HE was the Victorian-era Scotsman credited with almost single-handedly making Japan a modern industrial nation, and he may well have been the inspiration behind the story of Madama Butterfly, one of the world’s most famous operas.
Now, the remarkable life story of Fraserburgh-born Sir Thomas Blake Glover may become as famous in his native land as it is in Japan, as well as boosting Japanese tourism in Scotland.
Known as “The Scottish Samurai”, Glover was the son of a coastguard officer who joined the Jardine Mathieson trading company and moved to the Far East, eventually settling in Nagasaki in Japan.
A project to promote the north-east of Scotland as the birthplace of Glover was introduced to Japanese audiences yesterday in Nagasaki.
A new exhibit in Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum, a booklet and a visitor trail exploring the life of Glover have been created to highlight the Scot’s place in Scottish-Japanese history.
The booklet and trail were presented to the custodians of Thomas Glover House and Gardens in Nagasaki by the Cabinet secretary for culture, Europe and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop.
Hyslop said: “Thomas Glover is one of the most important Scots in history and his legacy endures in both Nagasaki and Aberdeenshire today.
“The initiative will not only renew interest in Thomas Glover but also attract more Scots to learn about him and Scotland’s links to modern Japan. I hope the trail and exhibition will also attract Japanese tourists to Scotland to see for themselves the places where Glover grew up.”
The exhibit, booklet and trail have been created through Aberdeen City Council’s Common Good Fund. The council is also in the process of opening up Glover House in Bridge of Don to more visitors.
Aberdeen Lord Provost George Adam said: “We are very proud in the north-east of Scotland of our connections to Thomas Blake Glover.
“We want to help tourists coming to Scotland wanting to find out more about him, so they can now come to the exhibit at the Maritime Museum, look up the leaflet, or go on the Glover Trail. We look forward to giving them a warm Scottish welcome.”
Born in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in Scotland on June 6, 1838, Glover was to become one of the most important foreigners in Japanese history. He was instrumental in the start of the Mitsubishi company and the Kirin beer company, among many other ventures.
Best known for bringing industrialisation to Japan, he went on to become a counsellor to senior politicians and was the first non-Japanese recipient of the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun.
He gained the nickname the Scottish Samurai having helped the Samurai overthrow their military leader, the Shogun, which helped restore the Emperor to his throne.
The intriguing mystery about Glover’s life is that he may well have been an inspiration for Madama Butterfly, which was based on the short story Madame Butterfly by John Luther Long that was in turn partly based on the novel Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti.
Like the American lieutenant Pinkerton in the Butterfly story, which is set in Nagasaki, Glover had a common-law Japanese wife. Glover had a daughter by his wife and he also had an adopted son, who took his own life after the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
The new permanent Aberdeen exhibit includes a model of the Aberdeen-built warship Jo Sho Maru which Glover commissioned, and a suit of Samurai armour which belongs to the Grampian-Japan Trust. The Glover Trail features 10 places to visit in Aberdeen and Fraserburgh which were associated with his life.
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