This portrait considers the history of Britain's shipbuilding links with Japan through the firms Armstrong's and Vickers.

Detailing Sir Ernest Satow's (1843-1929) diplomatic and scholarly career, including his time as head of the British Mission in Japan.

This essay charts the controversial life and political career of Inoue Kaoru (1836-1915) of the ChōshÅ« 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.

Inoue Masaru (1843-1910) was one of the Choshu five - ambitious young men sent to England to study in 1863. This essay details the significant contribution of Inoue Masaru to the construction of Japanese railways, and the influence of his time and study in Britain on his civic career.

Itō Hirobumi (1841-1909) was Japan's first cabinet prime minister, and this essay asseses the influence of his time as a student in Britain on his career in Imperial Japan.

This article details Sir Ernest Mason Satow's (1843-1929) further pursuits in Japan between 1873 to 1884. 

In an effort to raise the status of Japan to that of a major world power, many engineers were sent from Meiji Japan to work and study in Britain. This portrait charts the challenges and opportunities afforded by this endeavour and the resultant exchange between Japan and Britain.

This biography offers an account of the life of Yamao Yōzō (1937-1917), one of the ChōshÅ« Five and a pioneer of engineering and education in the Meiji period.