Baroness (née and formerly ), was a Japanese educator, one of the first two Japanese women to attend a college, and one of the first piano teachers in Japan.

Biography

was born in Edo on 18 April 1862, one of the four daughters of Masuda Takayoshi, a Sado bugyō. She was the younger sister of

Masuda Takashi Baron , was a Japanese industrialist, investor, and art collector. He was a prominent entrepreneur in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan, responsible for transforming Mitsui into a ''zaibatsu'' through the creation of a general ...

. When she was six years old, she experienced the Battle of Ueno, part of the Boshin War in which her father and brother supported the losing side of 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 ...

. To keep Shige safe from imperial backlash after the war, her brother Takashi asked his friend Nagai Gen'ei, a doctor who was relocating away from Tokyo with other exiled members of the shogun's retinue, to take Shige with him. She was adopted by Nagai Gen'ei or his son Kyūtarō and was known as Nagai Shige. She studied at the temple school in her new village for three years, learning to read and write Japanese. First female study-abroad students

In November 1871 at the age of only 10 years old, Nagai Shige was among the five Japanese girls sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as part of 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 ...

and was brought to the household of

John Stevens Cabot Abbott John Stevens Cabot Abbott (September 19, 1805 – June 17, 1877), an American historian, pastor, and pedagogical writer, was born in Brunswick, Maine to Jacob and Betsey Abbott. Early life He was a brother of Jacob Abbott, and was associated ...

. She graduated from New Haven High School. On September 19, 1878, she entered the School of Art at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

under the name of Shige Nagai. She and

Ōyama Sutematsu Princess , born , was a prominent figure in the Meiji era, and the first Japanese woman to receive a college degree. She was born into a traditional samurai household which supported the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War. As a child, she ...

, who also enrolled at Vassar that year, were the first two Japanese women to enroll in a college. Shige studied music at Vassar for three years. She received a Certificate in Music from Vassar on June 22, 1881. After returning to Japan in 1881, Nagai Shigeko married

Uryū Sotokichi Baron was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active in the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay and the Battle of Tsushima. His name has sometimes been transliterated as "Uriu Sotokichi", or "Uriu Sotok ...

in a Christian ceremony on 1 December 1882 . Shigeko was one Japan's first piano teachers. She was one of the founding teachers, teaching Western music, at the

Tokyo Music School or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

when it opened in 1882. She also served as a teacher at the Tokyo Women's Normal School. Her husband Uryū Sotokichi was made a Baron for his service in Japan's navy 1894-1895 and 1904–1905, and Shigeko became a Baroness. Baroness Uryū Shigeko made a visit to the United States in 1909, attending Vassar's commencement ceremony and speaking about the education of women in Japan. She died on 3 November 1928. Sutematsu, Alice, Ukeko, Shigeko

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uryu, Shigeko 1862 births 1928 deaths Japanese educators People of Meiji-period Japan Members of the Iwakura Mission Academic staff of Ochanomizu University Academics from Tokyo Vassar College alumni Japanese women educators 19th-century Japanese women

Biography

See also

References