Guido Verbeck
Encyclopedia
Guido Herman Fridolin Verbeck (born Verbeek) (28 January 1830 – 10 May 1898) was a Dutch
political advisor, educator, and missionary
active in Bakumatsu and Meiji period
Japan
. He was one of the most important o-yatoi gaikokujin
(foreign advisors) serving the Meiji government and contributed to many major government decisions during the early years of the reign of Emperor Meiji
.
, Netherlands
as the 6th of eighth children in a Moravian family. As a young man, he studied at the Polytechnic Institute of Utrecht
in hopes of becoming an engineer. At Zeist he grew up speaking Dutch
, German
, French
and English
.
to work at a foundry located outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin
, which had been developed by Moravian missionaries to build machinery for steamboats. Verbeck stayed in Wisconsin for almost a year, during which time he changed the spelling of his name from "Verbeek" to "Verbeck" in the hope that Americans could better pronounce it. However he wanted to see more of America and moved to Brooklyn
, New York
where his sister had previously lived. He then decided to work as a civil engineer
in Arkansas
, and designed bridges, structures and machines. However, in Arkansas he was deeply moved by the lives of slaves
in the southern plantations, and the teachings of H.W. Beecher, a preacher whose sister was Harriet Beecher Stowe
, writer of Uncle Tom's Cabin
. After almost dying from cholera
, he swore that he would become a missionary if he recovered. In 1855 he entered a seminary
in Auburn
, New York, where many Dutch had immigrated.
for the Dutch Reformed Church
. His first dwelling was at the temple of Sofukuji, where Ranald MacDonald
had previously stayed.
In 1862 Wakasa Murata, retainer of Nabeshima Kanso, daimyo
of the Saga domain
sent three young men to study Christianity with Verbeck, beginning a deep relation between Verbeck and the Saga domain.
Verbeck also taught foreign languages, politics, and science at the Yougakusho (School for Western Studies) in Nagasaki, from August [YEAR NEEDED]. In 1864, the school was renamed Seibikan and had more than one hundred students. Verbeck's pupils included Ōkuma Shigenobu
, Itō Hirobumi
Ōkubo Toshimichi
and Soejima Taneomi
. He taught the students the American Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution
besides English.
Verbeck cooperated with Takahashi Shinkichi to publish the Satsuma Dictionary, the first English-Japanese Dictionary printed in Japan.
In 1869, recommended by Ōkubo, Verbeck received an appointment as teacher at the Kaisei School (later Tokyo Imperial University). At one point, future Prime Minister
Takahashi Korekiyo
was a boarder at Verbeck's house.
Verbeck also served as a counselor of the Meiji government under Sanjō Sanetomi
. Verbeck recommended that the Japanese government adopt the use of German language
for medical studies, and was often consulted about the establishment of the prefectural system of local administration. He was also influential in encouraging the dispatch of the Iwakura mission
, the first Japanese diplomatic mission
to the United States and Europe
In 1871 Verbeck assisted in bringing William Elliot Griffis
of Rutgers University
to Japan to teach at the Fukui Domain
academy Meishinkan per the invitation of daimyo Matsudaira Norinaga
.
In September 1871 the Ministry of Education was established and Verbeck became an advisor, providing inspiration for the Education Order of 1872 and the Conscription Ordinance of 1873.
As the ban of Christianity in Japan was lifted in February 1873, Verbeck was permitted to resume his missionary efforts.
Verbeck made a trip to Europe on 6 months' leave given by the Japanese government and traveled to meet up with the Iwakura Mission. On his return to Japan, he resigned from the university, and spent the next few years as a translator of English legal documents into Japanese.
In 1877, he taught at the Gakushuin
, and was appointed the first trustee of Meiji Gakuin University
in 1886.
In 1887, Verbeck translated the Old Testament
Psalms
and Book of Isaiah
into Japanese.
Verbeck attempted to return to the United States in 1890 with his daughter, but was refused by the American government, as he could not prove his Dutch nationality and his application for American nationality based on his previous stay in the United States was denied. The Japanese government responded by granting Verbeck permanent residency and issuing him a passport
.
