Uriemon Eaton or Ureamon Eaton (fl. 1639–1640, c.1621–1670) was a Trinity College alumnus and early member of the Japanese in the United Kingdom.
Uriemon Eaton | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | |
| Occupation | Scholar |
| Known for | Being the first Japanese Briton to attend Trinity College, Cambridge |
Biography
editEaton was an early member of the Japanese in the United Kingdom, born in Hirado, Japan after his father William Eaton and mother Kamezo (William's common-law wife) met during the period of the opening of the English trade factory East India Company in Japan (1613-1623). Eaton also had a half sister 'Helena' born to O'Man.[1] In English sources such as the Diary of Richard Cocks, early Euro-Asian relations are discussed including his life as a member of the English community in Japan. On occasion he appears in the English records as both William or Uriemon Eaton.[2]
Cocks relays how Eaton was taken by his father to live with him in England at a young age after the closing of the English factory in 1623, travelling separately via Batavia on a Dutch ship in 1624, sent by Cocks.[3] His family left behind in Japan (Kamezou and Helena) also kept in contact from Japan until at least 1624 via Cocks.[4] When Cocks died in 1624, Uriemon was accepted and 'maintained' (supported) through his studies by family and friends in England.[5] He is known to have petitioned Charles I of England in 1639 for denizen rights to gain access higher education, gaining these and attending Trinity College in Cambridge in 1640, then again after a bout of illness, in 1641.[6][7] Later records point to his having survived until the late 1670s.[8]
Further reading
edit- The English Factory in Japan, 1613-1623, Volume II, Anthony Farrington, British Library, 1991, Great Britain
Reference List
edit- ^ Adams The Pilot, William Corr, 1995, p.124, London
- ^ The Japanese Community in Pre-War Britain: From Integration to Disintegration, Keiko Itoh, 2001, p.17, Routledge, London and New York
- ^ Nifon Catange or Japon Fation- A Study of Cultural Interaction In the English Factory In Japan, 1613-1623 Volume II, James Lewis, 2003, Footnote 357
- ^ See
- ^ The English Renaissance and the Far East: Cross-Cultural Encounters, Adele Lee, 2017, pp.88-89, See [1]
- ^ The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations: Volume 1: The Political-Diplomatic Dimension, 1600–1930, Ian Nish, Yoichi Kibata, 2000, p.9, London, Routledge
- ^ English Dreams and Japanese Realities: Anglo-Japanese Encounters Around the Globe, 1587-1673, Thomas Lockley, Revista de Cultura, 2019
- ^ Anjin ‑ The Life & Times of Samurai William Adams, Hiromi Rogers, 2016