Biography of Ryokichi Kawada

Ryokichi Kawada enrolled at the University of Glasgow in 1878 for one year, attending Engineering Office and Field Work classes.

Kawada was born in Japan, son of Koichiro, a merchant who together with Yataro Iwasaki, had established a trading firm which became Mitsubishi (now Nippon Yusen Kaisha). Kawada was sent by his father to Glasgow in 1877 to study shipbuilding as an apprentice engineer at the Lobnitz, Coulbourn and Company shipyard. He enrolled at the University of Glasgow for a short engineering course to supplement his apprenticeship.

Kawada returned to Japan in 1884, where became the first president of Yokohama Dock Company (later Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) in 1897, and a pioneer of agricultural development.

Sources

Other Online Resources

• Kawada Ryokichi – Jeannie Eadie’s Samurai: the Life and Times of a Meiji Entrepreneur and Agricultural Pioneer by Andrew Cobbing and Masataro Itami

Archival Materials

• R8/1/6 Matriculation Album (with index) 1876-80

Summary

Ryokichi Kawada
Born 1856.
Died 1951.
GU Degree: Science and Engineering, 1878-79;
University Link: Student
Occupation categories: engineers
English snippet: Student of Engineering at the University of Glasgow
Record last updated: 1st Mar 2013

Country Associations

Japan, Shikoku
Place of Birth

Japan, Hokkaido
Place of Death

Scotland, Glasgow

University Connections

University Roles

• Student

Images

Ryokichi Kawada, matriculation 1878