Kaichi Watanabe was a 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...

ese engineer who studied and worked in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 during the 1880s. He was one of the first Japanese engineers who came to study in the UK. He is best known for his work with Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker in cantilever bridge

Cantilever bridge

A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...

 construction, notably on the Forth Rail Bridge

Forth Bridge (railway)

The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. It was opened on 4 March 1890, and spans a total length of...

.

Watanabe studied under Henry Dyer

Henry Dyer

Henry Dyer was a Scottish engineer who contributed much to founding Western-style technical education in Japan and Anglo-Japanese relations.- Early life :...

, the Scottish engineer associated with technical education in Japan

Technical education in Japan

Technical education in Japan occurs at both secondary, further and tertiary education levels. The initial nine-years of education is compulsory and uniform in coursework.-Secondary education:...

. After obtaining a degree from the Faculty of Technology of the University of Tokyo, he studied at the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 from 1885 and graduated with a Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science degree, and worked as a construction foreman on the Forth Rail Bridge, which crossed the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland in 1890.

Watanabe's image became well-known in the 1887 photograph illustrating the cantilever

Cantilever

A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...

 principle, in which he poses with Fowler and Baker, suspended between the engineers who form a cantilever structure with their arms.

In 2007, this photograph was incorporated into the design of the £20 banknotes issued by Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland

The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...

to commemorate Watanabe, Fowler and Baker's contributions to Scottish bridge engineering and their work on the Forth Rail Bridge.