The Role of British Agents and Engineers in the Early Westernization of Japan with a Focus on the Robinson and Waters Brothers

Abstract

Much has been written about the many Western experts, particularly engineers, who travelled to Japan and contributed to the country’s modernization in the years following the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this paper it is argued that more emphasis could be placed on the contribution made, not only by experts in situ, but also by agents who remained in the West and sent out instructions and materials, enabling extraordinary changes under the new centralized Japanese government. The author traces the achievements of the Waters and Robinson families who, as agents, engineers, entrepreneurs and opportunists, combined to contribute to a decade of advancement now known to Japanese historians as the Waters era.

Keywords:

• Japan
• Meiji Restoration
• British agents
• engineers
• Thomas Waters
• Jardine Matheson
• Westernization
• Thomas Glover

Introduction

Detailed information about the role of British agents who sourced and supplied materials and experts for the many projects commissioned during the Westernization of Japan immediately after the Meiji Restoration (1868) is difficult to come by. ¹ Meanwhile, architects, engineers, educators and other specialists from the West (including Thomas James Waters (1842–92), architect and engineer from Ireland; Richard Henry Brunton (1841–1901), engineer and lighthouse specialist from Scotland; R. P. Bridgens (1819–91), United States architect; and Josiah Conder (1852–1920), architect from England) who lived and laboured in Japan to satisfy the new nation’s urgent desire for change have been well represented in scholarly works. The most comprehensive studies concerning Thomas (Tom) Waters and others who feature in this article have been undertaken by Japanese writers Terunobu Fujimori, Takeyoshi Hori, Susumu Saegusa, Motoko Maruyama Nagata, Shigekatu Onogi and Susumu Mizuta, to name just a few. ² Work on the subject has also been carried out by scholars from the UK, in particular Neil Jackson ³ and Olive Checkland. ⁴ These writers are typical of those who focus on individuals from the West who moved to Japan, usually for short periods of time, but sometimes on a more permanent basis. Meanwhile, there appears to have been much less investigation into the contribution made by those who remained behind in England, and in other Western countries, and who supplied the materials and manpower that made modernization in Japan possible.

The lack of information concerning those who remained at home (and, consequently, lack of academic research) is somewhat surprising. It could be partly due to difficulties with translation, and the cross-cultural and international research required for such investigations. However, problems also arise from a lack of easily accessible and/or comprehensive archival evidence.

By the advent of the Meiji Restoration some agents, such as Glover & Co. and Jardine Matheson & Co., had already set up offices in important trading ports around Japan and stood to gain from the increasing transactions taking place between East and West. Records of these transactions appear in summarized form in, for example, the journals and correspondence of Jardine Matheson & Co. (JM). A good selection of JM records are presently held in the Department of Manuscripts and University Archives at Cambridge University Library. However, information relating to purchases for Japanese projects usually appears in summarized form, offering only a tantalizing glimpse at the complex networking, ordering and manufacturing that must have taken place as established agents, entrepreneurs and opportunists in the West competed with one another to service a growing clientele in the ‘Far East’.

With access to family letters and journals, however, it is possible to juxtapose pieces of personal information with fragmented archival evidence to produce a fuller and more comprehensive account of work that was going on behind the scenes back ‘home’, immediately before and after the Meiji Restoration. With this juxtaposition, a story begins to emerge that points to a hive of activity taking place, as the young engineers who went out to Japan sent home letters (and later on messages by telegraph) requesting materials, specific information, and plans, necessary to produce Western-style buildings, steam-powered mills, and other modern facilities — facilities already commonplace in the West but, until 1868, practically unknown in many parts of Japan.

The discovery of Waters and Robinson family documents — letters, journals, drawings and photographs — brought this matter to the attention of the author, and led to a book which explores the life and work of architect-engineer Thomas J. Waters and his brothers in early Meiji Japan. ⁵ This paper builds upon, and explores further, information that emerged during the writing of that book, with special emphasis on the roles played by the British entrepreneurs, agents and manufacturers, Albert Robinson (1811–77) and Henry Oliver Robinson (1807–87), both of whom were born in Ireland. Also born in Ireland were the Robinson brothers’ nephews, Thomas James Waters (Tom) (1842–98), John Albert Robinson Waters (Bertie) (1846–1903), and Joseph Henry Ernest Waters (Ernest) (1851–93), who were trained, or partially trained, as civil and mining engineers and who all spent time in Japan between 1864 and 1881. ⁶

Albert and Henry Robinson

The Robinson brothers were originally from Londonderry in the north of Ireland. ⁷ They were men with exceptional marketing skills and persuasive personalities, who took advantage of every opportunity to expand their business enterprises into developing countries around the world. The Meiji Restoration provided an important platform for that expansion.

Albert and Henry inherited their entrepreneurial skills and work ethics from their father, James Robinson (c. 1786–1875). James ran a successful brewery and distillery in Londonderry during the first two decades of the nineteenth century. ⁸ In the early 1820s, when his son Henry was old enough to take charge of the business, James went to Canada to explore opportunities for exporting liquor from Londonderry to the growing tourist centre at Niagara Falls. ⁹ After a successful decade as an agent at the Falls, James had accumulated enough wealth to return to England and establish an ironworks at Millwall on the Thames. This business went into production in the late 1830s. ¹⁰ His three sons soon joined him at Millwall. Albert was already a trained civil engineer, and a younger brother, Richard, was a mechanical engineer. Henry had experience with marketing and the practical use of steam-powered machinery.

Possessing what would prove to be a distinguishing characteristic of the Robinsons, and later on the Waters, James was in the right place at the right time when he set up the Millwall business. Slavery had recently been abolished in the British colonies, and sugar plantation owners were looking to purchase steam-powered sugar processing mills to increase production, and to compensate for the free labour they had previously enjoyed. Generous payments by the British government were made to plantation owners who lost their slaves. This money was used by many sugar growers to purchase modern sugar mills.

Specialization in the making of steam-powered sugar machinery, processing equipment and mill infrastructure led to ongoing financial success for James Robinson and his sons, as they set out to market and export their merchandise throughout the sugar-growing regions of the British Empire, and indeed the rest of the world (Figure 1). Under various partnerships, the Robinsons would go on to produce steel-hulled steamships and a variety of other steel infrastructure at the Millwall works. Of particular significance were the five flat-bottomed paddle steamers manufactured under the company name H. O. & A. Robinson, which were designed to negotiate the bends and shallows of the Ganges River in India. ¹¹ Ostensibly built for passenger convenience and to hasten the delivery of general supplies and mail, for the Robinsons these new steamers provided a fast and convenient way to transport machinery manufactured at Millwall for use in new sugar plantations upstream.

FIGURE 1. Robinson’s patent sugar cane mills (Mechanics Magazine, 2 October 1841).

James Robinson retired from the business in the late 1850s or early 1860s, but Henry Robinson stayed with the production of, or was at least an agent for, sugar machinery, until the late 1870s. Meanwhile, Albert developed a wider variety of business interests that took him to Denmark and Greenland, then to India and Africa and, eventually, to China and Japan. It is not known what became of Richard Robinson, who does not appear to have been as successful as his older brothers.

