Kagoshima’s Satsuma Students: 160 years since their pioneering journey to the UK
Eight of the Satsuma Students in London, 2 August 1865. Back row (left – right): Hatakeyama Yoshinari, Takami Yaichi, Murahashi Hisanari, Tōgō Ainoshin, Nagoya Tokinari. Front row (left – right): Mori Arinori, Matsumura Junzō, Nakamura Hakuai. Courtesy of Kagoshima Prefectural Library
Japan House London is hosting a special lecture this month (also to be live-streamed online) to mark the 160th anniversary of the arrival of Japanese students in the UK to study Western society and technologies: a feat that shaped the development of Japan.
The talk, by an expert on Japan’s foreign relations during the 19th century, will explore the significance of the study abroad, as well as the students’ historical backgrounds, their contributions to fostering cultural and technological exchange between Japan and the UK, and the legacy of their journey.
From war to partnership
In 1862, the death of a British national at the hands of samurai retainers from the Satsuma Domain (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture) led to the Bombardment of Kagoshima, or Anglo-Satsuma War, which occurred over two days in the following year.
The aftermath marked a turning point in relations between the Satsuma Domain and the UK; a partnership began to form. To enhance bilateral ties, the UK helped establish an institute of Western education in present-day Kagoshima where students could learn subjects such as English language and naval history.
At the time, Japan had a policy of national seclusion, designed to limit foreign influence and maintain political control. However, the lord of Satsuma believed that Japan needed to acquire Western knowledge and technology. In 1865, some of the most outstanding students from the new Western school were secretly sent to the UK on a ship arranged by Scottish merchant Thomas Glover, defying the Tokugawa shogunate’s ban on overseas travel.
On arrival, many of them enrolled at University College London where they attended lectures on subjects including European civilization, economics and politics. When they returned to Japan, they became important figures and played active roles in Japan’s modernisation.
Among them were Mori Akinori, who later became the first Minister of Education in Japan; Machida Hisanari, the first director of the Imperial Museum in Tokyo (now the Tokyo National Museum); Murahashi Hisanari, one of the founders of Japan’s first brewery in Sapporo; and Godai Tomoatsu, who helped lead the industrial development of Osaka and was a founder of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
About the event
This talk will be delivered by Shoji Yoshimitsu, who holds a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Humanities at Kagoshima University and has held various professional roles including curator at Kagoshima Prefectural Museum of Culture Reimeikan. His academic specialisation is foreign relations of the Satsuma Domain during the final years of the Edo period (1603–1868) and he is the author of several publications, including The Turbulent Meiji Restoration, Local People and the Meiji Restoration and Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.
High school students Uta Fuchiwaki and Hikaru Shimada—visiting the UK as part of the Satsuma Student Dispatch Programme organised by Kagoshima Prefecture—will introduce the region’s distinctive natural landscape and local industries.
The event is part of the Spotlight on Local Japan programme supported by the Japan National Tourism Organization, which accepts applications from potential collaborators based in Japan to co-create cultural events presenting Japan’s regional diversity at Japan House London.
Join or attend
18:30–19:30 on 23 July, 2025
The Hall, Japan House London, 101-111 Kensington High Street, London
Booking Essential | Admission Free
The talk will also be live-streamed.
Sign up here
Visiting Kagoshima
For more information about travel in Kagoshima, please visit the website of the Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau.