Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

of the late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

who became an influential member of the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

government of Japan.

Early life

Yamao was born in Aio-Futajima, a village in Chōshū domain (present day

Yamaguchi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

), and received a traditional training as a Samurai. He was eager to learn science, and entered the

Egawa School Egawa (written: or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese cross-country skier *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese Paralympic swimmer *, Japanese baseball analyst and a former pitcher *, Japanese manga artist ...

in Edo, then continued studying under Takeda Hishisaburo, a samurai engineer at Hakodate. In the end of 1862, he joined extremist group of Chōshū domain, and set fire to newly completed British Legation building on Gotenyama. Five of the young Choshu samurais, so called Chōshū Five soon left Japan for London from Nagasaki to study western knowledge in 1863 with help of Thomas Blake Glover.

Studies and training in Britain

Before being able to study at the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, the members of the Choshu Five studied English for a year. Two of his colleagues Itō Hirobumi and Inoue Kaoru returned to Japan to try and stop Chōshū domain going to war with the Western powers, but Yamao and two other remained and studied science and industry at

. After two years, Yamao moved to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to receive technical training at Napier's shipyard on the Clyde. He lived in the home of Colin Brown, a friend of Hugh Matheson, and attended evening classes at Anderson's College (now the University of Strathclyde). Henry Dyer also attended the college and said he saw Yamao, although they did not become personally acquainted at that time. Brown remembered that Yamao worked hard everyday from early in the morning for future of Japan at Glasgow, and could not help but call Yamao a "real hero" when he was informed that Yamao took a position of responsibility in 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 ...

by C.A. McVean.

Return to Japan

Soon after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

took place, Yamao returned to Japan and joined the new

. He first took charge of the Yokosuka Shipyard (former Yokosuka Arsenal) and

Yokohama Iron-works is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

. Meanwhile Edmund Morel, a chief engineer for railway construction, proposed the new government to found the Ministry of Public Works, and Ito Hirobumi and Yamao endeavoured to create the new ministry. As Morel emphasised importance of engineering education and Colin Alexander McVean advised Yamao to set up survey department, Yamao successfully added these two departments into the new ministry in September 1871. After Morel died in October 1871, Yamao had to find new advisor for establishment of the engineering college, and eventually contacted Hugh Matheson again through good offices of McVean.Hideo Izumida: Reconsideration of Foundation of the Imperial College of Engineering, Transaction of Architectural Institute of Japan, 2017. Matheson kindly arranged appointment of teaching staff for the college led by Henry Dyer through his connection with Lewis Gordon, William Rankine and William Thomson. Before arriving to Japan in June 1873, Dyer arranged calendar and syllabus for the engineering college on the board, which was accepted by Yamao without any revision. Yamao successfully established the college, which was officially renamed the Imperial College of Engineering in 1877. He also set up a school for the blind and deaf and is said to have introduced the idea of sign language to Japan. Yamao was elevated to the rank of ''shishaku'' (

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

) in the '' kazoku'' peerage system.

Auld Lang Syne

Colin Brown was Euing Lecturer of Music in the Andersonian College, and compiled "Songs of Scotland: New Symphonies and Accompaniments (1873)" together with J. Pittman, "Auld Langsyne" on page 21. Yamao has surely used to listen to this song at Colin Brown's home and it is possible that Yamao introduced '' Auld Lang Syne'' to Japan where it is called ''Hotaru no Hikari'' (The Light of the Fireflies) and is sung at high school graduation ceremonies.

Reference and further reading

* Beasley, W. G. ''The Meiji Restoration.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972. * Cobbing, Andrew. ''The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain''. RoutledgeCurzon, London, 1998. * Craig, Albert M. ''Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961.

External links

Yozo Yamao (1837-1917)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamao, Yozo 1837 births 1917 deaths People from Yamaguchi (city) Japanese politicians Japanese educators Kazoku Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Japanese engineers People of the Meiji era Alumni of University College London People associated with University College London Samurai Mōri retainers