An introduction to the Far East

Albert Robinson’s introduction to possible business opportunities in the Far East came about during a visit to a hot springs health resort at Malvern, in England’s west. There, he met his namesake Sir Hercules George Robert Robinson, who was on leave from his position as Governor of the relatively new British Colony of Hong Kong. In a letter dated 18 October 1863, addressed to her sister, then Lucy Waters, Caroline Cowan wrote:

Uncle Albert is talking of going to China! — about 20^th of October [1863]. He […] has been at Malvern & struck up a fierce friendship with one Sir Hercules Robinson, a governor of some Chinese diggings & he is going with him — I’m not quite clear about what it’s for. ¹²

Sir Hercules does not appear to have been a blood relation of Albert, although both came from Ireland. In any case, the two men became firm friends, and the Governor shared his plans for an ambitious scheme to build a Mint at Hong Kong. This Mint would coin silver bullion into Hong Kong dollars. ¹³

No direct evidence has emerged as to any specific contribution made by Albert or Henry Robinson in the manufacture and/or supply of materials for the building of the Hong Kong Mint. However, considering Albert’s friendship with the Governor, it is more than likely that at least some of the Mint infrastructure was produced at the Millwall ironworks on the Thames. Furthermore, the Robinson brothers may have acted as agents for Mint requirements purchased elsewhere in England or Scotland.

This proposition is strengthened by the fact that, after Albert’s visit to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki and Yokohama, he wrote to his nephew Tom Waters asking him to proceed immediately to the British colony of Hong Kong, before going on to Japan where he had arranged employment for the young engineer. The sense of urgency implied, and the length of time actually spent by Waters in Hong Kong, suggest important work in the colony that required his nephew’s full attention. Tom took with him to Hong Kong written recommendations from his Uncle Albert and he was there during the first stages of the Mint’s construction.

Thomas James Waters

Tom Waters was born in Birr in 1842, during the Irish famine. His father, Dr John Waters, died when Tom was only fourteen and the young man formed a close bond with his uncle, his mother’s brother, Albert Robinson.¹⁴ ‘He has been like a father to dear Tom lately […] In fact he has no other adviser but him and it is his judgement he is acting by’, wrote Tom’s sister Lily Waters to Lucy Waters in June 1864. ¹⁵

Tom received his engineering training while apprenticed to Randolph Elder & Co., engineers and shipbuilders at Glasgow, where he excelled in the drawing office. Afterwards, he worked as a draughtsman in his Uncle Henry’s offices in London and, being on the spot, may well have been asked to draw up plans for some of the Hong Kong Mint infrastructure. If this was the case, he had the expertise to assist with the early stages of construction.

Distressed at losing her favourite elder son to the East, but nevertheless excited about the opportunities that China and Japan might offer, Helena Waters wrote to her daughter Lucy, in a letter dated 26 July 1864:

Tom has left for China. Three days after he left [your] Uncle Albert arrived home. But he is well satisfied that Tom went — only he would have liked to have seen him first. Nevertheless all will be well he says. He can make everything fit in and give him full direction by letter and there is plenty of work and plenty of good [friends] all ready for him. ¹⁶

From this, it would appear the young engineer arrived in Hong Kong around October of 1864, having travelled via the Cape of Good Hope. He was to spend approximately five months there, before sailing via Shanghai to Nagasaki, Japan.

Opportunities for experienced agents

As agents and engineers already experienced in the overseas marketing of sugarcane mills and other machinery and steel infrastructure, Albert and his brother Henry were in an ideal position to provide the materials and expertise required for building projects in, not only Hong Kong, but also emerging countries like China and Japan. In particular, some of the principalities in Japan, especially in the south, were recognizing the need to possess modern ships and weapons, along with steam-powered mills and other Western-style facilities, to bring them at least some way towards competing with the West, and indeed with neighbouring principalities.

In 1863–64, when Albert Robinson first visited Japan, the principalities were still under the jurisdiction of a rather backward-looking Shogun, or military ruler. This was all to change with the advent of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 when, after intermittent civil war, the youthful emperor Meiji was placed at the head of a new nationalized Japan, with his government intent on bringing Japan into line with Western progress. Not only would this benefit Thomas Waters, already on the ground in Japan, it would open up enormous opportunities for agents and manufacturers like Albert and Henry Robinson, back in England.

During his visit to Japan, Albert Robinson recommended his engineer nephew to Scottish agent and entrepreneur Thomas Blake Glover who had set up a trading company at Nagasaki several years earlier. ¹⁷ It was with this recommendation, along with the establishment of an engineering works in Shanghai and an attempt to set up a floating dock company in Yokohama, that Albert began to be involved in the modernization of the Far East. Writing to her daughter Lucy in April 1864, Helena Waters describes her brother Albert’s achievements in the East, stating that he had been ‘for nine months in China and made an engineering business there for himself wh[ich] I hope will keep profiting — he has cleared several thousand […]’. ¹⁸

In the same letter, Helena tells of Albert’s involvement in a ‘Dock Company’ in Yokohama, ‘not far from Yeddo [Tokyo]’. Therefore, Albert Robinson had become involved in promoting engineering, machinery and infrastructure in the Far East, at least four years before the advent of the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

Albert Robinson in Yokohama

While in Japan and China in 1863 and 1864, Albert Robinson spent time in the growing port and foreign settlement of Yokohama, where he stayed in the home of Samuel Gower, an employee and sometime partner of Jardine Matheson & Co. Albert arrived in Yokohama to promote a floating dock, badly needed for the repair of the many trading vessels that visited the port regularly. For this he went well prepared, taking with him detailed plans and estimates provided by friends and colleagues at Randolf Elder & Co. of Glasgow. On 12 March 1864 the following article appeared in The Japan Herald, under the heading ‘Yokohama, Iron Floating Dock Company’.

A dock for repairing Ships and cleaning the bottoms of Steamers and Iron Vessels, is daily becoming more necessary in Japan.

Mr Albert Robinson M. Inst. C. E., the duly authorized agent of Messrs. Randolf, Elder & Co, Engineers and Shipbuilders of Glasgow, is at present in Yokohama and is fully prepared to contract for a suitable dock for this port.

Several influential Gentlemen have already taken shares, and list and prospectus may be seen at Mr Gower’s house, where Mr Robinson is staying, and where he has, amongst numerous other models and drafts, a model of a Floating Dock, now in the course of construction for the French Government at Saigon, which he will be happy to show and explain to any Gentlemen desirous of becoming shareholders. Yokohama, March 9^th, 1864.

For undisclosed reasons, the dock project never got off the ground. ¹⁹ However, the Herald provides the reader with an idea of the preparations necessary by agents, who set out to promote Western products and patents, from which they stood to earn considerable commissions.

