Aston, William George

Japanese: アストン - Ａｓｔｏｎ，ＷｉｌｌｉａｍＧｅｏｒｇｅ

Year of death: 1911.11.22(1911.11.22)
Born: April 9, 1841
A British diplomat and Japanologist who came to Japan during the late Edo and Meiji periods. Born in Ireland, he graduated from a university there and passed the civil service examination (Far East duty) in 1864, coming to Japan as a Japanese interpreter attached to the Japanese embassy in Japan. In December 1867, he became a third-class assistant and was based in Hyogo (Kobe), where he played an active role as a deputy interpreter during the tumultuous period following the declaration of the Restoration of the Monarchy. In October 1870, he was promoted to interpreter and translator attached to the embassy, and while returning to Japan on leave in 1872, he served as an interpreter for the British side when welcoming the Iwakura Mission. In April 1882, he became consul in Nagasaki. In 1884, he was appointed to Seoul as the first Korean consul-general, where he encountered the Gapsin Coup. In 1886, he became a Japanese clerk at the Japanese embassy in Japan. In 1889, he retired from the post. After returning to Japan, he devoted himself to the study of Japanese language and culture, and is counted among the three great scholars of Japanese studies in the Meiji period. <Works> "Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697" (English translation of "Nihon Shoki"), "History of Japanese literature", "Shinto, the way of the Gods"

(Yasuko Hirose)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：1911.11.22(1911.11.22)
生年：1841.4.9
幕末明治に来日したイギリスの外交官,日本学者。アイルランドに生まれ,同地の大学を卒業,元治1(1864)年文官(極東勤務)試験に合格した在日公使館付日本語通訳生として来日。慶応3(1867)年12月3等補佐,兵庫(神戸)在勤となり,王政復古宣言に発する激動の時期に通訳官代行として活躍。明治3(1870)年10月公使館付通訳兼翻訳官に昇進,賜暇帰国中の1872年岩倉遣外使節団を迎えてイギリス側通訳を務める。15年4月長崎領事。1884年初代朝鮮総領事としてソウルへ赴任し甲申事変に遭遇。明治19年在日公使館日本語書記官。明治22年退官。帰国後は日本の言語,文化の研究に専念し,明治期日本学の三大学者のひとりに数えられる。<著作>《Nihongi,chroniclesofJapanfromtheearliesttimes toA.D.697》(『日本書紀』の英訳)《AhistoryofJapan‐ ese literature》《Shinto,the way of the Gods》

(廣瀬靖子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Charles Aznavour

>>: Astrolabe (English spelling)