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*''Died: 1922''

*''Died: 1922''

William Gowland is known for a number of significant [[Kofun period]] finds in the early decades of Japanese archaeology.

William Gowland was a metallurgist, known for a number of significant [[Kofun period]] finds in the early decades of Japanese archaeology, and for his collection of Korean and Japanese ceramics.

He worked for the Osaka mint for a time, from [[1872]] to [[1888]]. During this time, he also led excavations of some four hundred ''[[kofun]]'' (mound tombs) and other archaeological sites. A considerable number of objects found in these excavations were later donated to the British Museum.

Gowland worked for the Osaka mint for a time, from [[1872]] to [[1888]]. After arriving in Japan in 1872 in order to take up a post as chemist and metallurgist for the Osaka Mint, he was named Chief Metallurgist in [[1878]], and later (or at the same time) became an advisor on metallurgy to the Imperial War Department.

 

During this time, he also led excavations of some four hundred ''[[kofun]]'' (mound tombs) and other archaeological sites, and traveled to Korea in [[1884]], where he obtained a number of Korean ceramics. Gowland is said to have been particularly interested in the early history of mutual cultural influences between Korea and Japan. He also traveled significantly within Japan; he contributed to travel guides such as a ''Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan'' edited by [[Ernest Satow]] and A.G.S. Hawes, and is credited with possibly coining the term "Japan Alps."

 

Gowland later donated a considerable number of objects from his collection, both archaeological finds and ceramics works, to the [[British Museum]]. He is also known for his many photographs, including some of the earliest archaeological photographs taken in Japan. He collaborated for a time with photographer [[Romyn Hitchcock]], who had been dispatched to Japan by the [[Smithsonian Institution]] to collect materials for the Philadelphia Exposition of [[1886]].

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==References==

==References==

*"Photo of William Gowland," gallery label, British Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/20879893402/in/photostream/]

*"Photo of William Gowland," gallery label, British Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/20879893402/in/photostream/]

[[Category:Meiji Period]]

[[Category:Meiji Period|Gowland]]

[[Category:Foreigners]]

[[Category:Foreigners|Gowland]]