While in Yokohama, Albert Robinson must surely have met the newly arrived English engineer from Folkestone, Kent, Alexander Norton Shillingford. The foreign settlement was still quite small and it would have been possible to get to know most, if not all, of one’s compatriots. Shillingford had gone into business with a Samuel Rowell but the partnership was dissolved and, on 21 January 1865, The Japan Herald advertised a new business, as follows:

A. N. SHILLINGFORD

CIVIL ENGINEER & ARCHITECT

No. 151

YOKOHAMA.

N.B. —Every description of Iron work, Machinery, House Fittings, &c., supplied through an experienced Civil Engineer in England. ²⁰

There are signs of Albert Robinson’s influence in ‘an experienced Civil Engineer in England’. Albert could supply iron infrastructure from Millwall and had the networks to source other materials. He may also have suggested Shillingford describe himself as an architect as well as an engineer, thus providing more scope, not only for the young man in Yokohama, but also for an agent in England.

Thomas Blake Glover and sugar machinery in the Ryukyu Islands

As already stated, Albert Robinson’s visit to Japan included a meeting with Thomas Blake Glover in Nagasaki, during which he must have recommended his nephew as a competent engineer. Glover was already supplying goods and services (particularly ships and weapons of war) to the more progressive principalities in Japan. He was particularly supportive of the prince (or daimio) of Satsuma, in whose domain the foreign settlement at Nagasaki was situated. The prince also had jurisdiction over Chinese islands further south, including the Loo Choo or Ryukyu Islands. With limited knowledge of Japan, Helena Waters wrote to her daughter Lucy, on 25 July 1864:

He [Tom] has got a splendid situation as ‘Chief Engineer’ to the Prince of Satsuma at fine Salary — expenses paid out & home. The work he is to do for him is setting [up] sugar machinery in the Islands of Loo Choo which are a part of the insecure territory of this Japanese Noble or Daimio. ²¹

Supplying Tom Waters with an interpreter, Kagenori Ueno, and other personal assistants, Glover sent the young engineer to the island of Amami-Ōshima, where he was to install a number of steam-powered sugar mills. ²² Waters was on the island for around eighteen months, more than enough time for the makings of sugar mills to be brought in from England, via the Cape of Good Hope, a journey which could take up to six months. On top of that, it could take another six months (or more) for manufacturers in Britain to produce the goods required for export. In a letter to his sister, Lucy, Tom complained of long delays, especially with local steamer services, which he said took a month to do what ‘an English boat would do in a week’. ²³

Considering family connections, some of the sugar mill components must surely have been supplied by the Robinson brothers. Tom Waters’ presence in Japan presented an ideal opportunity for the export of products from the Millwall ironworks, and from elsewhere in Britain. Commission for any goods ordered through the Robinsons (or through other British agents) by Glover & Co., and/or by way of the offices of Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Yokohama, was split between all parties, adding to the already inflated cost that the Japanese had to pay for the importation of modern materials.

A cotton mill at Kagoshima, and the importance of networking

Opportunities for agents and manufacturers back ‘home’ continued to grow as Tom Waters moved on to the mainland island of Kyushu to carry out further work for the Prince of Satsuma under the supervision of Thomas Glover. He arrived at Kagoshima in July 1867. ²⁴ There he was appointed Chief Engineer to the daimio, and was put in charge of the completion of a mechanized cotton mill. He also undertook the design and construction of other Western-style facilities. Just how much material for these projects came via the Robinson brothers in England is yet to be determined. However, two years had passed since Albert Robinson began promoting his products (and his nephew) to Glover. This allowed plenty of time for the Robinsons to arrange for the manufacture and shipping of any machinery or infrastructure required for further Satsuma installations. In fact the timing was perfect.

Although no records of transactions between Albert Robinson and Thomas Glover have come to hand, there is some evidence that points to an ongoing working liaison between Tom Waters and his Uncle Albert. In the 3 January 1868 edition of the English journal Engineering it is noted that Thomas Waters provided Thomas Glover with drawings for a tea-making machine. It was reported that this new invention included machinery for sorting tea, a ‘tea-firing’ apparatus, and a ‘colouring machine’. Detailed plans were forwarded to Albert Robinson who submitted them to John & Henry Gwynne of Hammersmith Ironworks, London (Figure 2). The tea machinery was manufactured and sent out to Nagasaki.

FIGURE 2. Drawings for a tea-making machine by ‘Mr Thomas Waters, Nagasaki’ (Engineering, 3 January 1868).

In February 1868, Lucy Waters (Tom’s sister) wrote a letter to her future husband, Charles Gray, then captain and owner of the trading vessel Gertrude. Aware that the Gertrude was for sale, Lucy reported to Charles:

He [Tom] wrote to Uncle Albert to send him out a vessel of 260 tons for sale to the Japanese. He supposes the price to be about 2000 pounds & says the profit is certain to be about 1000 pounds — I told Uncle Albert about you when I saw him ... he says ‘perhaps this would suit Mr Gray, if he would like to join in this business’. What do you think? […] I have not the least idea how many tons the Gertrude is, or what you want to sell her for, but I thought it was worth telling you in case it might suit […] ²⁵

Family networking could lead to business opportunities and Albert Robinson would not let any lucrative opportunity pass him by. Tom Waters was well placed to keep the family informed as to Japanese requirements. He was also well aware of the price the Japanese were prepared to pay to modernize.

John Albert Robinson Waters (Bertie) (1846–1903)

Bertie, the second son in the Waters family, started a career with the Maritime Marine at an early age. Unable to settle, he soon moved on to receive engineering training at Glasgow, working briefly with Randolph Elder and Co.

Bertie came to Japan via the Philippines. In the second half of 1867 he was engaged briefly in setting up sugar mills, probably for his Uncle Henry on the islands of Negros and Panay. Negros was a relatively new commercial sugar-producing area and a firm Loney and Kee had been established a decade earlier to provide loans to prospective sugar growers. The main instigator of the Negros enterprise was Nicholas Loney, a British businessman and Vice-Consul to Illoilo in 1856. The firm imported sugar machinery from England and Scotland and supplied it to growers under an instalment plan — an arrangement that could hardly have escaped the notice of Henry Robinson, by then well established as an exporter of mechanized sugar mills (Figure 3). By the late 1860s, when Bertie Waters was there, Negros Occidental was the leading sugar-producing province in the Philippines. ²⁶

FIGURE 3. H. O. Robinson, Sugar Mill Patent 1859. This was perhaps the model installed in the Philippines in 1867 (Grace’s Guide).

After leaving the Philippines, Bertie Waters arrived in Nagasaki in 1868, and began work as a supervisor in the Takashima coalmines. The mines were on an island not far from Nagasaki, and had recently been purchased by Thomas Glover in partnership with a member of the local Hizen Clan. Early stages of mechanization were already underway, under the instruction of Irishman Samuel Morris. ²⁷ Other miners from the West were also being employed. The Nagasaki Commercial Report for 1869 states that ‘two practical working miners, who are under the superintendence of Mr Waters an intelligent young civil engineer, have lately joined the mine from England’.

