Louis Boehmer (30 May 1843 - 29 July 1896) was an ethnic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-American

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

and government advisor in

Meiji period The was 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 colonizatio ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

who later worked as a success entrepreneur in Yokohama.

Biography

Louis Boehmer was born in

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

in the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

. He apprenticed as a gardener, and received an appointment to tend the royal gardens of the

Kingdom of Hannover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and joined 38 other so ...

. However, after the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1867, he immigrated to America and become a successful gardener in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. In January 1871, when Kuroda Kiyotaka was in the United States hiring foreign advisors for his Hokkaidō Colonization Office, Boehmer was recommended as a

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

by a mutual friend of

Horace Capron Horace Capron (August 31, 1804 – February 22, 1885) was an American businessman and agriculturalist, a founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union (American Civil War), Union officer in the American Civil War, the United States secretary of agri ...

. Boehmer arrived in

Yokohama 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 ...

, Japan on March 23, 1872 and was initially placed in charge of an experimental farm in

Aoyama, Tokyo is a neighborhood in Tokyo, located in the northwest portion of Minato, Tokyo, Minato Ward. The area is known for its international fashion houses, cafes and restaurants. refers to the area on the north side of Aoyama-dori (Aoyama Street) betw ...

where he raised carrots, potatoes, asparagus, as well as wheat, barley and soybeans. He also planted apple, cherry, peach and pear fruit trees as well as grapes, and introduced new varieties of livestock. With the end of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, the Japanese government redoubled its efforts to settle Hokkaidō, especially with displaced former

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 ...

from pro-

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

domains. Boehler arrived in

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

on May 19, 1874 and spent the next five months travelling around the island exploring sites for experimental government farms. While in Saru District, he discovered the local Ainu tribe growing

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

, which when combined with locally-grown barley enabled him to recommend to Horace Capon at the nearby Sapporo Agricultural College that a brewery be established. The new operation was run by

Edwin Dun Edwin Dun (June 19, 1848 – May 15, 1931) was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an '' o-yatoi gaikokujin'' in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission (''Kaitakushi'') and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agric ...

and exists to this date under the name of

Sapporo Breweries is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo, the oldest brand of beer in Japan, was first brewed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1876 by Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The co ...

. Boehler transferred to Sapporo in 1876, where he assisted Edwin Dun for several years. After the break-up of Hokkaidō Colonization Office in 1882, Boehmer established his own nursery in Yamate Bluff, Yokohama, trading under the name of L. Boehmer & Company. The firm specialized in exporting Japanese plants to Europe and the United States, and supplied plants and flowers to the

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

and helped popularize the Japanese art of

bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

to the western world. Boehmer retired in 1890, selling the business to fellow expatriate German businessman Alfred Unger, but the company continued to operate under his name until 1908. "Dwarf Trees" from Mary E. Unger's The Favorite Flowers of Japan On October 13, 1894 Boehler departed Japan due to failing health. He died in his native Germany on July 29, 1896.

References

* Irish, Ann. ''Hokkaido: A History of Ethnic Transition and Development on Japan's Northern Island''. Macfarland (2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Boehmer, Louis 1843 births 1896 deaths People from Lüneburg American expatriates in Japan Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-era Japan Prussian emigrants to the United States