Who was the first Englishman to reach Japan?

William Adams, also called ‘Miura Anjin’ meaning ‘The Pilot of Miura’, was a navigator, merchant-adventurer, and the first Englishman to visit Japan. Born on 24th September 1564, in Kent, England, Adams learnt shipbuilding at the age of twelve after his father’s death.

Adams was sailing from Europe to East Indies when his fleet got caught in a storm, and the ships lost sight of each other. Adams’s ship managed to reach the shores of the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, becoming the first European ship to reach Japan.

In Japan, William Adams met shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and soon became one of his key advisors. There, the shogun asked William Adams to help in the construction of Japan's first western style ship.

After some time, the shogun became very impressed with the British explorer. Therefore, William Adams became a diplomat in Japan, and was also crowned as a samurai.

Adams died at Hirado, north of Nagasaki, on 16th May 1620, aged 55.