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Godai Tomoatsu was a [[Satsuma han]] retainer prominent in the [[Bakumatsu period]] as an economic/commercial policy advisor, and agent of the domain in overseas agreements and transactions. He was the son of [[Godai Hidetaka]], a Confucian scholar whose advice on foreign relations was influential in domainal policy in the 1840s.

Godai Tomoatsu was a [[Satsuma han]] retainer prominent in the [[Bakumatsu period]] as an economic/commercial policy advisor, and agent of the domain in overseas agreements and transactions. He was the son of [[Godai Hidetaka]], a Confucian scholar whose advice on foreign relations was influential in domainal policy in the 1840s.

Tomoatsu traveled to [[Shanghai]] in [[1862]] as a member of an official [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]] mission; during his time there, he arranged with Scottish merchant [[Thomas Glover]] for the domain's purchase of a steamship.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 194.</ref> Godai would later claim that his experiences as a student in [[Nagasaki]] and in Shanghai, and his experiences being in contact with the British during the Royal Navy's [[1863]] [[bombardment of Kagoshima]] (also known as the Anglo-Satsuma War) gave him a new perspective in admiring the accomplishments of Western nations. As a result, he suggested to the domain leadership the following year a plan to increase domainal revenues by shipping products from [[Ezo]], such as [[konbu|kelp]], along with rice, raw silk, and the like directly to Shanghai. This was presented as a radical new idea, but in fact was well in line with what the domain had already been doing, albeit within Japan.

Tomoatsu traveled to [[Shanghai]] in [[1862]] as a member of an official [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]] mission; during his time there, he arranged with Scottish merchant [[Thomas Glover]] for the domain's purchase of a steamship.<ref>Hellyer, 194.</ref> Godai would later claim that his experiences as a student in [[Nagasaki]] and in Shanghai, and his experiences being in contact with the British during the Royal Navy's [[1863]] [[bombardment of Kagoshima]] (also known as the Anglo-Satsuma War) gave him a new perspective in admiring the accomplishments of Western nations. As a result, he suggested to the domain leadership the following year a plan to increase domainal revenues by shipping products from [[Ezo]], such as [[konbu|kelp]], along with rice, raw silk, and the like directly to Shanghai. This was presented as a radical new idea, but in fact was well in line with what the domain had already been doing, albeit within Japan.

In spring [[1865]], Godai toured Europe alongside two other Satsuma officials, traveling to Britain, Belgium, France, and Prussia, visiting factories and purchasing industrial equipment and arms. He signed an agreement with Belgian/French entrepreneur [[Charles Comte de Montblanc]] later that year in which Montblanc would contribute to opening mining operations in Satsuma, along with factories to produce steel, weapons, textiles, and [[tea]]. The agreement also involved opening three ports in [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], and having Montblanc facilitate the display of the domain's products at the [[1867 Paris World's Fair]].

In spring [[1865]], Godai toured Europe alongside two other Satsuma officials, traveling to Britain, Belgium, France, and Prussia, visiting factories and purchasing industrial equipment and arms. He signed an agreement with Belgian/French entrepreneur [[Charles Comte de Montblanc]] later that year in which Montblanc would contribute to opening mining operations in Satsuma, along with factories to produce steel, weapons, textiles, and [[tea]]. The agreement also involved opening three ports in [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], and having Montblanc facilitate the display of the domain's products at the [[1867 Paris World's Fair]].