Shigeko Uriu's‘Diary’and‘My recollections of the Early Meidji days’

Abstract

Shigeko Uriu, nee Masuda is one of the first Japanese girl students sent to the U.S. in 1871. When she arrived at Washington D.C., she was only ten years old. In 1872 she was placed in the care of Rev. Dr. John S.C. Abbott in Fair Haven, Conn., and his daughter Miss Nelly Abbott became her second mother and teacher. For seven years she was brought up by Miss Abbott till she entered the Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N. Y..In 1881, on her graduation from the Vassar College she came back to Japan. Next year she became a music teacher at the request of the Ministry of Education, and at the end of this year she got married to Sotokichi Uriu, a naval officer who was the first Japanese graduate of Annapolis. Thereafter besides teaching music and English at many schools, such as Tokyo Higher Girls' School, Tokyo Music School, and Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School, she lived to be a good wife and wise mother.On the 3rd of November, 1928, suffering from cancer of the rectum, she died at the age of sixty-seven.Now her fourth son is alive and has many articles left by his parents. Among them I found two interesting pieces of writing.One is her diary written in a notebook when she was at thirteen and fourteen years of age and the other is a document under the title of‘My recollections of the Early Meidji days’.The former is written in fairly good English, though it was only a few years since she began to learn English. According to her diary she often made a trip around New England with Miss Abbott every summer vacation, and in July the 7th, 1875, after listening to Longfellow ricite his poems, she met him in Brunswick, Main. She also confessed the Christian faith in this diary of hers.The latter written in 1927, the year before she died, was printed in the Japan Advertiser on the 11th of September that year. In this article the observation of her childhood and the various amusing events which happened before and after her sending to America are described vividly, and it is concluded with the following:Our stay of three years in America was prolonged to ten years during which time we enjoyed perfect freedom as all American young girls of good families enjoy and the memory of our young lives in that dear country will nevelr fade.