Richard Henry Brunton
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Richard Henry Brunton
FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
MICE A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
(26 December 1841 – 24 April 1901) was a British engineer known as the "
Father of Often, discoveries and innovations are the work of multiple people, resulting from continual improvements over time. However, certain individuals are remembered for making significant contributions to the birth or development of a field or techn ...
Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in
Muchalls Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire, Scotland, south of Newtonhill and north of Stonehaven. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls. At the western edge of Muchalls ...
,
Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...
, Scotland. He was employed by the government of
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 as a foreign advisor (''
o-yatoi gaikokujin The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' (Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , 'hired foreigners'), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the ...
''), primarily to build lighthouses. Over a period of seven and a half years he designed and supervised the building of 26 Japanese lighthouses in the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
style, which became known as Brunton's "children". To operate the lighthouses he established a system of
lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...
s, based on the one used in Scotland. He also helped found Japan's first school of
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
. In 1871, he was received by
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
in recognition of his efforts.


Early life

Brunton was born on 26 December 1841 in the Coastguard House (now 11 Marine Terrace) at
Muchalls Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire, Scotland, south of Newtonhill and north of Stonehaven. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls. At the western edge of Muchalls ...
, Fetteresso in The Mearns. His father Richard was an officer in the Coastguard Service who had married Margaret Telfor in January 1841. After training as a railway engineer he joined the Stevenson brothers (
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
and Thomas Stevenson) who were engaged by the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
to build
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
s.


Career


Life in Japan

Under pressure from British minister Sir Harry Parkes to fulfil its obligations to make the waters and harbors of Japan safe for shipping, the
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 ...
hired the
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
-based firm of D. and T. Stevenson to chart coastal waters and to build lighthouses where appropriate. The project had already begun under French foreign advisor Léonce Verny, but was not proceeding fast enough for the British. Brunton was sent from Edinburgh in August 1868 to head the project after being recommended to the Japanese government by the Stevensons, despite the fact that he had no experience in lighthouse building at all. He was accompanied by his wife, sister-in-law and two assistants. The party received word while docked at
Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...
of the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and its replacement by 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 ...
, and decided to continue on to Japan, reasoning that the new government was still bound by the international commitments of its predecessor. Over the next seven and a half years he designed and supervised the building of 26 Japanese lighthouses in the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
style, along with two
lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...
s. An obituary published in the journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers states "in ten years he had executed 50 lighthouses". There had been Japanese lighthouses before then, but they were short and squat buildings, such as the old Shirasu lighthouse now in the grounds of
Kokura Castle is a castle in Kitakyushu, 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 Okho ...
in
Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...
. Brunton also established a system of
lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...
s, modeled on the
Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for ocean, marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by ...
in Scotland. Aside from his work on lighthouses around Japan, Brunton also surveyed and drew the first detailed maps of
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 ...
, planned its sewage system, street paving and gas lights, established a telegraph system, and designed and built the settlement's first iron bridge. He also helped found Japan's first school of
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
. In recognition of his efforts, he was received by
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
in an audience in 1871. Brunton returned to London on a leave of absence in July 1872, and was enlisted to assist the
Iwakura Mission The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to Europe and the United States conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...
during its visit. In September, Brunton took
Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...
and a group of his assistants to visit 28 factories around London making a variety of manufactured goods, and continued on to
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
(notably
Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was an English glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (county), West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassma ...
the lighthouse engineers),
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
before rejoining the main group of the Iwakura Mission in Edinburgh in early October.


Return to Britain

After disagreeing with Japanese officials he left Japan in March 1876, later receiving a prize for his paper "Japan Lights". On his return he first set up in
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 ...
for Young's Paraffin Oil, before moving to south
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1881 making architectural plasterwork, where he remained until his death. He is buried in
West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...
, where his marble memorial there was restored by Yokohama
Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
in 1991.


List of Brunton's Japanese Lighthouses

The names of the 26 lighthouses (Brunton's "children") constructed by Brunton, in order of north to south, and the names of their present locations after mergers of towns etc.


Memoir

Brunton wrote a memoir of his time in Japan, titled ''Pioneer Engineering in Japan: A Record of Work in helping to Re-Lay the Foundations of Japanese Empire (1868–1876)''. However, it was not published until the 1990s, when it was printed by separate publishers under two different names: ''Building Japan 1868–1876'' and ''Schoolmaster to an Empire: Richard Henry Brunton in Meiji Japan, 1868–1876''. (See below.) The former, containing the text (with some modified spellings) as edited by
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 Dictiona ...
at the turn of the twentieth century, contains plates with photos and illustrations. The latter however, purports to be based on a manuscript predating the heavy editing of Griffis, while retaining updated versions of Griffis's footnotes. *''Building Japan 1868–1876'' by Richard Henry Brunton with an introduction by Hugh Cortazzi, Japan Library Limited, 1991, *''Schoolmaster to an Empire'' by R. Henry Brunton, edited by Edward R. Beauchamp, Greenwood Press, 1991, In his memoir, Brunton describes in some detail the burial of Frank Toovey Lake, a midshipman who was sailing with him on ''HMS Manilla'' when he was making his first survey of locations to erect the lighthouses. The grave is located on the island of Hiroshima in the
Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...
; a memorial alongside the grave also records the association with Brunton, and in 2018, the Japanese Coast Guard undertook a ceremony at the grave to celebrate both Lake and Brunton. His high regard for the care that the islanders gave to the grave was, as he admitted in his book, in contrast to his general impression of the Japanese.


See also

* Anglo-Japanese relations * Thomas Blake Glover * Alexander Cameron Sim *
James MacRitchie James MacRitchie (26 September 1847 – 26 April 1895) was Municipal Engineer to the Singapore Municipal Commission from 1883 to 1895. Singapore, Singapore's oldest reservoir MacRitchie Reservoir was named after him in 1922. Early life and educ ...
—Lighthouse Engineer in Japan c. 1870s


References


External links


Richard Henry Brunton
from a blog by a namesake

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunton, Richard Henry 1841 births 1901 deaths Scottish civil engineers Scottish expatriates in Japan People from Kincardine and Mearns Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-era Japan Foreign educators in Japan Lighthouse builders Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society