Samuel Cocking (19 March 1845 in Camberwell London – 26 February 1914 in Yokohama,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

in Yokohama arriving in 1869, shortly after the “Opening of Japan”. Although he was born in London, he moved with his parents to Australia at a young age and grew up mostly in Melbourne. In Japan he is known for the large

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

() and gardens that he developed in Enoshima that bears his name. However, a lot about his life and achievements are still not common knowledge in Japan. He married Miyata Riki in 1872. Although Cocking and Miyata Riki did not have any children of their own, they adopted Miyata Riki's niece after her mother died at a young age. Cocking is buried in the Miyata family plot in a Buddhist cemetery in Yokohama, which is unusual for foreigners living in Japan at that time. Most foreigners (including Cocking's younger sister Florence who died shortly after joining her brother in Japan) were interred at the well known and well researched foreigners cemetery in Yokohama. His company, “Cocking & Co” specialized in trading Japanese curios, art and antiques as well as importing chemicals, drugs, scientific and laboratory apparatus. He imported carbolic acid (phenol) which was used as a

disinfectant A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than st ...

, particularly against

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

. It is noted during one cholera outbreak he distributed his stock of carbolic acid free of charge. He exported peppermint oil – refined from peppermint grown in Yamagata prefecture. He is credited for introducing soap, bicycles, the electric lightbulb to Japan. He was also heavily involved in the fledgling photographic industry in Japan, importing photographic materials and chemicals and organizing the first photographic society in Japan. He also helped the foundation of Konishi Honten, a photographic store that would become Konica. In 1880, he purchased (in his wife’s name) the highlands, including derelict

Buddhist shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they are v ...

s, on the island of Enoshima and began building the botanical gardens and a villa. The State Shinto 'Abolish the Buddha. Destroy Sakyamuni' policy Haibutsu kishaku (廃仏毀釈) of the new Meiji government had made the land available. It was during the years of anti-Buddhist sentiment in Japan that Cocking was heavily involved in the Japanese curios trade. One famous incident involved Cocking being offered the

Kamakura Daibutsu is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kam ...

for 'a song'. He refused to buy the Daibutsu – no doubt feeling it had too much cultural importance to Japan and should remain in the country. In 1887, he added a power plant (which was later the origin of the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company). His garden is now operated by the city of Fujisawa as the

Samuel Cocking Garden The , also known as the Enoshima Tropical Plants Garden, is a small botanical garden on the small island of Enoshima in Japan. The address is 2-3-28 Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa. The garden was established in 1880 by British merchant Samuel Co ...

renamed after remains of Cocking's greenhouse were rediscovered during renovation work on the lighthouse and gardens.

External links

Enoshima Jinja ShrineSamuel Cocking and the Rise of Japanese Photography by Dr Luke Gartlan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocking, Samuel British expatriates in Japan Irish emigrants to Japan 1842 births 1914 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from Camberwell Businesspeople from London 19th-century English businesspeople