The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' ( Kyūjitai: ,

Shinjitai are the simplified forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in ''shinjitai'' are also found in Simplified Chinese characters, but ''shinjitai'' is generally not as extensiv ...

: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the modernization of the

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 ...

. The term came from ''Yatoi'' (a person hired temporarily, a day laborer), was politely applied for hired foreigner as ''O-yatoi gaikokujin''. The total number is over 2,000, probably reaches 3,000 (with thousands more in the private sector). Until 1899, more than 800 hired foreign experts continued to be employed by the government, and many others were employed privately. Their occupation varied, ranging from high salaried government advisors, college professors and instructor, to ordinary salaried technicians. Along the process of the opening of the country, the Tokugawa Shogunate government first hired, German diplomat

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 and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. He w ...

as diplomatic advisor, Dutch naval engineer Hendrik Hardes for Nagasaki Arsenal and Willem Johan Cornelis, Ridder Huijssen van Kattendijke for

Nagasaki Naval Training Center The was a naval training institute, between 1855 when it was established by the government of the Tokugawa shogunate, until 1859, when it was transferred to Tsukiji in Edo. During the Bakumatsu period, the Japanese government faced increasing ...

, French naval engineer François Léonce Verny for

Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...

, and British civil engineer Richard Henry Brunton. Most of the O-yatoi was appointed through government approval with two or three years contract, and took their responsibility properly in Japan, except some cases. As the Public Works hired almost 40% of the total number of the O-yatois, the main goal in hiring the O-yatois was to obtain transfers of technology and advice on systems and cultural ways. Therefore, young Japanese officers gradually took over the post of the O-yatoi after they completed training and education at the Imperial College, Tokyo, the

Imperial College of Engineering The Imperial College of Engineering (工部大学校, ''Kōbudaigakkō'') was a Japanese institution of higher education that was founded during the Meiji Era. The college was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Works for ...

or studying abroad. The O-yatois were highly paid; in 1874, they numbered 520 men, at which time their salaries came to ¥2.272 million, or 33.7 percent of the national annual budget. The salary system was equivalent to the British India, for instance, the chief engineer of the British India's Public Works was paid 2,500 Rs/month which was almost same as 1,000 Yen, salary of Thomas William Kinder, superintendent of the Osaka Mint in 1870. Despite the value they provided in the modernization of Japan, the Japanese government did not consider it prudent for them to settle in Japan permanently. After the contract terminated, most of them returned to their country except some, like Josiah Conder and William Kinninmond Burton. The system was officially terminated in 1899 when

extraterritoriality In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cl ...

came to an end in Japan. Nevertheless, similar employment of foreigners persists in Japan, particularly within the national

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

system and

professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought l ...

Notable O-yatoi gaikokujin

Agriculture

* William Smith Clark * Edwin Dun * Max Fesca * Oskar Kellner * Oskar Löw, agronomist * William Penn Brooks, agronomist

Medical science

* Erwin von Bälz * Johannes Ludwig Janson * Heinrich Botho Scheube * Julius Scriba

Law, administration, and economics

* Georges Appert, legal scholar * Gustave Emile Boissonade, legal scholar * Hermann Roesler, jurist and economist *

Georg Michaelis Georg Michaelis (8 September 1857 – 24 July 1936) was the chancellor of the German Empire for a few months in 1917. He was the first (and the only one of the German Empire) chancellor not of noble birth to hold the office. With an economic ba ...

,"Georg Michaelis" at Archontology.org
retrieved 2013-4-4. jurist * Albert Mosse, jurist * Otfried Nippold, jurist * Heinrich Waentig, economist and jurist * Georges Hilaire Bousquet, legal scholar *

Horatio Nelson Lay Horatio Nelson Lay (23 January 1832 – 4 May 1898, Forest Hill, Kent, England) was a British diplomat, noted for his role in the ill-fated "Lay-Osborn Flotilla" during the Taiping Rebellion. Biography Early life Horatio Nelson Lay was born in ...

