Moriyama Einosuke

  • Born: 1820
  • Died: 1871
  • Other Names: 徳真 (Tokushin)
  • Japanese: 森山 栄之助 (Moriyama Einosuke)

Moriyama Einosuke was a Tokugawa shogunate official who played a notable role in foreign relations interactions in the mid-1850s, especially in terms of foreign language translation and interpretation.

When American traveler Ranald MacDonald was imprisoned in Nagasaki for a time beginning in 1848, Moriyama was one of roughly fourteen Japanese men who learned English from him.[1] Moriyama later put these language skills to use serving as an interpreter and translator in official shogunate interactions with both Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States and Yevfimy Vasilyevich Putyatin of Russia.[2] During this time, he held the post of fushin yaku.[3]

On 1854/12/21,[4] Moriyama signed the Dutch-language version of the Treaty of Shimoda on behalf of the shogunate, along with Putyatin, while other officials signed copies in Chinese and Japanese.[5]

References

  1. Matt Matsuda, Pacific Worlds, University of Cambridge Press (2012), 233-237.
  2. Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), Escape from Impasse, International House of Japan (2006), 174.
  3. Ishin Shiryô Kôyô 維新史料綱要, vol 2 (1937), 6.
  4. This date is equivalent to Feb 7, 1855 on the Gregorian calendar used by most Western countries, and Jan 26 on the Julian calendar used by Russia until 1918.
  5. Mitani, 247-250, 292.