Verbeck died in Tokyo of a heart attack
in 1898 and was buried in the foreign section of the Aoyama Cemetery
in central Tokyo.
His son Gustave
emigrated to the United States and gained some fame as a newspaper cartoonist
. Another son, William, was Adjudant General of the State of New York, and head of the Manlius Military School
, near Syracuse, New York
. His great grandson, Guido Verbeck IV, is currently a professor of chemistry at the University of North Texas.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
political advisor, educator, and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
active in Bakumatsu and Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was one of the most important o-yatoi gaikokujin
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
(foreign advisors) serving the Meiji government and contributed to many major government decisions during the early years of the reign of Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
.
Early years
Verbeck was born in ZeistZeist
Zeist is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, located east of the city of Utrecht.-Population centres :*Austerlitz*Bosch en Duin*Den Dolder*Huis ter Heide*Zeist- The town of Zeist :...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as the 6th of eighth children in a Moravian family. As a young man, he studied at the Polytechnic Institute of Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
in hopes of becoming an engineer. At Zeist he grew up speaking Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Life in the United States
At the age of twenty-two, on the invitation of his brother-in-law, Verbeck traveled to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to work at a foundry located outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, which had been developed by Moravian missionaries to build machinery for steamboats. Verbeck stayed in Wisconsin for almost a year, during which time he changed the spelling of his name from "Verbeek" to "Verbeck" in the hope that Americans could better pronounce it. However he wanted to see more of America and moved to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where his sister had previously lived. He then decided to work as a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and designed bridges, structures and machines. However, in Arkansas he was deeply moved by the lives of slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the southern plantations, and the teachings of H.W. Beecher, a preacher whose sister was Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, writer of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
. After almost dying from cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
, he swore that he would become a missionary if he recovered. In 1855 he entered a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Auburn
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
, New York, where many Dutch had immigrated.
Life in Japan
Verbeck graduated in 1859, and moved to Nagasaki, Japan as a missionaryMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
for the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
. His first dwelling was at the temple of Sofukuji, where Ranald MacDonald
Ranald MacDonald
Ranald MacDonald was the first man to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry and the Tokugawa Shogunate.-Early life:MacDonald was born at Fort Astoria, in the Pacific Northwest of...
had previously stayed.
In 1862 Wakasa Murata, retainer of Nabeshima Kanso, daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of the Saga domain
Saga Domain
Saga Domain was a han, or feudal domain, in Tokugawa period Japan. Largely contiguous with Hizen Province on Kyūshū, the domain was governed from Saga Castle in the capital city of Saga by the Nabeshima clan of tozama daimyō...
sent three young men to study Christianity with Verbeck, beginning a deep relation between Verbeck and the Saga domain.
Verbeck also taught foreign languages, politics, and science at the Yougakusho (School for Western Studies) in Nagasaki, from August [YEAR NEEDED]. In 1864, the school was renamed Seibikan and had more than one hundred students. Verbeck's pupils included Ōkuma Shigenobu
Okuma Shigenobu
Marquis ; was a statesman in the Empire of Japan and the 8th and 17th Prime Minister of Japan...
, Itō Hirobumi
Ito Hirobumi
Prince was a samurai of Chōshū domain, Japanese statesman, four time Prime Minister of Japan , genrō and Resident-General of Korea. Itō was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire...
Ōkubo Toshimichi
Okubo Toshimichi
, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...
and Soejima Taneomi
Soejima Taneomi
was a diplomat and statesman during early Meiji period Japan.-Biography:Soejima was born into a samurai family in Saga, in Hizen province . His father was a teacher in the domain's school and a scholar of National Learning . In 1866, Soejima was sent to Nagasaki by the domain leaders to study the...
. He taught the students the American Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
and the Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
besides English.
Verbeck cooperated with Takahashi Shinkichi to publish the Satsuma Dictionary, the first English-Japanese Dictionary printed in Japan.
In 1869, recommended by Ōkubo, Verbeck received an appointment as teacher at the Kaisei School (later Tokyo Imperial University). At one point, future Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Takahashi Korekiyo
Takahashi Korekiyo
Viscount was a Japanese politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Japan from 13 November 1921 to 12 June 1922. He was known as an expert on finance during his political career.-Early life :...
was a boarder at Verbeck's house.
