Remains of first Englishman to visit Japan – Gillingham man Will Adams – formally identified
17:04, 18 May 2020
updated: 10:00, 19 May 2020
The remains of a sailor from Kent who became a samurai in Japan after his ship wrecked more than 400 years ago have been formally identified.
Will Adams, from Gillingham, become the first Englishman to set foot in the Asian country when he washed up on the island of Kyushu in 1598.
Now, 400 years on from the anniversary of the sailor's death, his remains have been formerly identified after being found in Nagasaki last year, the Telegraph reports.
Adams' remains, dating from 1590 to 1620, were found close to a headstone bearing his adopted Japanese name, Miura Anjin, on the island of Hirado in the Nagasaki region.
Despite being imprisoned after he became shipwrecked, he went on to become the aide and diplomatic advisor to the Shogun, after impressing him with his knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation.
The links he established between Medway and Japan are now celebrated. Medway holds the Will Adams Festival in Gillingham Park each year, and is still planned to go ahead in September.
The aim of the event is to introduce people to an important part of Medway’s history, and learn about, and experience, today's Japanese culture.
The sailor's story was made famous by the James Clavell novel 'Shogun', a fictionalised version of Adams' story which was adapted into the popular TV show starring Richard Chamberlain.
Adams' remains were identified after a small urn was discovered by excavators in Hirado, Japan.
It contained bones which were part of a dig in 1931 on a western-style grave which was originally believed to be his final resting place.
Due to advances in genetic sequencing, and despite only 5% of the skeleton surviving, scientists were able to confirm the bones are of a northern European who died between 40 and 59 years of age.
Experts at the University of Tokyo confirmed the man died between 1590 and 1620, which matched with the former Gillingham man's death.
Professor Richard Irving, a member of the Tokyo-based William Adams Club, told the Telegraph: "The skeletal remains rediscovered in 2017 are completely consistent with the known characteristics of Adams himself, in terms of sex, country of ancestral origin, age at death, and year of death."