Bertie had not taken his engineering studies in Scotland very seriously, and his contribution to the successful mechanization of the Takashima mines is somewhat debatable. Nevertheless, his mother Helena Waters lived in hope of her second son’s ability to succeed. An entry on 13 April 1870 in the Waters Family Journal confirms the widow’s confidence in a son who had, until then, failed to stay in any one occupation for long. More importantly the widow’s comments also suggest an ongoing association between Albert Robinson and Thomas Glover: ‘Albert [Robinson] mentions in his letter that Bertie is doing very well at his coal mine and will make a fortune for Glover by it’. ²⁸ It is not clear whether Albert Robinson had visited Japan again, or simply received a letter from Glover reporting on Bertie’s progress. Nevertheless, it is likely that, with ongoing communication between the two men, at least some of the new machinery for the Takashima mine came via the Robinson brothers. ²⁹

While Glover did not ‘make a fortune’ out of the coal mine, he did make a contribution to Tom Waters’ success in Japan and, to a lesser extent, the success of Bertie Waters. Behind that success, was the talented civil engineer, agent and entrepreneur, Albert Robinson, who was directing proceedings from London.

The Meiji restoration and a Mint at Osaka

In 1868 the Shogun, or military ruler of Japan, was deposed. The youthful Emperor Meiji was officially appointed head of a new unified Japan, with a new governing body that recognized the way ahead for Japan was to engage with Western-style progress. At the same time, the heads of the various principalities lost much of their influence. With this change, came a change for Glover, who had to shift his allegiance from Satsuma to the new regime. His anticipation of, and support for, the overthrow of the Shogun placed him in an ideal position to capitalize on the situation, had his financial position been stronger.

One of the first projects undertaken by the new government was the construction of a Mint at Osaka — a facility capable of providing uniform coinage for a new unified country. Thomas Glover sent Tom Waters to Osaka, hoping that, with his expertise as an engineer and ability as a draughtsman, he might make a useful contribution to the planning and construction of the Mint. By 17 March 1869 the ability of the Irish engineer was recognized by the Japanese authorities and Thomas J. Waters was signed on as ‘Chief Engineer’, retrospective from 1 November 1868. ³⁰ Struggling to keep his Nagasaki business afloat, Glover hurried to Osaka in the hope of getting the bullion contract for the new Mint. He appears to have failed in this bid and, on his return to Nagasaki, discovered his business in such a mess that he was declared bankrupt the following year. ³¹

Considering his poor financial situation, an injection of funds via commission during the construction of the Mint must have been keenly anticipated by Glover. Second-hand machinery and other equipment were purchased from the already defunct Hong Kong Mint, on the recommendation of Tom Waters’ former interpreter Kagenori Ueno, who travelled to Hong Kong to negotiate with the colonial government. Extant correspondence between Tom Waters and Thomas Glover (or his associate Ryle Holme) indicates that Glover’s company, before closing down, played a prominent part in transactions between the Japanese government, Jardine Matheson and Co. of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong government officials. The Japanese paid a large amount of money for the leftovers from the Hong Kong Mint, a good proportion of which must have made its way to not only Glover, but also Jardine Matheson. ³²

The mystery of the cast-iron columns and possible Robinson involvement

Although machinery and other second-hand materials were transferred from Hong Kong to Osaka, the iron columns that supported the Hong Kong Mint were not set aside for the Osaka project. Instead, similar columns were ordered from England — perhaps from the Millwall ironworks. However, the ship carrying the columns sank off Hong Kong en route to Japan and its cargo was lost.

Although the decision to purchase new columns may well have benefited not only Thomas Glover, but also the Robinson brothers in London, the loss created a problem for Tom Waters who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the steel infrastructure so that construction of the Mint could continue. Ironically, it was then decided that second-hand columns could be purchased from Hong Kong, perhaps again benefiting both Glover and Jardine Matheson by way of commission — although Glover’s bankruptcy was announced during 1870, which may have precluded him from involvement.

Why the second-hand columns were not purchased in the first place, along with the machinery, is problematic. Perhaps the new owners of the Hong Kong Mint site decided at a later date that the columns would not be required for the new sugar-processing business, which was to take the place of the Mint. However, one would have to question whether the Robinsons had, through Tom Waters, pushed for the purchase of new columns in the first instance — columns which they could easily and profitably supply, especially if moulds were still available after the manufacture of identical columns for Hong Kong.

Frustrated by the delay, and no longer able to rely on Glover or his men to negotiate for him, Waters travelled to Hong Kong to take delivery of the second-hand columns himself, leaving on 12 February 1870. ³³ His mother, Helena Waters, wrote in the Waters Family Journal on 4 April 1870:

Had a letter from Tom yesterday. He had just made an expedition to Hong Kong, & was there when he wrote to get some things that were necessary to the satisfactory completion of the Mint. ³⁴

These complex ‘column’ transactions might be better understood if the Millwall ironworks ledgers could be located. Meanwhile, one can only guess at the amount of commission that came the way of the Robinsons, and others like them, during the building of the Osaka Mint, and also the extravagant Western-style buildings that flanked it on either side along the Yodo River (Figures 4 and 5). ³⁵

FIGURE 4. FaÇade of the Osaka Mint designed by T. J. Waters (Author, 2014).

FIGURE 5. The Sempukan, designed by Waters to house the Commissioner of the Osaka Mint and important guests (Author, 2014).

The Asano paper mill

In 1870, while still working on the Osaka Mint, Tom Waters was asked by businessman Asano Nagakoto of Nihonbashi, Tokyo, to obtain particulars for a mechanized paper-making mill. Again Albert Robinson (and perhaps his brother Henry) appear to have been busy sourcing details, because, in seemingly very little time, Tom was able to produce specifications and costings, which he passed on to Asano. Goods to be brought from England included a ‘40 horse engine’, ‘tools for erection’, ‘paper engine’, ‘rag engines’, and ‘bleaching and cleaning machinery’. The original specifications for the Asano paper mill, in Tom’s handwriting, are held in the Tomoatsu Godai Archives, Japan, transcribed as follows:

Particulars of Paper Mill

One Paper Mill complete with paper engine to make paper 6 feet wide at the rate of 80 feet per minute, or 240 piculs per week if worked day & night. Rag engines, bleaching and cleaning machinery.

40 horse Engine. Tools for erection, etc. Coal required for each ton of paper will be five tons, but if water power be used only half the above coal will be necessary.

Cost of the above delivered alongside in Kobe or Osaka in about fourteen months from date of order — $76.100 [this would appear to be 76,100 Mexican dollars].

The above is the smallest size of paper mill made in England.

T. Waters June 14th, 1870. ³⁶

Both Henry and Albert Robinson stood to gain, one way or another, from this costly list of requirements. Tom, assisted by his brother Bertie, would later build the mechanized paper mill at Nihonbashi, which was completed in late 1872. ³⁷ This mill was most likely the first of its kind in Japan.

