Walter Weston (25 December 1861 – 27 March 1940), was an English clergyman and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

missionary who helped popularise recreational

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

in Japan at the turn of the 20th century.

Background and early life

Weston was born 25 December 1861 at 22 Parker Street,

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, England, the sixth son of John Weston, an elastic manufacturer, and his wife, Emma Britland. He was educated at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational an ...

between 1876 and 1880, where he held the school record for running the mile distance (viz., four minutes, 47 seconds). He then went up to

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, graduating BA in 1883 and MA in 1887. He studied for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

's priesthood at

Ridley Hall, Cambridge Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and member ...

. He played six times for

Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in their inaugural season, 1884–85. Mother Emma Britland's surname corrected based on Ancestry.com England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: England, Marriages, 1538–1973. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

Early career

Ordained a deacon in 1885, priest in 1886, Weston was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of St John's,

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, in 1885. He was already a mountaineer, and in 1886 and 1887 spent periods climbing in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

Weston in Japan

Weston went to Japan as a missionary of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

in 1888, working first at

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

, then serving as chaplain in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

from 1889 to 1895. Alternating between postings to parishes in England, Weston spent a total of fifteen years in various ministries of the

Anglican Church in Japan The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church rep ...

between 1888 and 1915 including service as a SPG sponsored missionary at St. Andrew's Cathedral and

Christ Church, Yokohama Christ Church, Yokohama (横浜山手聖公会 Yokohama Yamate Seikokai), is a historic Anglican church located in Yamate, Yokohama, Japan. Providing a center of worship for both Japanese and English-language congregations the church traces its fo ...

. He began mountain climbing while expressing a strong interest in Japanese landscapes, traditions, customs and culture. He published ''Mountaineering and Exploration in the Japanese Alps'' (1896). As a writer and lecturer he continued to introduce Japan to an overseas audience. He gave universal currency to the term

Japanese Alps The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. The peaks that tower over central Honshu have long been the object of veneration and pilgrimage. These mountains had long been exploited by local people for raw m ...

, though it was first used before he came to Japan. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Japanese Alpine Club in 1906, and became its first honorary member.

Legacy in Japan

Weston and

Edward Bramwell Clarke Edward Bramwell Clarke (31 January 1874 – 28 April 1934) was an educator in Meiji period Japan, who is credited with introducing the sport of rugby to Japan. Early life Clarke was born at the treaty port of Yokohama, the son of a baker. He gr ...

are the westerners identified with the emergence of mountain climbing as a new sport in Japan. In the past in Japan, climbing steep high peaks was considered to be an act of practicing

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local fol ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and was hardly considered a sport. By the end of Weston's life, some British climbers referred to him as ‘the father of mountaineering in Japan’. In 1937,

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

conferred on him the Japanese

Order of the Sacred Treasures The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest t ...

(fourth class) and the Japanese Alpine Club erected a bronze tablet in his honour at

Kamikōchi is a remote mountainous highland valley within the Hida Mountains range, in the western region of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has been preserved in its natural state within Chūbu-Sangaku National Park. It is designated as one of Japan's Na ...

in the Japanese Alps. The Weston Park of

Mount Ena is a mountain peak of the Kiso Mountains range in the Chūbu region of Japan. Geography Mount Ena is in elevation. It is located on the border between Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture and Achi, Nagano, Achi in Nagano Prefecture. ...

was made in October 2001. Each year on 11 May, the Weston festival at the park opens the climbing season in the Japanese Northern Alps.

Later career

After returning to England during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Weston settled in London and became an active member of the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of which ...

of Great Britain, the

Japan Society of London The Japan Society of the United Kingdom, founded in 1891, is an organisation that fosters British-Japanese relations. It is the oldest such organisation dedicated to inter-cultural understanding and positive relationships between a European Count ...

(serving on its council), and the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, which in 1917 awarded him its

Back Award The Back Award, also referred to as the Back Grant, was first given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1882 for "applied or scientific geographical studies which make an outstanding contribution to the development of national or international pub ...

and a Fellowship for his work in Japan. He was a lecturer for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and the

Gilchrist Educational Trust The Gilchrist Educational Trust is a British charity supporting education, perhaps best known for its support of the Gilchrist Lecturers from 1867 to 1939. The trust was established in 1841 by the will of British Indologist, John Borthwick Gilchris ...

and established himself as a writer.

Family

On 3 April 1902, prior to the start of Weston's second extended stay in Japan, he married Frances Emily, second daughter of

Sir Francis Fox Sir Francis Fox (29 June 1844 – 7 January 1927) was an English civil engineer, who was responsible for the bridges over the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi and Sydney Harbour, the Mersey Railway Tunnel and the Liverpool Overhead Railway, and ...

, a prominent civil engineer. Frances accompanied Weston on many of his expeditions in the Japanese Alps.

Books

Weston's published books include: *''Mountaineering and Exploration in the Japanese Alps'' (1896) *'' The Playground of the Far East'' (1918) *''A Wayfarer in Unfamiliar Japan'' (1925) *''Japan'' (1926)

References

*''Weston, Walter (1860–1940), mountaineer and missionary'' by Peter H. Hansen in

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

(2004) *''In Memoriam: Walter Weston'' by T. A. Rumbold and H. S. Bullock in ''The Alpine Journal'', vol. 52 (1940), pages 271–275

External links

*
The Collected Works of Walter WestonOxford Dictionary of National Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Walter People educated at Derby School English mountain climbers British expatriates in Japan English Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in Japan Derby County F.C. players 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests People from Derby Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge 1861 births 1940 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Association footballers not categorized by position Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class English footballers