Thomas Glover arrived in Nagasaki in 1859, just as Japan was opening to the West. Within a few years he had played a crucial part in the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate, providing the rebels with war-winning, Scottish-designed warships, and modern arms. Bankruptcy by the age of thirty was barely a setback and he went on to become a pivotal figure in the rapidly expanding Mitsubishi empire, founding shipyards and breweries.

As energetic in his love-life as in business and politics, Glover had a string of Japanese mistresses, one of whom inspired Puccini''s Madam ButterflyThis ''Scottish Samurai'' was to become an adviser to the Japanese government; he also arranged for many Japanese to visit Britain and see the wonders of the industrial revolution, a lesson they enthusiastically absorbed. Today, Glover is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Japanese economic miracle.



Format Häftad Omfång 272 sidor Språk Engelska Förlag Canongate Books Utgivningsdatum 2012-02-16 ISBN 9780857866158