History Talk

The Indispensable Role of Interpreters in the (Re)Opening of Japan

日本開港に於ける通訳の不可欠な役割について

Thursday, November 5, 7:00 PM

Speaker: William McOmie

The “Opening of Japan” is indelibly connected with the name of Commodore Matthew Perry. However, in Japan the role played by the Russian admiral Vasily Putiatin is also recognized, as well as that of senior councillor Abe Masahiro and other officials of the Tokugawa shogunate. Yet hardly anyone outside of historians of the period can name any of the interpreters of Dutch and Chinese on all sides who played a crucial role in not only enabling communication and negotiation between the opposing sides but also in facilitating their peaceful outcome. As such, they deserve closer examination and greater recognition within the increasing political ferment in Japan and the purposeful forging of a trans-Pacific link in the chain of global commerce and intercourse across geopolitical fault lines.

About the speaker: A native of California, William McOmie received a BA from the University of California Santa Cruz, and an MA in Russian Studies from UC Davis. After working as an escort interpreter and teacher of Russian and English in the US, Europe, and the Middle East he settled in Japan, where he pursued an academic career at Nagasaki University and Kanagawa University until his retirement in 2021. While living in Nagasaki he began researching the international history of Japan focusing on the opening of Japanese ports in the 1850s. His research culminated in two scholarly volumes: Foreign Images of Japan, 1st Century AD—1841 and The Opening of Japan, 1853–1855. He has also authored some twenty scholarly articles on related topics.

The talk will be in English and will be followed by a Q & A session. To attend, please complete the form below.

Admission to the talk, organized by the Yokohama History Society, is free.