Online dictionary of history and traditions in Japan: Matsuura Takeshiro

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Matsuura Takeshiro

松浦武四郎
alternative words: Takeshiro Matsuura, Matsuura Takeshirou, Takeshirou Matsuura
keywords: explorer , famous person , northern territory , statesman
related topics: Edo period , Meiji period , Ezochi
explanation: Explorer of the late Edo period and the beginning of Meiji period. Born in 1818 in Mie prefecture. First he became an itinerant Buddhist monk to travel all over Japan. He was then engaged by Edo shogunate to explore all the regions of Ezochi and gave the name of Hokkaido to it. In 1868, he was nominated to an administrator of Hokkaido by the newly created Meiji government but quickly quit the post. He spent the remaining of his life with travel and writing. He died in 1888.