- Born: 1842/5/18
- Died: 1919/1/7
- Other Names: 松村淳蔵 (Matsumura Junzou), 市来勘十郎 (Ichiki Kanjuurou)
- Japanese: 市来和彦 (Ichiki Kazuhiko)
Ichiki Kazuhiko was the first Japanese to graduate from the US Naval Academy at Annapolis.
A son of Ichiki Ichibee and nephew of Yokoi Shônan, as a young man he served as a page in service of the domain, and studied at the han school. He then first traveled abroad in 1865, at the age of 24, as one of a group of students from Satsuma han who snuck out of the country in order to travel to Europe. For the duration of the trip, he went by the name Matsumura Junzô. Ichiki studied naval surveying for a time at the University of London, but ran short of funding for tuition, and so traveled to the United States in 1867/7, where the cost of living was cheaper.
After attending Rutgers University for a time, he graduated from Annapolis in 1873 and returned to Japan that November. He began teaching at Japan's naval academy the following year, and became its third head in 1877. In 1891, Ichiki was promoted to the rank of vice admiral (chûjô). He died on 1919/1/7 at the age of 78.
References
- Plaque at the monument to the Satsuma students at Kagoshima Chûô train station, Kagoshima.[1]
- "Matsumura Junzô," Nihon jinmei daijiten, Kodansha 2009.
- "Matsumura Junzô," Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten, Asahi shinbunsha.