Thomas Waters in Tokyo

Tom Waters’ work at the Osaka Mint was completed by the end of 1870 and he moved to Tokyo, where he was appointed Surveyor General by the Meiji government. Under that title he was responsible for the supervision of new building projects, as the Japanese made an urgent push towards Westernization. Buildings and other structures designed, or at least approved, by Thomas Waters included: a suspension bridge in the Imperial Palace Gardens; the Takebashi Barracks adjacent to the Palace; the Ministry of Finance Analysis Institute (Tatunokuchi); and an extension to the Imperial Palace. Most were constructed in a relatively short time, suggesting efficient and prompt supply from Britain. Although the extension planned for the imperial palace was cancelled, due to a fire that destroyed the old part of the building, extant drawings by Tom Waters (Figure 6) are representative of other Western-style buildings with which he was involved. In excellent condition in the National Archives of Japan, they remind historians today of the extent to which the Japanese were prepared to go to Westernize. Although no records have come to light as to who supplied the materials for the buildings that did eventuate, it is likely that the Robinsons were in some way involved.

FIGURE 6. A drawing/painting by Tom Waters of the proposed Mikado’s Palace Extension(© National Archives of Japan).

14. The Ginza development

In early 1872, a large section of the Ginza region of central Tokyo was burnt to the ground, and the Japanese government’s Council of State, the Dajākan, issued a plan for the complete rebuilding of the area in fire-resistant materials. Tom Waters was asked to plan modern, red brick Western-style buildings for the new development. He presented his Japanese superiors with detailed specifications, estimates and drawings. Bricks were to be the main component, not only for the buildings, but also for paving the new wide streets, which would take the form of a grid. ³⁸

There was a problem in producing the large number of bricks required for the Ginza development, or ‘Bricktown’ as it was called. However, this was solved by the construction of three circular Hoffmann kilns (Figure 7) at nearby Kosuge, under Tom’s supervision. ³⁹ The plans and some of the infrastructure for these kilns may well have been provided by Albert and Henry Robinson. Tom would have had little experience of kilns, other than the simple stepped version most likely used to supply bricks for the Mint in Osaka, and perhaps also for the sugar mills in the Loo Choo Islands.

FIGURE 7. An example of the circular Hoffmann kilns being constructed in England in the late 1860s and early 1870s (Photographer unknown).

On 1 May 1872 Bertie Waters signed a contract with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to work with his brother on the Ginza project. ⁴⁰ He was to remain there for some time after Tom left for England in April 1873, and was in a position to continue communication with his uncles at ‘home’. Materials such as steel bolts, and metal reinforcing, along with tools and other equipment required for such an extensive building project could well have been provided by the Robinsons, or their contacts.

But how much control did in situ men like Tom and Bertie Waters have over who would provide advice, plans and materials? In most cases, agents like Jardine Matheson & Co. based in Japan acted as intermediaries, and as lending agents, for the projects that required funding and importation of goods and services. Not only did agents already established in the country have the contacts and experience to arrange orders, transfer funds and organize loans on behalf of their Japanese clients, they also had preferred contacts in the West, whom they knew they could rely upon for cooperation and efficient service. With Tom Waters pressing for goods to be purchased through his reliable family network, it would seem only natural that the Robinsons would continue to be kept in the loop, even after the young engineer returned to England. In fact, direct proof of this can be found in the Jardine Matheson journals, which cover the period from May 1874 to September 1876. ⁴¹

A sheet glass factory for Japan

By the time Tom Waters left Japan for England in early April 1873 and became an agent and supplier himself, his work ethics and honesty were well respected by Jardine Matheson & Co. in Japan. Together with his Uncle Albert, and perhaps also his Uncle Henry, he was able to participate in, and service, an exciting new project that required expertise over and above what had been called for in earlier Westernizing projects. This involved the construction of a window glass factory.

Glass for the large number of windows in the new Ginza development had been a priority. However, no evidence has come to hand that suggests that the sheet glass came from Britain. It may have come from France, Germany or Belgium — all prolific suppliers of sheet glass. By 1873, the use of window glass had increased rapidly in Japan. In that year, 101,337 sheets of glass were shipped into Japan. ⁴²

The supply of glass for such a large project as the Ginza may well have been beyond the scope of the Robinsons. However, with Tom’s encouragement, they began to see a way in which they could be involved in providing goods and services for another first in Japan — the construction of a facility for the making of sheet glass.

Already heavily involved in the design and construction of Western-style buildings, which required a great deal of sheet glass, Tom Waters must have been particularly interested in the idea of local production. In this, he was supported, not only by government officials, but by private businessmen in Japan.

Again he was in the right place at the right time. While living in Tokyo, and working on the Ginza and other Westernizing projects, Tom sometimes shared accommodation with Erasmus H. M. Gower (1830–1903). Gower was a mining engineer from Italy who was acting as a consultant for the Japanese. While his friend was rebuilding the Ginza, he was travelling throughout Japan conducting research into raw materials suitable for glass-making. An important topic of conversation between the two young men must have been the obvious benefits of local production of window glass.

Gower was in close communication with Miyonosuke Murai and Masatsune Niwa, wealthy businessmen who already had shares in the Nakaosaka Iron Works and were keen to expand into sheet glass production. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of these two men, Gower almost certainly asked his friend Tom Waters to investigate the infrastructure and equipment required for glass-making, along with any expertise that would be required. Already planning a trip home to see his family, Tom must have welcomed the idea of mixing business with pleasure. He had, after all, experienced at first hand the difficulties involved with importing and installing glass. In fact, the logistics of bringing sheet glass to Japan must have been an increasing nightmare. Breakages would have been commonplace, not only during storms at sea, but also during installation. For the Japanese, glass windows were an entirely new concept.

In early 1873, on the advice of Erasmus Gower and Japanese businessmen, the Yokohama office of Jardine Matheson & Co. wrote to their associates Matheson & Co. in London requesting drawings and specifications for setting up a sheet glass factory at Shinagawa, on the southern edge of Tokyo. ⁴³ At first Matheson & Co. refused to comply, on the grounds that the procedure for making sheet glass was complex and that it would take a great deal of time to teach Japanese workmen the required skills. They also pointed to difficulties in getting information from glass-makers in England, who would be reluctant to reveal details of the raw materials required, and of manufacturing techniques. For the same reasons, Matheson & Co. saw problems in persuading skilled British glass-makers to travel to Japan for the purpose of instruction.

However, Japanese entrepreneurs, supported by Jardine Matheson & Co. of Yokohama, and perhaps also British officials, businessmen and agents who were keen to maintain good relations with Japan, put on more pressure. In a letter dated 5 September 1873, Matheson & Co. reluctantly agreed to cooperate.

Tom Waters arrived back in England in late April 1873, and he and Albert Robinson must have begun researching glass-making as soon as the young engineer was reunited with his family. In fact, their early findings may have been partly instrumental in the decision by Matheson & Co. to participate in the venture.

