realkensei

In 1600, a English Navigator by the name of William Adams became the first Englishman to step foot on Japanese land. After a very long and turbulent voyage across the pacific on the Liefde, which made him one of the few to actually survive the journey, he would arrive as a stranger in a strange land.

Not too long after his arrival to Japan he would become well acquainted with the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji restoration in 1868.

His vast knowledge of shipbuilding, Navigation, and a general understanding of advanced mathematics impressed the Shogun which influenced him to make Adams a close advisor.

He would eventually be appointed as Hatamoto which is a high ranking Samurai position of the Tokugawa Shogunate. With this incredible opportunity he would influence Japan’s isolationist policy of Sakoku which limited foreign interaction with the country.

He would also become instrumental in building western-style vessels such as the San Buena Ventura in 1605, and establishing Dutch and English trading factories on the island of Hirado off Kyushu.

Adams was presented a challenging task as a westerner in such a foreign and alien land in Fuedal Japan. But his respect of the honorable Samurai class outweighed his initial fear of the unknown.

With time and patience he grew to understand himself and the new environment he had found himself in. This new world had presented him a opportunity to push himself beyond any margin he had ever encountered before.

He did not evade, he did not yield or relinquish himself to the burden given to him. he begin to flourish in this new society once he overcame his own fear of the unknown, and to embrace his own veracious spirit.