Verbeck also served as a counselor of the Meiji government under Sanjō Sanetomi
Sanjo Sanetomi
Prince was an Imperial court noble and statesman at the time of the Meiji Restoration. He held many high-ranking offices in the Meiji government.-Biography:Born in Kyoto, Sanjō was the son of Naidaijin Sanjō Sanetsumu...
. Verbeck recommended that the Japanese government adopt the use of German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for medical studies, and was often consulted about the establishment of the prefectural system of local administration. He was also influential in encouraging the dispatch of the Iwakura mission
Iwakura mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy was a Japanese diplomatic journey around the world, initiated in 1871 by the oligarchs of the Meiji period. Although it was not the only such "mission", it is the most well-known and possibly most important for the modernization of Japan after a long period...
, the first Japanese diplomatic mission
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
to the United States and Europe
In 1871 Verbeck assisted in bringing William Elliot Griffis
William Elliot Griffis
William Elliot Griffis was an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author....
of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
to Japan to teach at the Fukui Domain
Fukui Domain
The was a feudal domain in Echizen Province of Japan during the Edo period. It is also sometimes called '. The family name of the heads of the domain is "Matsudaira".- List of heads :# Hideyasu# Tadanao...
academy Meishinkan per the invitation of daimyo Matsudaira Norinaga
Matsudaira Norinaga
was a daimyō during early-Edo period Japan. He was the second head of the Ogyū-Matsudaira clan.-Biography:Matsudaira Norinaga was the eldest son of Matsudaira Ienori, a Sengoku period samurai and daimyō of Iwamura Domain in Mino Province under the early Tokugawa shogunate...
.
In September 1871 the Ministry of Education was established and Verbeck became an advisor, providing inspiration for the Education Order of 1872 and the Conscription Ordinance of 1873.
As the ban of Christianity in Japan was lifted in February 1873, Verbeck was permitted to resume his missionary efforts.
Verbeck made a trip to Europe on 6 months' leave given by the Japanese government and traveled to meet up with the Iwakura Mission. On his return to Japan, he resigned from the university, and spent the next few years as a translator of English legal documents into Japanese.
In 1877, he taught at the Gakushuin
Gakushuin
The or Peers School is an educational institution founded in Tokyo in 1877, during the Meiji period, for the education of the children of the Japanese aristocracy, though it eventually also opened its doors to the offspring of extremely wealthy commoners...
, and was appointed the first trustee of Meiji Gakuin University
Meiji Gakuin University
is one of the Christian universities in Tokyo and Yokohama which was established in 1863. The Reverend Dr. James Curtis Hepburn was one of the founders and the first president...
in 1886.
In 1887, Verbeck translated the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
and Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
into Japanese.
Verbeck attempted to return to the United States in 1890 with his daughter, but was refused by the American government, as he could not prove his Dutch nationality and his application for American nationality based on his previous stay in the United States was denied. The Japanese government responded by granting Verbeck permanent residency and issuing him a passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
.
Verbeck died in Tokyo of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1898 and was buried in the foreign section of the Aoyama Cemetery
Aoyama Cemetery
is a cemetery in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, many people visit.-History:...
in central Tokyo.
His son Gustave
Gustave Verbeek
Gustave Verbeek was an illustrator, best known for his newspaper cartoons in the early 1900s featuring an inventive use of word play and visual storytelling tricks....
emigrated to the United States and gained some fame as a newspaper cartoonist
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
. Another son, William, was Adjudant General of the State of New York, and head of the Manlius Military School
Manlius Pebble Hill
The Manlius Pebble Hill School is a non-sectarian, coeducational, independent Pre-K through 12 school in DeWitt, New York. The school is a result of a merger in 1970 between the Manlius School and the Pebble Hill School .-The Manlius School:The Manlius School was founded in 1869 in Manlius, New...
, near Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. His great grandson, Guido Verbeck IV, is currently a professor of chemistry at the University of North Texas.