was a Japanese diplomat. He was Japan's first resident minister in Europe.

Early life and education

Sameshima was born on April 16, 1845, in

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation was . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Dur ...

, Japan. He was the son of a physician and had two siblings. He went to study in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

in 1861, where he learned

Western medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

and English. In 1865 he studied abroad in

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 ...

with 15 other students from Satsuma, including Mori Arinori, Nagasawa Kanaye, Yoshida Kiyonari, and

Godai Tomoatsu was one of the Satsuma students of 1865 who were smuggled out of Bakumatsu period Japan to study in Great Britain. He returned to become Japan's leading entrepreneur of the early Meiji period. Early life Godai was born in Satsuma domain (in wha ...

. He went to the United States with 5 other Satsuma students to live at a vineyard in

Brocton, New York Brocton is a Village (New York), village in Chautauqua County, New York, Chautauqua County, New York (state), New York, United States. The name was derived by combining the names "Brockway" and "Minton", two prominent local families. The populatio ...

, with Thomas Lake Harris, but returned to Japan with Mori in 1868.

Career

Sameshima worked for the Japanese government when he returned. When the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

was founded, he was appointed a junior minister. He became the first resident minister from Japan in Europe in 1870, assisted by and Frederic Marshall, an English lawyer and journalist. Harry Parkes objected to his appointment because of his inexperience and the size of his portfolio, which was made up of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. Sameshima's credentials as a charge d'affairs was not initially accepted in the United Kingdom, though it was in Prussia and France. He spent most of his time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and was awarded the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1874. During his tenure as a diplomat, Sameshima wrote the "Diplomatic Guide" with Marshall. It was a manual for staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also called for the professionalization and improvement of Japanese diplomacy. In April 1875, Sameshima briefly returned to Japan to help

Terashima Munenori Count was a Japanese politician and diplomat during the Meiji period. He served as the 3rd Chairman of the Chamber of Elders and Japan's 4th Foreign Minister. Early life Terashima was born to a ''samurai'' family in Satsuma Domain (in what i ...

with administrative reforms, but returned to France in 1878. His job duties expanded to include Spain and Portugal in 1880, but he died later that year in Paris on December 4.

References

{{Authority control 1880 deaths People from Satsuma Domain 19th-century Japanese diplomats