, the "Father of Japanese whaling" was one of many Japanese students sent abroad to the United States and Europe by the Meiji

Meiji

Meiji may refer to:* Meiji Restoration, the revolution that ushered in the Meiji period* Meiji period - the period in Japanese history when the Meiji Emperor reigned...

 government to bring modern whaling techniques to Japan at the close of the 19th century. Oka traveled through Norway, Finnmark

Finnmark

or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...

, the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

 and Newfoundland acquiring whaling knowledge and equipment, and upon returning to Japan established a whaling company, Nihon En'yō Gyogyō K.K..