At first, the primary goal for investors in the new Kāgyōsha glassworks at Shinagawa was the production of sheet glass. They required experts in this complex procedure to supervise the setting up of the facility, and to instruct the Japanese. It seems likely that the glass-maker Thomas Walton was approached by the persuasive Albert Robinson, or by his nephew, because, in spite of the warning from Matheson & Co. that it would be difficult to persuade glass-makers to go to Japan, Walton agreed to go. On arrival in Japan, his first duty was to install the infrastructure and equipment required for modern glass production — in particular sheet glass. ⁴⁴

Although the proposed glassworks must have been uppermost in his mind, Tom arrived back in England with instructions from Japan over and above those pertaining to the glass-making project. The hiring of pulp engineers and the first superintendent for the Asano paper mill, John Rogers, seems to have occurred soon after his return. ⁴⁵ He was also asked by officials of the Japanese Mining Department to seek out personnel for the modernization of mining procedures. Tom recommended his younger brother, the up-and-coming mining engineer Ernest Waters (1851–93). Ernest left for Japan later the same year, and worked in an advisory capacity in Japanese mines for several years. ⁴⁶ Later, he would return to the country to assist with other mining ventures. Although it is difficult to know just how much influence Ernest had in directing orders back through the family in England, it would perhaps be safe to assume that he too took advantage of family networks.

Some evidence of the participation of Tom Waters and his uncle Albert Robinson, not only in setting up the glassworks, but also in providing machinery and materials for the Murai/Niwa ironworks, can be found amongst entries in the Jardine Matheson (JM) journals. Erasmus Gower was an active participant. He was employed as chief engineer in charge of both the ironworks and the glassworks, signing a twelve-month contract from 1 May 1874. Having completed his contract for the Ginza, Bertie Waters was also employed by Niwa, signing on 1 August 1874, as ‘Assistant Mechanical or Civil Engineer at the Iron Works at Nakoaska’, under the supervision of Gower. ⁴⁷

On 30 November 1873, the cost of a telegram is listed in the JM journal. Contents unknown, the communication was sent from Jardine Matheson in Yokohama to Tom Waters in London. Then, on 9 May 1874, under ‘Glass Manufactory’ a draft of Mex$2,474.22 is listed as paid to ‘Albert Robinson’; and in May and June 1875 the name ‘J. A. R. Waters’ (Bertie) appears in the journal in connection with money transactions. These entries are mostly listed under the heading of ‘Glass Manufactory’, but transactions with the ironworks at Nakaosaka also appear under a different classification number, referring to ‘Murai’ or ‘Murai, Iron Works’. ⁴⁸

Further brief journal entries indicate that Albert Robinson and Tom Waters were in constant contact with Jardine Matheson in Japan, and supplied a variety of items for the construction and, later, the operation of the glassworks at Shinagawa. In April 1874, under the heading ‘Glass Manufactory’, was listed: ‘Paid for Telegram to A. Robinson Bristol $31.00; paid landing 18.000 [sic] Bricks and Machinery$50.00; paid duty on Bricks and Machinery $113.50’. Then, in June 1875, the cost of a telegram to ‘A. Robinson, Bristol’ was charged against ‘Murai, Iron Works’, suggesting that Albert was acting as export agent for both the ‘Glass Manufactory’ and the ironworks at Nakaosaka.

Transactions between Tom Waters and Jardine Matheson are not so specific. Tom has a category of his own in the journal, which does not specify the Japanese project associated with particular items listed. This would suggest that Tom was still on some kind of contract with the Japanese, or at least with Jardine Matheson & Co., and was involved with other projects as well.

As the glass-making facility began to take shape, an indication of progress can be found in the JM journal. In July 1874, Albert Robinson supplied a large quantity of fire clay and castings, which were shipped from Bristol to Tokyo; the involvement of Matheson & Co is indicated, when a considerable amount of white alkali and pot clay was sent out from London in 1875 and 1876. Also listed in the journal under ‘Glass Manufactory’ are twenty-six sacks of manganese, ordered from ‘Parrot Co., San Francisco’, pointing to the fact that all supplies were not available in England.

Between 1873 and 1878 Tom Waters carried on work from his Uncle Henry’s office in Park Row. However, on-going and new projects took him back to Japan from time to time. During one visit, he arrived there in early February 1874. On 12 January, a few weeks before he left England on that particular journey, the JM journal indicates under ‘Glass Manufactory’ that T. J. Waters was paid a ‘draft’ of Mex$2,436.55 — perhaps a wage. Also in January, he received a ‘loan’ of Mex$15,289.00. This larger amount is listed under a separate number, and may have been to cover the cost of an assortment of equipment and materials that Tom and his uncle had purchased, or were having custom-made in England. If this were the case, it would be reasonable to assume Tom travelled to Japan in 1874 specifically to supervise the safe delivery and/or installation of these items.

Documents held in the Mitsui Archive, Tokyo, confirm that a ‘glass factory with furnace of [for] sheet glass manufacture, and a chimney and tunnel’ was completed on 31 March 1875 at Shinagawa, approximately twelve months after Tom’s return to Japan in early 1874. There is also a document which records a large amount of money spent in 1874, as ‘Enkei-hi’ (expenditure for round shape) — a reference to the unusual ‘round’ building that was used as the first Shinagawa ‘glasshouse’ (the traditional name for a brick building that housed a furnace or furnaces). ⁴⁹ This expenditure could partly account for the loan of Mex$15,289.00 advanced to Tom Waters before he left for Japan.

It is yet to be determined whether Tom Waters personally designed any of the buildings at Shinagawa. Nevertheless, there could well have been some carry over, in both design and supply, from the circular Hoffmann kilns at Kosuge, which Tom introduced to provide enough bricks for the Ginza project. The kilns were completed around the time he left for England (April 1873), so their design was still fresh in his mind. Although no images of the Kosuge kilns could be found, the external structure of the roof of the Shinagawa glasshouse, with its centrally placed chimney, segmental, two-tiered pitched roof, and louvered clerestory, bears close resemblance to the roof structure on some circular Hoffman kilns found in Britain at the time (Figure 7).

The stated ‘round shape’ of the brick Shinagawa glasshouse is misleading, however. The ‘circular’ glasshouse is said to have been polygonal — multiple straight sides being easier for bricklaying. Perhaps Tom had already learned that a series of straight brick walls was easier for inexperienced workmen. This was the kind of innovation for which Tom Waters was famous, and perhaps he spent time in his uncle’s London office drawing up new plans for a polygonal-shaped glasshouse, including a roof structure with which he was already familiar from the larger Hoffmann kilns at Kosuge.

If, indeed, Tom did draw up plans in his uncle’s office for the ‘circular’ glasshouse, it would naturally follow that Henry and Albert would supply any materials necessary to service the plan. This may have included steel infrastructure for the roof and walls of the unusual building.

Tom’s design role at Shinagawa requires further investigation. However, while in Japan in late 1874 he did draw up, and personally sign, plans for a bank-note building for Tokyo, a design that was altered before construction took place. ⁵⁰

Six months later, Tom Waters appears to have parted company with the Japanese, and also with Jardine Matheson in Yokohama. The JM journal shows that, on 30 June 1875, he repaid a load to Jardine Matheson to the value of Mex$1,425.00, perhaps the amount remaining from the earlier advancement of Mex$15,289.00. Then, in August, the Irish engineer left Yokohama en route for San Francisco and London.

