Draft:Maeda Jurozaemon
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Maeda Jurozaemon | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 前田 十郎左衛門 |
| Born | 1849 Kagoshima, Japan |
| Died | 7 October 1870 (aged 20–21) Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
Branch | Imperial Japanese Navy |
Rank | Lieutenant |
| Relations | Maeda Shinnosuke (father), Fudeko (mother) |
Maeda Jurozaemon (Japanese: 前田 十郎左衛門, Kagoshima, Japan, 1849 – Bahia, Brazil, 1870) was a samurai and lieutenant in the Japanese Navy who was sent by his daimyo, Prince Shimazu Hisamitsu,[1] to learn English and study British naval techniques aboard the second formation of the Flying Squadron. Lt. Maeda performed seppuku aboard the flagship HMS Liverpool and was buried in the British Cemetery of Bahia. He was one of the first Japanese naval officers to study overseas, and is described in Japanese-language sources as the first Japanese national known to have been buried on Brazilian soil.[2]
Background
[edit]Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Emperor Meiji decreed that the Royal Navy would serve as the model for developing Japan's own naval forces. When the second formation of the Flying Squadron stopped at Edo and Yokohama in 1870,[3] Maeda and Ichiro Itsuki were sent with it to England to learn naval techniques that would modernize the Japanese Navy.[4]
Biography
[edit]Maeda Jurozaemon was born in 1849 in Kagoshima, the son of Maeda Shinnosuke, a samurai, and Fudeko. On 8 June 1869 he entered Keio University, later studying at Kaiseijo and then at the Naval Training School.[a]
In April 1870, Maeda and Ichiro Itsuki were sent to join the Flying Squadron as students, Maeda aboard the HMS Liverpool and Ichiro Itsuki aboard the HMS Phoebe. They were introduced to Rear-Admiral Geoffrey Hornby at the Summer Palace on 14 April.[3]
In the early morning of 7 October 1870,[3][5] having been seen sharpening his short sword while under suicide watch, Maeda grabbed the sword that was lying on his portmanteau in the wardroom of the Liverpool and performed seppuku. He was buried later that day in the "Jewish" section of the British Cemetery with Anglican rites, conducted by the Rev. Caley, the chaplain of the Anglican Chapel of Salvador, Bahia.[3]
An academic study of the case was later published in the Japanese-language journal Studies in the History of English Learning.[6]
Tributes
[edit]There were later plans to send a tombstone from Japan, but when the cruiser ''Ikoma'' visited the site in 1910, Maeda's grave could not be located because it was believed at the time that he had been buried in a Jewish cemetery. In 1922, a training squadron including the ''Asama'', ''Iwate'', and ''Izumo'' revisited Bahia, but the grave was again not found.
Maeda's burial is recorded in the archives of the British Cemetery of Bahia, though his grave has since disappeared. On 6 July 2026, the Bahia branch of the Brazil-Japan Cultural Association and the Church of St. George and British Cemetery Association unveiled a plaque in his honour.[7]
The story of the samurai's death and the disappearance of his grave, as recounted in an article by the British scholar Sabrina Gledhill,[4] inspired the Brazilian graphic novel Rocha navegável ("Navigable Rock"),[8] written by Fábio Costa and illustrated by Igor Souza (2020), which was nominated for a Jabuti Prize, and has itself been the subject of academic discussion.[9][10]
Bibliography
[edit]- Costa, Fábio and Souza, Igor (2020). Rocha navegável. RV Cultura e Arte.
- Fountain, Charles (ed.) (2002). "The Cruise of the Flying Squadron, 1869-1870." Transcription of the Diary of Midshipman Marcus McCausland. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~pbtyc/Flying_Squadron/Contents.html Accessed 19 July 2026.
- Gledhill, Sabrina (2007). "Seppuku na Cidade do Salvador" (Seppuku in the City of Salvador).[11]
- Potter, J.D. (1871). The Cruise Round the World of the Flying Squadron 1869-1870. London: Lake & Clench.
References
[edit]- ↑ Potter, J.D. (1871). The Cruise Round the World of the Flying Squadron - 1869-1870. London: Lake & Clench. pp. 213 ff.
- ↑ "明治３年＝バイーアで切腹した日本人＝海軍のエリート候補生＝薩摩武士の前田十郎左衛門" [Meiji 3: The Japanese Man Who Committed Seppuku in Bahia – Naval Officer Candidate Maeda Jurozaemon of Satsuma]. Nikkey Shimbun (in Japanese). 24 October 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Potter, J.D. (1871). The Cruise Round the World of the Flying Squadron - 1869-1870. London: Lake & Clench. pp. 213 ff.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - 1 2 Gledhill, Sabrina. "Seppuku na Cidade do Salvador: Como um tenente da Marinha Japonesa acabou enterrado no Cemitério dos Ingleses na Bahia" [Seppuku in the City of Salvador]. Associação Cultural Brasil Japão do Estado da Bahia (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- ↑ McCausland, Marcus. "Bahia Revisited". The Cruise of The Flying Squadron. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- ↑ "留学生前田十郎左衛門の死" [The Death of the Overseas Student Maeda Jurozaemon]. 英学史研究 (Studies in the History of English Learning) (in Japanese) (34): 47–52. 2001.
- ↑ "ACBJ-BA: Celebração e Caminho". ACBJ-BA (in Portuguese). 15 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Costa, Fabio (2020). Rocha navegavel. Salvador: RV Cultura e Arte. ISBN 978-65-86679-03-8.
- ↑ "Rocha Navegável: o choque encantado dos sentidos". Revista Sísifo (in Portuguese) (15). 2022. ISSN 2359-3121.
- ↑ "A jornada da individuação: um estudo sobre o herói na HQ Rocha Navegável" (PDF). Cadernos Junguianos (in Portuguese) (17). 2023. ISSN 1808-5342.
- ↑ "Seppuku na Cidade do Salvador: Como um tenente da Marinha Japonesa acabou enterrado no Cemitério dos Ingleses na Bahia - Associação Cultural Brasil Japão do Estado da Bahia" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2026-06-06. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
Notes
[edit]- ↑ His biography is also the subject of a Japanese Wikipedia article.
Category:Meiji Restoration Category:History of Japan Category:Japanese expatriates in Brazil Category:19th-century Japanese people