In December1933 an American living in Spokane, Washington wrote to the Japanese Embassy in Seattle. It was as follows, "At the beginning of the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Japan, Commodore Perry went to Uraga to negotiate the peace treaty between the two countries again and again. Einosuke Moriyama, an interpreter of the conference was the former student of Ranald MacDonald, who died in poverty at Toronda, Washington. There stood MacDonald's grave marker at the hill of the village. If the graveyard is not taken care of, it will be forgotten forever. Therefore I want the Japanese government to preserve his tomb in a proper way."

MacDonald was born in Astoria, Oregon on February 3 1824. His father whose name was Archibald, Scottish married his mother, a daughter of the king of Chinook tribe. His father, a member of Scottish Church, was a man of character and a good orator. The MacDonalds had about 500 Chinooks. A few months after his birth his mother died, which made his father very grievous. One year later after that his father remarried a girl, who was born in Switzerland. It was in his later years that he found that she was his foster mother. However she was also a Christian educated through the Bible strictly, who was kind to him and his brother.

In spring of 1833 the MacDonalds moved to Fort Vancouver. He went to school for the first time. At that time MacDonald heard that three Japanese sailors had been saved off the Cape of Fraterly. In 1935 he entered the Redriver Academy, a boarding mission school, where he studied for four years. The school kept by the donation of a company was a place where the students were trained intellectually and morally. At first he got good record at school but he began to realize that he was half-breed between a white and an American Indian. The school kept by the donation of a company was a place where the students were trained intellectually and morally.

In 1839 he left Redriver for St.Thomas with his father's letter of introduction to a friend of his. He worked for a bank but he was not satisfied with his job. He wanted to marry a beautiful girl but he was informed that his mother was an American Indian and was greatly shocked. He decided to travel abroad to open up a new field of activity. His father was discouraged to hear MacDonald's intention to travel overseas.

In 1842 MacDonald worked on a slave ship but he was disillusioned at the reality and repented having gone aboard. After that he wanted to go to Japan, because he had a kind of longing for Japan, a mysterious country in the Orient and hoped to solve the mystery. He wanted to know about Japan and Japanese people and make them inform of America and Americans. When the trade between America or Britain and Japan started in the future, he had an ambition to be an interpreter. Because of that he thought that he must go to Japan to study Japanese.

In 1847 he went aboard the Plymouth and exchanged from the ship into a boat off Hokkaido. On June 27 1848 he landed Yakishiri Island and after he was investigated in Mastumae he was transfered to Nagasaki where Idotsushimamori was chief of the magistrate's office and MacDonald was interrogated about his coming to Japan. While he was confined in a house, he taught English to seven people, who were interpreter officers in Dutch. They were fast to learn English in a short term. One of them was Einosuke Moriyama, who acted as an interpreter at the Japan -America Peace Treaty Conference in 1854.Though MacDonald was not permitted to go out, he met many kinds of people and could have the knowledge of Japan and Japanese people. They were very kind to him and he also felt familiar to them. He especially paid respected to Idotsushimamori and the seven students including Einosuke Moriyama.

After his 10months'stay in Japan he was transferred to an American ship on April 27 1849 and left Japan. After he worked in the all parts of the world, he returned home for the first time in 12 years. One year before his coming home, his father had died. He engaged himself to many kinds of jobs for 20 years but did not accomplish his object and cut the connection with acquaintances for 20 years. He devoted himself to writing about his rare experiences in Japan and it was after his death that his memoir was published. On August 5 1894 MacDonald passed away saying to his sister "Sayonara, my dear,Sayonara".

Renald MacDonald was the first English teacher in Japan and laid the cornerstone of friendship between Japan and America. He is one of unforgettable people to Japan.