Tannaker Buhicrosan (タナカー・ブヒクロサン) (25 February 1839 – 10 August 1894), christened Frederik "Frank" Eduard Marie Martinus Blekman, and also known as Furederikku Burekkuman, was a Dutch-Japanese translator, international businessman and promoter best known for operating the Japanese Village exhibition erected in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End. Toponymy Knightsbridge is an ancien ...

from 1885 to 1887.

Early years

Buhicrosan was born in Amsterdam on 25 February 1839, the son of Susanna Catharina ''née'' van der Hulst (born 1814) and Eduard Matthijs Nicolaas Blekman (born 1815).1871 England Census for Frederik Blekman
Bedfordshire, Luton, Ancestry.com Travelling first via Australia and New Zealand, Blekman arrived in

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

in 1859, living among the foreign community in Nagasaki. Still known as Blekman at the time, he was hired first by the British Legation as a Dutch translator in 1861 for the

Shimonoseki is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the Chūgoku region. It is located at the southwestern tip of Honshu facing the Tsush ...

area and later to represent the French in talks with the second Japanese Ambassadorial European dispatch in 1864–1866, as Dutch was the language the Japanese used to negotiate treaties at this time. However, he caused financial strife between the French and Shogunal authorities by inflating the asking price for French warships to divert the excess payment to his trading company and was dismissed as their intermediary Dutch interpreter. JapaneseNativeVillageHydePark

With a warrant out for his arrest in Japan he fled to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and began anew, putting together his first entertainment troupe in 1867, eventually going on tour. By 1871 he was in Britain as the "Professional Manager of a Japanese Troupe", lodging at

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

in Bedfordshire with his Japanese wife Omoto Blekman (''née'' Kagami, 1843–1916) and nine other Japanese people. Capitalising on the craze for "all things Japan", he primarily focused on promoting his "Japanese Entertainment" performances (popularised by the San Francisco Japanese community), taking the moniker Tannaker Buhicrosan (perhaps part of Japanese Expat pidgin). Buhicrosan began to sell "Japanese products" such as umbrellas and began to demonstrate real Japanese craftsmen and their works in the show in mock-up traditional "Old Japan" style houses (a popular 19th century infantile notion of Japan) with food stalls and another "Japanese" temple attached. In 1874 he moved to London, and in 1878 he appeared in court in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in Hampshire, charged with obtaining money under false pretences, but was acquitted. In 1879 he married a British-Japanese woman, Ruth Otake Buchirosan (1851–1914), settling in Hither Lane,

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

, London, where they had 10 children.

Japanese village, Knightsbridge

In premises in Milton Street, Finsbury, in December 1883 Buhicrosan 'set up The Japanese Native Village Exhibition and Trading Company Limited with a number of associates, including Cornelius B. Pare, a Japan and China merchant in the city, Ambrose Austin, a concert agent, and John Miles, a Wardour Street printer. ... Buhicrosan was to receive a salary of at least £1,000' from his new trading venture. Buhicrosan in January 1885 opened the Japanese Village in

, London, at Humphreys' Hall, attracting great success with 250,000 visitors, the popularity of which was boosted by Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera hit, ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', which opened in March 1885. The village burned down in May, causing surrounding property damage and killing a Japanese carpenter. The troupe had already been engaged to appear at the 1885 International Hygiene Exhibition in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

s Exhibition Park. In December 1885 the village reopened in London with 'several streets of shops ... two temples and various free-standing idols, and a pool spanned by a rustic bridge'. The village employed over 100 people, such as Japanese craftsmen, performers and artisans in London. The novelty had worn off on the public by 1887, and the village was closed in June.

Last years and death

After that Buhicrosan toured England, dying in 1894 in Lewisham.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995 for Tanaker Buhicrosan, 1894
Ancestry.com

References

External links

Cultural Appropriation or Swiftian Satire? Gilbert and Sullivan’s ''The Mikado''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhicrosan, Tannaker 1839 births 1894 deaths Dutch translators Businesspeople from Amsterdam 19th-century translators