The content: “His family name was I and personal name was Manari. The name of his country is Japan. He came to all the way to Tang by order of Japan. He was incomparably polite and studied hard constantly.

He served the Imperial Court as a government official. But he died of unexpected illness at age 36 in January 734 (Kaigen 22). Emperor Xuan Zong (reigned 712-756) mourned the early death of this unusual talent, held a grand funeral and gave him the exalted official rank of Keeper of the Emperor’s Wardrobe.

“His dead body was buried in this ground but his soul must return to his homeland.” The ship on which Nakamaro Abe-no was trying to return home was damaged several times during the voyage. On hearing of this accident, Li Bo in his grief wrote this famous dirge.

In the latter half of the 7th century, the Emperor Tenmu codified laws named Kiyomihararyo and changed the name of the country to “Nippon” from “Wa (or Yamato)” and at the same time adopted the title “Emperor” instead of “Great King.”

During the Japanese colonial period, Goto Shinpei was in charge of civil affairs at the Taiwan Governor’s Office between 1898 and 1906, during the rule of the fourth governor, Kodama Gentaro（児玉 源太郎）. He launched many innovative projects which would lead the way to Taiwanese economic independence from Japan.

Goto was against the colonial exploitation of Taiwan. He believed that Taiwan could not be completely integrated into Japan, and the colonial government should not enforce Japanese laws in ruling Taiwanese. He conducted extensive research of Taiwanese customs, land and people. Based on the findings, he revised the laws and enacted new ones.

The research also revealed that there was vast arable land. He accomplished the land reform by introducing a modern land ownership system.

Goto phased Japanese systems and capitalism into Taiwanese society. He embarked on many projects of infrastructure development: He worked on the expansion of Keelung and Kaohsiung harbors to improve sea traffic, and the construction of railways and highways to build the transportation network. He launched projects to build modern buildings all over Taiwan. He constructed a sewage system in Taipei earlier than in Tokyo.

Along with his dedications to infrastructural projects, Goto worked hard to foster the sugar industry, which would benefit the Taiwanese economy. By 1905, during his tenure, Taiwan became financially independent.

Goto Shinpei has been an admired political leader in Taiwanese society. Japan owes the friendly relations with Taiwan to his accomplishments.

For me who have visited many parts of the world, it was the first time to see people with such feelings and good minds. Japanese architecture, paintings, other art and nature which I came in contact with, mountains, rivers, trees and plants are all beautiful. The structure of Japan houses harmonize with nature and have a very special value.

I hope that Japanese people will not be influenced by Europe in this matter. Before coming in contact with the West, Japanese had modesty,  humbleness and the pure and quiet heart which all people should have. I hope that they keep this mind and don’t forget it.”

Einstein was a German Jew and had emigrated to the U.S.A., but he got to know about Hitler’s atomic bomb development in Nazis Germany, so he advised President Roosevelt to start production of atomic bombs in August 1939.  From the atomic bombs, we could learn about his special theory of relativity in which a material can be converted into energy. He later strongly objected to atomic bombs being used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it was still carried out.

He said, “I committed one serious fault in my whole life. It was when I advised President Roosevelt to make atomic bombs.” “I would have destroyed the formula that I discovered in 1905 if I had known of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”, he told sadly. He appealed for nuclear weapon extinction and abolition of wars till the end of his life, and the “Russell-Einstein Manifesto” which he signed just before his death, was inherited by the Pugwash Conference.

On April 4, 1892, Yamada (山田 寅次郎) handed these contributions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Said Pasha and was granted an audience with the Emperor Abdulhamit II.

The emperor requested that he stay in Istanbul, so he taught Japanese and introduced Japanese culture there for about 20 years, acting as a bridge between the two countries. He took the lead in trade, guided  Japanese Government VIP’s and highly-educated Japanese in Turkey because the two countries did not have diplomatic relations. The first President of The Republic of Turkey, Kemal Pasha (Ataturk), was his student as well.

