Will Adams, an English navigator, became the first Englishman to reach Japan in 1600. He established a strong relationship with the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and became an influential figure in Japan, helping to establish trade relations between Japan and the English.
Adams was born in 1564 in Gillingham, Kent, England. He went to sea at a young age and eventually became a skilled navigator. In 1598, he joined a Dutch expedition to the Far East as the pilot major of a fleet of five ships. The goal was to reach Japan and establish trade relations.
The journey was perilous, and only one ship, the Liefde, survived, reaching the shores of Japan in April 1600 with Adams aboard. Initially, Adams and the crew were imprisoned by the local daimyo (feudal lord), but Adams’s knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation impressed Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was in the process of securing his position as shogun and unifying Japan.
Adams became an advisor to the shogun, helping to build Japan’s first Western-style ships and facilitating trade and diplomatic relations. He was granted a fiefdom in Hemi (modern-day Yokosuka), where he lived with a Japanese wife and children, having been effectively naturalized as a Japanese citizen. Despite his high status, Adams never fully abandoned his English identity and made several unsuccessful attempts to return to England.
His unique position as a trusted foreigner in Japan allowed him to serve as an intermediary in the establishment of the English factory (trading post) in Hirado in 1613. Adams’s contributions to Japan’s maritime development and international relations were significant, and he is remembered in both England and Japan. He died in Japan in 1620 and is buried in Hirado, Nagasaki. His life and experiences have inspired various works of fiction and non-fiction, including the novel “Shogun” by James Clavell.