Although very little, if any, sheet glass was produced at Shinagawa, entries in the Jardine Matheson journal go some way towards revealing the networking and communication that took place between agents, entrepreneurs and manufacturers.

The end of an era

While Tom and Bertie Waters were working in Japan, Albert Robinson spent most of his time in London. However, during 1873 he moved to Clifton, near Bristol, seemingly to service Japanese requirements for the glass-making facility at Shinagawa and the ironworks at Nakaosaka. Part of that operation appears to have involved his investment in an open-cut mine near Shepton Mallet, from which he could provide some of the minerals necessary for glass-making. ⁵¹

The talented but modest entrepreneur and engineer, who had accomplished so much in his lifetime and who supported his nephews in the early Westernization of Japan, passed away on 7 April 1877. He died as a result of blood poisoning after an injury to his leg, perhaps sustained during a walk through his open-cut mines.

After finalizing his uncle’s affairs, Tom Waters travelled again to Japan. Before leaving England, he wrote to his sister Lucy Gray, now living in New Zealand: ‘I see no opening in this country that would suit me’. ⁵² He would find nothing more to suit him in Japan either.

Moving to Shanghai at the end of 1878, Tom became involved in the construction of a mechanized paper mill and several other projects.⁵³ However, in 1885, disillusioned with his prospects in China, he went on to manage a coalmine in New Zealand. In 1891 he joined his brothers in Colorado, where they were involved in the successful mining of gold and silver.

Conclusion

It is perhaps no coincidence that Thomas James Waters’ success as an engineer and architect in the Far East began to wane after the death of his uncle, Albert Robinson, in May 1877. There was, of course, another reason for his failure to secure ongoing employment in Japan. With increasing education, Japanese engineers were beginning to take over the design and supervision of many Westernizing projects. These educated men would build upon the extraordinary achievements of Westerners like the Waters brothers, who arrived early and were involved with so many ‘firsts’ — the first mechanized sugar mills, cotton mills and mines; the first Western-style Mint, official buildings and shopping centre; the first sheet glass factory; and the first Hoffmann kilns.

It is important to recognize that those early developments could not readily have taken place without a talented team of contacts back ‘home’. Men like Albert and Henry Robinson worked behind the scenes to provide the wherewithal for the Japan’s transformation from an isolated underdeveloped country into an industrial powerhouse that would surpass all expectations. Increased recognition of, and admiration for, the contribution made by Western agents must surely accompany ongoing research into the subject.

Notes on contributor

Margaret (Meg) Vivers has for the past fifteen years been studying and publishing British Colonial history, Australian history and, more recently, Britain’s involvement in the Far East during the nineteenth century, specializing in the inclusion of both male and female voices from correspondence, diaries and journals to complement and enhance more formal archival source material, and to produce a more comprehensive understanding of past events and behaviours.

Notes

1 Materials and expertise were also supplied from the Continent and from the United States of America. For this article, I concentrate on Britain, and the British agents Albert and Henry Robinson.

2 For uniformity, Japanese names follow the same tradition as Western names, with family name last.

3 Neil Jackson, ‘Thomas James Waters (1842–98): Bibles and Bricks in Bakumatsu and Early-Meiji Japan’, in Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, ed. by Hugh Cortazzi, 7 (Kent: Global Oriental, 2010), pp. 469–86.

4 Olive Checkland, Britain’s Encounter with Meiji Japan, 1868–1912 (London: Macmillan, 1989).

5 Williams Gray Papers (WG), Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne, New Zealand. Meg Vivers, An Irish Engineer: The Extraordinary Achievements of Thomas J. Waters and Family in Early Meiji Japan and Beyond (Brisbane: CopyRight Publishing, 2013).

6 Birr Church of Ireland Baptismal Records 1760–1899, Birr, Ireland. Further details from Waters family correspondence (WG).

7 A. W. Buchanan, The Buchanan Book: The Life of Alexander Buchanan, Q.C. of Montreal ... (Montreal, 1911), p. 215.

8 For the Robinson business in Londonderry, see British House of Commons Papers, 1839, p. 188; and ‘Return of the Revenue Arising in Ireland’, Seventh Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collect and Management of the Revenue Arising in Ireland ..., House of Lords Sessional Papers, 1801–33, p. 162; 10 March 1824, p. 161. See also ‘“Watt” was Brewing in Bygone Derry?’, Irish Identity, http://www.irishindentity.com/extras/inn/stories/watt.htm [accessed 14 August 2010].

9 ‘City of the Falls: A History’, Niagara Falls Public Library.

10 The progress of the Robinson business can be measured in part by patents submitted after the ironworks went into production. For example, Repertory of Patent Inventions ... (January–June 1841), p. 35; Mechanics Magazine (July–December 1841), pp. 257–59.

11 Albert Robinson, Account of Some Recent Improvements in the System of Navigating the Ganges by Iron Steam Vessels (London: John Weale, 1848).

12 Caroline Cowan to Lucy Waters, 18 October 1863, WG Series 9 Number 6 (henceforth appearing as WG 9:6.)

13 G. B. Endacott, A History of Hong Kong (London: Oxford University Press, 1859); P. Kevin MacKeown, ‘The Hong Kong Mint, 1864–1868: Source of an Early Engineering Experiment’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, 47 (2007), 41–79; Susumu Mizuta, ‘Twin Mints in the Far East: An Architectural Study on the Osaka Mint Compared with the Hong Kong Mint’, Proceedings of East Asian Architectural Culture International Conference (Singapore,2011).

14 1Kate Summerscale, Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady (London: Bloomsbury, 2012); Meg Vivers, Castle to Colony: The Remarkable Life and Times of Lucy Sarah Gray (1840–1879) (Brisbane: CopyRight Publishing, 2013).

15 Lily Waters to Lucy Waters, 18 June 1864, WG 9:6. Helena Waters to Lucy Waters, 25 July 1864, WG 9:6.

16 Olive Checkland and Sydney Checkland, ‘British and Japanese Economic Interaction Under the Early Meiji: The Takashima Coal Mine, 1868–88’, in Meiji Japan: Political Economic and Social History 1868–1912, ed. by Peter F. Kornicki (London and New York: Routledge, 1998).

17 Shinya Sugiyama, ‘Thomas B. Glover: A British Merchant in Japan, 1861–70’, Business History, 26 (2) (1984), 115–55.

18 Helena Waters to Lucy Waters, [no date] June 1864, WG 9:6. In April 1864 Thomas Glover established a branch office in Shanghai. Helena Waters’ comment about Albert Robinson ‘making an engineering business […] for himself’ may have been slightly misguided. Instead, it seems he was acting as agent for Randolph Elder & Co. and took advantage of Glover’s presence in Shanghai. A notice published in a number of issues of The North China Herald, commencing September 1864, indicates a business arrangement between Glover, Robinson and Randolph Elder for the production of ‘steamers, steam dredging vessels, screw pile wharves, etc.’ seemingly to be supplied from Glasgow (North China Herald, 15, issue 724, 11 April 1864; issue 739, 24 September 1864).

