predating the heavy editing of Griffis, while retaining updated versions of Griffis's footnotes.
*''Building Japan 1868–1876'' by Richard Henry Brunton with an introduction by Hugh Cortazzi
Sir Arthur Henry Hugh Cortazzi, (2 May 1924 – 14 August 2018) was a British diplomat. He was also a distinguished international businessman, academic, author and prominent Japanologist. He was Ambassador from the United Kingdom to Japan ...
, Japan Library Limited, 1991,
*''Schoolmaster to an Empire'' by R. Henry Brunton, edited by Edward R. Beauchamp, Greenwood Press, 1991,
In his memoir, Brunton describes in some detail the burial of Frank Toovey Lake
Frank Toovey Lake (1849–1868) died while serving in Japan with the British Royal Navy. After his death at the age of 19, he was interred on the island of Sanuki Hiroshima in the Seto Inland Sea. Since his burial – and until the present day ...
, a midshipman who was sailing with him on ''HMS Manilla'' when he was making his first survey of locations to erect the lighthouses. The grave is located on the island of Hiroshima in the Seto Inland Sea
The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...
; a memorial alongside the grave also records the association with Brunton, and in 2018, the Japanese Coast Guard
The is the coast guard of Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. ...
undertook a ceremony at the grave to celebrate both Lake and Brunton. His high regard for the care that the islanders gave to the grave was, as he himself admitted in his book, in contrast to his general impression of the Japanese.
See also
*Anglo-Japanese relations
The Anglo-Japanese style developed in the United Kingdom through the Victorian period and early Edwardian period from approximately 1851 to the 1910s, when a new appreciation for Japanese design and culture influenced how designers and craftspe ...
* Thomas Blake Glover
* Alexander Cameron Sim
*James MacRitchie
James MacRitchie (26 September 1847 – 26 April 1895) was Municipal Engineer to the Singapore Municipal Commission from 1883 to 1895. Singapore's oldest reservoir MacRitchie Reservoir was named after him in 1922.
Early life and education
MacRi ...
Lighthouse Engineer in Japan c. 1870s
Notes
External links
Richard Henry Brunton
from a blog by a namesake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunton, Richard Henry
1841 births
1901 deaths
Scottish civil engineers
Scottish expatriates in Japan
People from Kincardine and Mearns
Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan
Foreign educators in Japan
Lighthouse builders
Burials at West Norwood Cemetery
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society