G.H.F.Verbeck

There was a foreigner employed by the Japanese Government in the Meiji Restoration, who was born in the Netherlands and studied in the United States. His name was G.H.F.Verbeck , who came to Japan in 1859 for the first time via Shanghai when he was 29.

When his ship arrived in the Port of Nagasaki, he saw one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. He wrote to a friend of his later that he had never seen such a splendid view before. However the social and political surroundings in those days were unstable and were not always safe for foreigners living here in Japan. There happened some unfortunate incidents of slaying foreigners by ultra nationalists. Not only foreigners, but also Japanese samurai were often killed. Therefore it was brave of him to work as missionary in this unsafe country.

Verbeck was born in Zeist, Germany in 1830. His father was called Karl and mother was Anna Maria. Verbeck was the 6th of eighth children and attended the Moravian School when he young and studied at a scientific and technological school of Utrecht.

In 1849 He happened to listen to the lecture of a missionary who had engaged as mission work in China, and was moved by the lecture.

In 1852 Verbeck went to America by the invitation of his brother -in-law and the help of a missionary and worked at a factory building steamboats in Green Bay, Michigan for a while. However he wanted to see some other parts of America more and came back to New York where his sister had been lived. Verbeck liked to live in New York but he decided to work as a civil engineer at a company in Arkansas, and designed bridges, structures and machines.

He saw the sad lives of slaves in the southern cotton plantation, where many people had died of the prevalent epidemics. Then he listened to H.W.Beecher, a preacher whose sister was H.E.Stowe, writer of " Uncle Tom's Cabin". He was also caught cholera and nearly died, and went dead broke. He swore," If I recover from this disease, I'll serve the God all his life."

In1855 he entered a theological school in Auburn, New York, where many Dutch had immigrated. He became acquainted with S.R.Brown, White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant. Verbeck worked as assistant of Brown to preach in the church. Then Verbeck married Maria Manion, who wished to engage as missionary work.

After Verbeck graduated from the theological school after three years' studying, it was 1859 that Mr. and Mrs.Verbeck came to Japan with Mr.andMrs.Brown, and Mr.andMrs. Symons. Their first dwelling place was the Soufukuji Temple, where Ranald McDonald had stayed before.

In 1962 Wakasa Murata, follower of Kanso Nabeshima, landlord of Saga clan sent three young men to study Christianity to Verbeck, which started to tie a deep relation between Verbeck and the Saga clan. As the lord of Nagasaki asked Ferbeck to teach at the Nagasaki School of Western Learning in 1863, he accepted the offer and began to do in August of the year.

In 1864 the school renamed Seibikan had more than one hundred students and became nationwide known. In 1866 Wakasa Murata and Kyo Ayabe were baptized at Ferbeck's lodgings.

In June 1866 Ferbeck helped the nephew of Shonan Yokoi and Ohira brothers study in America, and was invited to instruct at the Chienkan of Saga clan, where Shigenobu Okuma (later founder of Waseda University and the Prime Minister of the Meiji Government) and Taneomi Soejima(later the Home Minister) attended. Ferbeck taught the students the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution besides English.

In 1869 Ferbeck was appointed teacher of Kaisei School (later Tokyo University) and the counselor of the Japanese Government under the orders of Sanetomi Sanjo, Premier of the new Government. Ferbeck recommended the Japanese Government to adopt the German method of medical science and was often consulted about legal system.

Ferbeck cooperated Sinkichi Takahashi to publish the Satshma Dictionary, English -Japanese Dictionary printed first in Japan.

In 1870 Tomomi Iwakura's sons went to America to study through the good offices of Ferbeck. In July of the year he was appointed vice president of the Daigaku Minamikou(later Tokyo University). His two colleagues were assassinated by exclusionists. About that time Korekiyo Takahashi (later the Prime Minister) boarded at Ferbeck' house.

In 1871 W.E.Griffis of Rutgers University was invited to teach at Meishinkan of Fukui clan through the good offices of Ferbeck, which Norinaga Matsudaira, lord at Fukui clan had requested.

In September 1871 the Ministry of Education was established and became a virtual advisory to the Ministry.

As the ban of Christianity was lifted in February 1873, Japanese Christianity Tokyo Chapter was founded.

Ferbeck made a trip to Europe on 6 months' leave given by the Japanese Government and then he met the Iwakura Delegation staying abroad for the purpose of inspecting the situations of European countries and America. He visited his native place, Zeist for the first time in a long time.

After returning from Europe, he resigned from the post of vice president of the school and thereafter engaged in translating English legal documents into Japanese for a few years.

In 1877 he taught at the Peers School and a theological school, and temporarily went back to California. Returning from there, he engaged in missionary work again.

In 1886 the Meijigakuin College was founded and he was appointed the first trustee.

In 1887 he translated Psalms and Isaiah in the Old Testament into Japanese, of which beautiful Japanese greatly influenced the Japanese literature after that.

In 1890 he returned to America with his daughter and during that time he applied for American nationality and the passport for Japan. But he was refused because he had neither Dutch nationality nor American one. Ferbeck was permitted to live in Japan for good with the license to travel freely granted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Until he died of a sudden stroke of heart in 1898 he engaged in missionary work through Japan. He was 69.

His funeral service was held at the Japan Christianity Church with a lot of well-known people participating and was buried at the Aoyama Cemetery. After that a monument was erected in memory of Ferbeck near his tomb with the money raised by his former students and friends.