Alexander Allan Shand (1844-1930) taught Japanese bankers the elements of Western banking, auditing and accounting, and later smoothed the way for the Japanese government to borrow on the London money market.

Having completed his time as a language student, future Ambassador Sydney Giffard was sent to the Kansai to gain experience as a Vice-Consul. Here he describes life in Kansai in the 1950s, putting it in the context of progressive centralization in Tokyo.

Key figures from the British merchant banking community in Japan reflect on the experience of doing business there, and on the changing market from the 1950s to '80s.

A writer, journalist and businessman, Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) made a significant contribution to Meiji Japan, and a personal fortune in the process.

Hisaakira Kanō's (1886-1963) family rode the tide of a rapidly changing Japan, being open to Western ways and modern thinking, but responding in ways that were rooted in his traditional samurai background.

This essay details the way in which HSBC was a pioneer and prototype of banking and international finance in nineteenth-century Japan.

This essay charts the controversial life and political career of Inoue Kaoru (1836-1915) of the Chōshū Five and one of the most powerful figures of the Meiji period. A man who epitomized the world of the oligarchs; the immense power wielded by a select few.

Taking Count Matsukata Masayoshi as a key figure, this portrait details Japanese efforts to attain both the Gold Standard and the respect of the London financial circles.

This essay gives an overview to some of the prominent businessmen who spent significant parts of their careers in Britain.

Across Lord Eric Roll's (1907-2005) work as economist, investment banker and civil servant lie dealings with Japan. This essay provides an account and analysis of those dealings.

Merrick Baker-Bates was first a diplomatic service language student in Japan before becoming Commercial Counsellor. Having transferred to commerce for four years he subsequently returned to the diplomatic service as Consul General in LA. Here he describes his various lives in Japan, with particular reference to his time as a language student, the shift in emphasis in the 1960s to promoting British exports, and to his time as General Manager of Cornes and Company.

Banker Peter Hand reflects on the changed circumstances for British banks in Japan from the post war period to the 1980s.

Shijuro Ogata (1927-2014) was an internationalist Japanese banker who started working for the Bank of Japan in 1950. He has been credited with the opening up of the Bank of Japan to Western media, in particular British ones. Moreover, he has been very active in the UK through the Japan-British Society and the Wakatakekai (Young Bamboos Society). 

This portrait examines the six year internment of businessman Takayuki Eguchi in Pentonville prison during the Second World War.

The history of the Yokohama Specie Bank in London provides a useful window into Japan's pre-war efforts to establish herself as a first-rate modernized empire. This essay considers how the bank reflects Japan's bold strides into the financial centre of the world, London.

Eric Elstob looks back on over thirty years in Japan in a career that started with the Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust. Meanwhile, Dugald Barr was recruited in 1969 by Vickers, da Costa, a company that was among the first to invest in the Tokyo market, to conduct research and open their Japan office, the first of a London broker in Japan. With Haruko Fukuda, he built up the largest business of any foreign broker in Japan. Here he racalls his experiences.

Before the 1970s there seemed to be little scope for British financial services in the closed Japanese market. Japanese membership of the OECD, however, forced gradual changes, along with internal pressure from Japanese companies wanting access to foreign loans. Here Chris Elston, who joined the British Embassy as Financial Counsellor in 1979 recalls his time as Bank of England representative in Japan, and reflects on both the state of Japan's banking system and general accounting practices in the years leading up to the crisis. Meanwhile, Geoffrey Little of HM Treasury gives an account of negotiations to ensure that Britain kept pace with American financial institutions in Japan.

William Gowland (1842-1922) is arguably one of the most important figures in Japanese Archaeology. This essay details his wider career and dealings with Japan's ancient archaeological sites.