Eikichi and Rosa Itoh carved out a niche in Anglo-Japanese relations that spanned the twentieth century. This portrait details their career and dealings with Britain.

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.

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.