19 The Japan Herald,12 March 1864; The Japan Times’ Overland Mail, 19 September 1868.

20 The Daily Japan Herald, 3 (issue no. 152), 21 January 1865, p. 584; ibid., 3 (issue no. 153), 28 January 1865, p. 588.

21 Helena Waters to Lucy Waters, 25 July 1864, WG 9:6.

22 Kagenori Ueno wrote in his diary: ‘In March 1865 (22 years old), I was ordered to go to Ōshima white sugar factory […] as a translator for T. J. Waters […] In July 1867 (24 years old) after the completion of the Ōshima white sugar factory, I returned to Kagoshima with T. J. Waters’, from Munenori Terashima, ‘A Short Biography of Kagenori Ueno’, in Research into the Achievements of T. J. Waters in Kagoshima Domain in Bakumatsu Era, ed. by Shingenobu Kikuchi (1974) (in Japanese; no publisher indicated in English translation); Susumu Mizuta, ‘An Architectural and Technological Study on the Sugar Cane Mill in Keiou Period Compared with the Sugar Cane Industry of Amami-Ōshima Island’, Studies on the Syuseikan projects from the view of the British Merchants 3, Journal of Architecture and Planning, 610 (2006), 177–84.

23 Tom Waters to Lucy Waters, 4 October 1866, WG 9:6.

24 Satow Papers, PRO30/33 1–23, Public Record Office, Kew; Tom Waters to Lucy Waters, 15 January 1867, WG9:6.

25 Lucy Waters to Charles Gray, 24 February 1868, WG 9:1.

26 Clarence Henderson, ‘Sugar Cane, Sugar Cane, Wherefore Art Thou?’, Pearl of the Orient Seas Index, Manila, Philippines (2000),http://www.apmforum.com/columns/ orientseas17.htm [accessed 1 September 2014]. See also ‘History’, a publication of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, Republic of the Philippines, http://www.sra.gov.ph/about-us/history [accessed 1 September 2014]; and David Joel Steinberg, The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place (Colorado and Oxford: Westview Press, 2000), pp. 19–21.

27 Checkland and Checkland, pp. 139–55. See also Andrew Cobbing, The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain: Early Travel Encounters in the Far West (Richmond, Surrey: Japan Library, Curzon Press, 1998), p. 167, fn. 242.

28 Waters Family Journal, 13 April 1870, WG 10:7.

29 Confirmation of an ongoing liaison is particularly relevant, as it points to the possibility of other transactions taking place between Albert Robinson and Thomas Glover, which have yet to be clearly identified.

30 Architectural Institute of Japan, in particular UDC 72.03:72.071.1 (W), ‘Memorandum of Agreement between Japanese Government and T. J. Waters’.

31 Sugiyama, pp. 115–55.

32 Susumu Mizuta, ‘Thomas James Waters: His Employment and British Merchants at the Japanese Mint, Osaka’, Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Architectural Interchanges and Planning in Asia (Kitakyushu, Japan, 2010) (in Japanese); Mizuta, ‘Twin Mints in the Far East’; Roy S. Hanishiro, Thomas William Kinder and the Japanese Imperial Mint 1868–1875 (Leiden, Boston, and Kōln: Brill, 1999), pp. 38–48.

33 Takeyoshi Hori, ‘On the Waters’, Yokohama and Shanghai (Yokohama: Yokohama Archives of History, 1995), p. 340 (in Japanese).

34 Waters Family Journal, 4 April 1870, WG 10:7.

35 Jackson, pp. 469–86; Terunobu Fujimori, ‘Waters: Ginzarengagai wo tsukuru’, in Oyatoi Gaikokujin, ed. by Maramatsu Teirjiro, 15 (1976) (in Japanese).

36 Tomoatsu Godai Archive, Osaka Chamber of Commerce, R20–2.

37 In 1873, while in England, Tom employed experts to run the Asano paper mill.

38 ‘Meiji 5 Nenn Kenchiku Jimu Goyodome (Documents on Constructions, 1872)’, Document 604-B2-1, Tokyo Metropolitan Archives.

39 Mizuno Shintaro, Nihon Renga shi no Kenkyu (Study of the History of Bricks of Japan) (Hosei Daigaku Shuppan Kyoku, Tokyo: Hosei University Press, 1999), pp. 31–39 (in Japanese).

40 Hori, ‘On the Waters’, pp. 332–36.

41 JM/A2/81; JM/A2/82–83. Jardine Matheson & Co. business journals covering the periods May 1870–April 1874; May 1874–September 1876, plus a small part of 1880. Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Cambridge University Library.

42 Martha Chaiklin, ‘A Miracle of Industry: The Struggle to Produce Sheet Glass in Modernizing Japan’, in Building a Modern Japan: Science Technology and Medicine in the Meiji Era and Beyond, ed. by Morris Low (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2005), pp. 161–81.

43 Jardine Matheson & Co., Yokohama, to Matheson & Co., London, 21 July 1873; reply from Matheson & Co., 5 September 1873 (JM/B6/10, archive 13940). See also JM/D6/1/2, letter 14; JM/B6/10, letter 10; and JM/D6/12, letter 23. Cambridge University Library.

44 JM/A2/81; JM/A2/82–83. The author acknowledges the research of Sally Haden. See also, Sally Haden, ‘They Went to “Larn ‘em”: British Glassmakers Help to Establish Japan’s first Western Glassworks 1874–1888’, Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology, 54, issue no. 1 (2013), 25–30.

45 Dard Hunter, Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft (New York: Dover Publications, 1978), p. 570.

46 Takeyoshi Hori, ‘The Legacy of Foreign Architects’, Nihon no Bijutsu Series, 447 (Tokyo: Shibundo, 2003), pp. 87–88 (in Japanese).

47 Details of Gower employment, and contract between ‘Albert J. R. Waters’ and ‘Niwa Masatsune’, 1 August 1874, ‘A. Waters’, microfilm 606.B4.02, film 322, 323, 324, 325. All held by Tokyo Metropolitan Archives.

48 JM/A2/81 and JM/A2/82–83.

49 Mitsui Archives: twenty-three documents entitled ‘Sanjō sama garasu kikai’ (Lord Sanjō’s Glass Machinery), 1875–76. Akiko Inoue Osumi, ‘Kōgyōsha and Shinagawa Glass Works (1): The Establishment of the First Western-style Glassworks in Japan’, Glass, Journal of the Association for Glass Art Studies, Japan,53 (2009) (in Japanese).

50 National Archives of Japan, Digital Archive: https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/gallery/view/category/categoryArchivesEn/060000 0000/default, accessed 1 April 2014.

51 Tom Waters to Lucy Gray, 28 March 1878, WG 9:6.

52 Ernest Waters to Lucy Gray, 30 April 1879, WG 9:6.

53 Hong Kong Daily Press, 24 December 1884, Hong Kong Records Office. Vivers, An Irish Engineer, pp. 159–79.