, railway developer * Alexander Allan Shand, monetary * Henry Willard Denison, diplomat *

Karl Rathgen Karl Rathgen (December 6, 1856, Weimar - November 4, 1921, Hamburg) was a German economist. He was the first Chancellor of the University of Hamburg. After studying in Strasbourg, Halle, Leipzig and Berlin, he passed the first state examination ...

, economist

Military

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as an artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, he refu ...

, artillery officer *

Léonce Verny François Léonce Verny, (2 December 1837 – 2 May 1908) was a French officer and naval engineerSims, Richard. (1998) ''French Policy Towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan 1854-95: A Case of Misjudgement and Missed Opportunities,'' p. 246./ref> ...

, constructor of the

* Klemens Wilhelm Jakob Meckel, Army instructor *

Carl Köppen Carl Köppen (23 August 1833 - 28 June 1907) was a German military advisor active in Japan at the start of the Meiji era. Biography A member of the Schaumburg-Lippe Jäger Battalion who rose rapidly through the ranks, Köppen was invited to teach ...

, Army instructor * James R. Wasson, Civil engineer and teacher, army engineer * Douglas R. Cassel, Naval instructor * Henry Walton Grinnell, Navy instructor * José Luis Ceacero Inguanzo, Navy instructor * Charles Dickinson West, naval architect * Henry Spencer Palmer, military engineer * Archibald Lucius Douglas, Naval instructor

Natural science and mathematics

William Edward Ayrton William Edward Ayrton, FRS (14 September 18478 November 1908) was an English physicist and electrical engineer. Life Early life and education Ayrton was born in London, the son of Edward Nugent Ayrton, a barrister, and educated at Universit ...

, physicist *

Edward Divers Edward Divers FRS (27 November 1837 – 8 April 1912) was a British experimental chemist who rose to prominence despite being visually impaired from young age. Between 1873 and 1899, Divers lived and worked in Japan and significantly contribute ...

, chemist * Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, physicist *

Edward S. Morse Edward Sylvester Morse (June 18, 1838 – December 20, 1925) was an American zoologist, archaeologist, and oriental studies, orientalist. He is considered the "Father of Japanese archaeology." Early life Morse was born in Portland, Maine, ...

, zoologist * Charles Otis Whitman, zoologist, successor of

* Heinrich Edmund Naumann, geologist *

Curt Netto Curt Adolph Netto (August 21, 1847 – February 7, 1909) was a German metallurgist and educator. He is regarded as a precursor for the industrial utilization of aluminium. He was active in early Meiji period Japan. Biography Netto was born in ...

, metallurgist * Sir James Alfred Ewing, physicist and engineer who founded Japanese

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

, succeeding J.A. Ewing * Benjamin Smith Lyman, mining engineer

Engineering

William P. Brooks William Penn Brooks (November 19, 1851 – March 8, 1938) was an American agricultural scientist, who worked as a oyatoi gaikokujin, foreign advisor in Meiji period Japan during the colonization project for Hokkaidō. He was the eighth president o ...

, agriculture * Richard Henry Brunton, builder of lighthouses *

Charles Alfred Chastel de Boinville Charles Alfred Chastel de Boinville (1849 – April 25, 1897) was an Anglo-French architect, who worked in Japan and Britain. His father was a well known clergyman who completed 30 years of missionary service in France, and left several public ...

, architect * Josiah Conder, architect * William Kinnimond Burton, engineering, architecture, photography * Horace Capron, agriculture, road construction * Henry Dyer, engineering education * Hermann Ende, architect *

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 ...

, mechanical watchmaker * Albert Favre Zanuti, mechanical watchmaker *

George Arnold Escher George Arnold Escher (10 May 1843 – 14 June 1939) was a Dutch civil engineer and a foreign advisor to the Japanese government during the Meiji period.Louman, Johannes. (2007). He was the father of the graphic artist M. C. Escher and the geolog ...

, civil engineer * John G.H. Godfrey, geologist, mining engineer * John Milne, geologist, seismologist *

Colin Alexander McVean Colin Alexander McVean, FRGS (6 March 1838 – 18 January 1912) was a Scottish civil engineer who made a considerable contribution to Japan's engineering development in 1870s. He left two brief autobiographies, diaries, photos, letters and a co ...

