was a politician, educator and writer in

Meiji period The is 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 colonization ...

Japan. He was one of the founders of

Aoyama Gakuin is an educational institute in Tokyo, Japan, which comprises Aoyama Gakuin University, Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College, Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Junior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School, and Aoyama Gakuin K ...

university, and the father of noted author

Tsuda Umeko was a Japanese educator and a pioneer in education for women in Meiji period Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tsuda Umeko" in . Originally named Tsuda Ume, with ''ume'' referring to the Japanese plum, she went by the name Ume Tsuda w ...

Biography

Tsuda was born as the fourth son of a low ranking ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

'' of

Sakura A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

domain in Shimōsa (present day Sakura city,

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

). At the age of 15, he was sent to the domain's school, where he learned English and Dutch, and afterwards was sent to

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

, where he studied ''

rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Wes ...

.'' He was hired by the Tokugawa bakufu as an interpreter, and accompanied

Fukuzawa Yukichi was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio University, the newspaper '' Jiji-Shinpō'', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ...

on a mission to purchase warships in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in 1867.Kim, Mungil. (2003). After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

, Tsuda joined the new

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 enthusiastically embraced the rapid westernization drive. He opened the first western style hotel in

Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in ...

in 1867, near the

foreign settlement A foreign settlement ({{Lang-ja, 外国人居留地, pronounced "Gaikokujin kyoryūchi") was a special area in a treaty port, designated by the Japanese government in the second half of the nineteenth century, to allow foreigners to live and work. ...

. He also spent time with the Hokkaido Colonization Office, where he made close contacts with future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Kuroda Kiyotaka Count , also known as , was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era. He was Prime Minister of Japan from 1888 to 1889. He was also vice chairman of the Hokkaido Development Commission ( Kaitaku-shi). Biography As a Satsuma ''samurai'' Ku ...

. Around this time he developed a strong interest in women's education, and when the revolutionary idea of sending women overseas as exchange students with the Iwakura Mission, he quickly volunteered his daughter Umeko. Tsuda also influenced the creation of the

Friends School Friends schools are institutions that provide an education based on the beliefs and testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). This article is a list of schools currently or historically associated with the Society of Friends, reg ...

, a women's junior and senior high school established in 1887 in Tokyo. In 1873 Tsuda attended the Vienna Expo, where he met

Sano Tsunetami Count was a Japanese statesman and founder of the Japanese Red Cross Society. His son, Admiral Sano Tsuneha, was a leading figure in the establishment of the Scout Association of Japan. Biography Sano was born in Hayatsue, Saga Domain ( ...

(founder of the

Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters ...

), and where he received a lesson on Western agricultural techniques, particularly artificial crop pollination. After returning to Japan in May 1874, he opened the ''Gakunosha Nogakko'' (Gakunosha School of Agriculture) in

Azabu is an area in Minato,Tokyo, Japan. Built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo, its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts: Azabu-Jūban, Azabudai, Azabu- ...

, Tokyo and worked to introduce and promote Western vegetables (particularly

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...

) and fruits. He initially sold the corn by mail advertisement, and is thus also the first such entrepreneur in Japan. He also established a magazine, ''Nogyo Zasshi'', aimed at the agricultural market. Around this time, it is believed that he also converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

, and he later became a strong temperance campaigner. A supporter of agrarian rights, he was involved in the

Ashio Copper Mine Scandal was a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kamitsuga District, Tochigi, Kamitsuga District, Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,465 and a population density, density of 18.65 persons per k ...

, one of Japan's first environmental disputes. Tsuda also played an important role in establishing Christian schools, such as

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

, Friend's Girls' School, and Tokyo School for the Blind and Deaf (currently the ''Tsukuba Daigaku Fuzoku Mougakko''). He was involved in most of the work to create the early foundation of Aoyama Gakuin. He died on the Tokaido line train of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

, and his funeral was held in the auditorium of Aoyama Gakuin, and his grave is at Aoyama Cemetery.

Notes

References

*
OCLC 44090600
* * *
OCLC 58053128
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuda, Sen 1837 births 1908 deaths People from Sakura, Chiba Politicians from Chiba Prefecture Japanese educators Japanese Protestants People of Meiji-period Japan