When the Russo-Japanese War began, the Japanese Government asked Yamada to secretly watch the Bosporus to aid in controlling war situations. He was able to report  that three Russian warships passed the Dardanelles on July 4, 1904.

In those days, Turkey had a great interest in Japan, a rapidly modernizing Asian country, in order to rival the Western European great powers.  Under the threat of Russia for a long time, the Turks were delighted at the news that the island in the Far East had defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. It became popular to name Turkish shops and streets “Togo” or “Nogi”.

Yamada returned to Japan in 1914 for World War I and became head of a school of Japanese tea ceremony as Soyu Yamada (山田 宗有). When Japan established diplomatic relations with Turkey in 1925, he resumed his unofficial exchange between the two countries. In 1931, he visited Turkey after a period of 17 years and met with the President Kemal Ataturk. President Kemal reminisced with Yamada and showed him great amity.

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, Ataturk saved Turkey from disintegration. He became the hero of the Republic of Turkey, founding it in 1923 and steering it through a process of thorough modernization. Ataturk, the name adopted by Mustafa Kemal, means “the founder of the country.”
 
Ataturk was greatly interested in Japan; he coined a slogan “Learn from Japan,” which referred specifically to the Japan’s Meiji Restoration. It is said that the portrait of Emperor Meiji, so respected by Ataturk, was displayed at his mausoleum. In addition, the Japanese sword, presented to him by His Imperial Highness Takamatsu, was displayed in his museum and a vast number of books on Japan were arranged on the bookshelf in his office.
 
In his later life, Ataturk stated to the Japanese ambassador to Turkey, Taketomi, that had learned a great many things from Japan and that the Japanese had been teachers to the Republic of Turkey. Taketomi’s predecessor Ambassador Yoshida died from an illness in Ankara. Receiving word that Yoshida was in a critical condition, Ataturk rushed to the hospital and gave his forehead a sincere farewell kiss. Other foreign diplomats died at Ankara, but it was to Yoshida’s side that Ataturk hurried, demonstrating particular respect and affection.

St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was the Jesuit Missionary who introduced Christianity to Japan in 1549. He was personally selected by Ignatius de Loyola to be the head of missions to Asia for the Jesuits. After seven years of service in India, Malaysia and the Spice Islands, he set sail from Goa for Japan on April 15, 1549.

“I have learnt from good authorities that there is a country near China called Japan, the inhabitants of which are all heathen, quite untouched by Muslims or Jews, and very eager to learn what they do not know both in things divine ad things natural, I have determined to go thither as soon as I can…” (A letter of St Francis Xavier to St. Ignatius de Loyola, 15 April 1549)
What struck Xavier enough to write bout the Japanese were “their sense of honor, honesty, moderation, the monogamous relationships, the high literacy, and highly developed rationality.”

“The Japanese are certainly of remarkably good dispositions, and follow reason wonderfully.” (Xavier letter from Japan to Jesuits at Goa, 1551)

 ”The Japanese are very curious by nature, and as desirous of learning as any people ever were. So they go on perpetually telling other people about their questions and our answers. They desire very much to hear novelties, especially about religion.” (Letter, 1551)

“The Japanese are very ambitious of honors and distinctions, and think themselves superior to all nations in military glory and valor.” (Xavier letter from Japan to the Society of Jesus in Europe, 1552)

Later in the political development of Asia and Indonesia, Japan’s victory had  incalculable meaning. All of Asia shared a common delight in the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War.

In April of 1905, the Baltic Fleet sailed confidently as if carrying all the powerful energy of Europe, when the combined fleet led by Togo Heihachiro sent it to the bottom of the Japan Sea. The news surprised the world, and ethnologists in Asia rejoiced.

The colonial structure of the European ruling over the Asian was then justified by Darwin’s theory of evolution, that whites were superior and coloured, inferior. When the Japanese defeated the Russians, they smashed this myth of white superiority to pieces. Three years later in 1908, Budi Utomo (a political society whose name meant “Pure Endeavor”) was organized, commemorating Indonesia’s ethnic awakening.