, civil engineer * Edmund Morel, civil engineer *

Johannis de Rijke Johannis de Rijke (December 5, 1842 – January 20, 1913) was a Dutch civil engineer and a foreign advisor to the Japanese government in Meiji period Japan. Early life De Rijke was born in Colijnsplaat on the island Noord-Beveland. Rijsbergen, ...

, civil engineer, flood control, river projects *

John Alexander Low Waddell Dr. John Alexander Low Waddell (January 15, 1854 – March 3, 1938, often shortened to J.A.L. Waddell and sometimes known as John Alexander Waddell) was a Canadian-American civil engineer and prolific bridge designer, with more than a thousa ...

, bridge engineer * Thomas James Waters, civil engineer *

William Gowland William Gowland FRAI (16 December 1842 – 9 June 1922) was an English mining engineer who carried out archaeological work at Stonehenge and in Japan. He has been called the "Father of Japanese Archaeology". Biography Gowland was born in Sunde ...

, mining engineer, archaeologist * James Favre-Brandt, mechanical watchmaker * Jean Francisque Coignet, mining engineer * Henry Scharbau, cartographer * Wilhelm Böckmann, architect *

Anthonie Rouwenhorst Mulder Anthonie Rouwenhorst Mulder (28 April 1848 – 6 March 1901) was a Dutch engineer and foreign advisor specializing in hydraulic engineering in Meiji period Empire of Japan. Mulder was born in Leiden, Kingdom of the Netherlands as the son of a t ...

, civil engineer, rivers and ports

Art and music

* Edoardo Chiossone - engraver * Luther Whiting Mason, musician *

Ernest Fenollosa Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (February 18, 1853 – September 21, 1908) was an American art historian of Japanese art, professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University. An important educator during the modernization of Japa ...

, art critic *

Franz Eckert Franz Eckert (5 April 1852 – 6 August 1916) was a German composer and musician who composed the harmony for Japan's national anthem, "Kimigayo" and the national anthem of the Korean Empire, " Aegukga". Early life and education Eckert was ...

, musician * Rudolf Dittrich, musician * Antonio Fontanesi, oil painter * Vincenzo Ragusa, sculptor *

John William Fenton John William Fenton (12 March 1828 – 28 April 1890) was an Irish musician of Scottish descent and the leader of a military band in Japan at the start of the Meiji period. He is considered "the first bandmaster in Japan" and "the father of band ...

, musician

Liberal arts, humanities and education

* Alice Mabel Bacon, pedagoge * Basil Hall Chamberlain, Japanologist and Professor of Japanese *

James Summers James Summers (5 July 1828 – 26 October 1891) was a British scholar of English literature, hired by the Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to establish an English language curriculum at the ''Kaisei Gakuin'' (the forerunner of Toky ...

, English literature * Lafcadio Hearn, Japanologist * Viktor Holtz, educator * Raphael von Koeber, philosopher and musician * Ludwig Riess, historian * Leroy Lansing Janes, educator, missionary *

Marion McCarrell Scott Marion McCarrell Scott (21 August 1843 - 23 May 1922) was an American educator and government advisor in Meiji period Japan. Biography Scott was born in Barren County, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Virginia during the American Ci ...

, educator * Edward Bramwell Clarke, educator * David Murray, educator

Missionary activities

William Elliot Griffis William Elliot Griffis (September 17, 1843 – February 5, 1928) was an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author.Brown, John Howard. (1904)."Griffis, William Elliot,"''The Twentieth Century Biographical Diction ...

, clergyman, author * Guido Verbeck, missionary, pedagoge * Horace Wilson, missionary and teacher credited with introducing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

to Japan

Others

Francis Brinkley Francis Brinkley (30 December 1841 – 12 October 1912) was an Anglo-Irish newspaper owner, editor and scholar who resided in Meiji period Japan for over 40 years, where he was the author of numerous books on Japanese culture, art and architect ...

, journalist * Ottmar von Mohl, court protocol

References

External links

Dentsu Advertising Museum/Meiji Era

The impact of the O-Yatoi Gaikokujin during the Meiji Era

Tokyo University of Education 120th Anniversary Memorial Tokyo University Show
(in Japanese) {{Authority control F F