William Adams
First Englishman in Japan
Died when: 55 years 235 days (667 months)Star Sign: Libra
William Adams (24 September 1564 – 16 May 1620), known in Japanese as Miura Anjin (????: "the pilot of Miura") was an English navigator who, in 1600, was the first of his nation to reach Japan during a five-ship expedition for the Dutch East India Company.
Of the few survivors of the only ship that reached Japan, Adams and his second mate Jan Joosten were not allowed to leave the country while Jacob Quaeckernaeck and Melchior van Santvoort were to go back to the Dutch Republic to invite them to trade.
Adams and Joosten settled in Japan and became two of the first ever (and very few) Western samurai.Soon after Adams's arrival in Japan, he became a key advisor to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Adams directed construction for the shogun of the first Western-style ships in the country. Adams was later key to Japan's approving the establishment of trading factories by the Netherlands and England.
He also was highly involved in Japan's Red Seal Asian trade, chartering and serving as captain of four expeditions to Southeast Asia.
He died in Japan at age 55. He has been recognised as one of the most influential foreigners in Japan during this period.