The Chōshū Five secretly leave Japan to study at University College London
- When
- 1863
- Where
- London
- Episodes
- 1
The Chōshū Five secretly departed Japan in 1863 to study at University College London, violating the shogunate's sakoku policy. They traveled via Shanghai, arriving in London in November 1863. This journey occurred amidst political tensions and reports from earlier embassies, marking an early instance of Japanese students traveling overseas.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The decision to sponsor five students came amidst domestic political tensions and reports from the First Japanese Embassy to Europe. At the time, leaving Japan was illegal due to the shogunate's maritime seclusion policy, known as sakoku or kaikin. The students had to cut their topknots, remove swords, and wear Western clothes before departing.
The Journey. The five departed Yokohama on 27 June 1863, bound for Shanghai. They were sheltered on an opium storage ship before dividing into two groups for the voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to London. One group traveled as passengers on the tea clipper Whiteadder, while the other worked as deckhands on the sailing ship Pegasus.
Arrival in London. Pegasus reached London on 4 November 1863, with Whiteadder arriving three days later on the 7th. The students studied at University College London, which was established in 1826 as London University. UCL was the first university institution in London and the first in England to be entirely secular.
People involved
- Inoue Masaru · Student
- Yamao Yōzō · Student
- Endō Kinsuke · Student
- Inoue Kaoru · Student
- Itō Hirobumi · Student
Sources
- Chōshū Five Wikipedia, revision of 2025-10-01
- University College London Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.