Life of Yoshinari Hatakeyama / Kozo Soogiwoora

In 1865, Japan was at the end of samurai feudalism. Foreign travel was strictly limited to government envoys. A number of young Japanese, however, individually, or for a secret project of their feudal lord, left Japan for the west. Hatakeyama was one of them. He studied in London, then came to the U.S. and mainly studied at Rutgers College (currently University). He joined the envoy of the newly formed government of Japan, traveled around Europe and came back to Japan with them. He worked for creating a higher education system of Japan as the director of Kaisei Gakko, nowadays Tokyo University; national library and museum with the American professor Dr. David Murray in addition to several different responsibilities regarding education and modernization of Meiji Japan.