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William Adams (24 September 1564 – 16 May 1620), known in Japanese as Anjin Miura (三浦按針: "the pilot of Miura"), was an English navigator who in 1600 was the first of his nation to reach Japan. One of a few survivors of the only Dutch East India Company ship to reach Japan from a five-ship expedition of 1598, Adams settled there and became the first ever (and one of the very few) Western Samurai. Soon after Adams' 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.〔(Foster Rhea Dulles, ''Eastward Ho! The First English Adventurers to the Orient'' ), 1931, p.127. Quote: "So it was that this outspoken English seaman, rather than the wily Jesuits who had looked with jaundiced eyes upon all new-comers to Japan, became the medium through whom Ieyasu learned of the Western world and maintained those slender ties which bound his empire to Europe. Adam's influence grew steadily, but, even more remarkable, there developed between the Englishman and the Japanese a friendship which was to endure until Ieyasu's death."〕 Numerous novels were based on his life, beginning in the 19th century. He was the model for the character of John Blackthorne in James Clavell's best-selling novel ''Shōgun'' (1975), which was adapted as a 1980 TV mini-series, a 1989 computer game, and 1990 Broadway musical. ==Early life== Adams was born in Gillingham, Kent, England. After his father died when the boy was twelve, Adams was apprenticed to shipyard owner Master Nicholas Diggins at Limehouse for the seafaring life.〔William Dalton, ''Will Adams, The First Englishman in Japan'', (1861) preface, (page vii )〕 He spent the next twelve years learning shipbuilding,〔Giles Milton, ''Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan'', 2011, Hachette UK, ISBN 1-4447-3177-7, ISBN 978-1-4447-3177-4, (Chapter Five )〕 astronomy, and navigation before entering the Royal Navy.〔 With England at war with Spain, Adams served in the Royal Navy under Sir Francis Drake. He saw naval service against the Spanish Armada in 1588 as master of the ''Richarde Dyffylde'', a resupply ship.〔 Adams became a pilot for the Barbary Company.〔 During this service, according to Jesuit sources, he took part in an expedition to the Arctic that lasted about two years, in search of a Northeast Passage along the coast of Siberia to the Far East.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Adams (sailor)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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