Yamao Yozo
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Yamao Yozo (山尾 庸三 Yamao Yozo?, 1837–1917) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who became an influential member of the Meiji era government of Japan. He was also a member of the Chōshū Five, smuggled out of Nagasaki in 1863 to study in Great Britain.
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[edit] Early life
Yamamo was born in Akiu, a village in Suo Province of Chōshū domain (present day Yamaguchi prefecture), and had received the traditional training of a samurai at a private school in Edo.
[edit] Study in Scotland
Yamao lived in Glasgow between 1866 and 1868. During this period he lived in the home of Colin Brown, and worked at Napier's shipyard on the Clyde. At the same time he attended evening classes at Anderson's College (now the University of Strathclyde) together with Henry Dyer.
[edit] Return to Japan
After returning to Japan, Yamao joined the Meiji government and was for a while in charge of the Yokohama Shipyards (later part of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries. By the time Henry Dyer reached Japan in 1873, Yamao was Acting Vice Minister of Public Works and as such was responsible for setting up the Imperial College of Engineering (ICE) as well as the Imperial College of Art, and Kobu Daigakko, which later became the Department of Technology at Tokyo Imperial University－and served as President of the Japan Engineering Society for 36 years. He also set up a school for the blind and deaf.
Yamao assumed the office of rector of the ICE and was a strong advocate of the need for technical education to support the industrialization of Japan. Henry Dyer and Yamao had an extremely good relationship during this period, strengthened by the bond of their common background.
Yamao was elevated to the rank of hakushaku (count) in the kazoku peerage system.
[edit] Auld Lang Syne
It has been claimed that Yamao introduced the well known Scottish song Auld Lang Syne to Japan where it is called Hotaru no Hikari (The Light of the Fireflies) and is sung at high school graduation ceremonies.
[edit] Reference and further reading
- Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.
- Cobbing, Andrew. The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain. RoutledgeCurzon, London, 1998. ISBN 1-873410-81-6
- Craig, Albert M. Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961.
