The Eastlakes: How a Pioneering American Father and Son Contributed to Japan's Modernization

In Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo there is a monument and tomb marked "Dr Eastlake's Monument" and "Dr Eastlake's Tomb." Unlike Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold who brought the latest information on modern Western medicine to Japan, the contribution of the Eastlakes is not widely known. 

Two Eastlakes are celebrated by monuments in the cemetery. Together, William Clark Eastlake, DDS (henceforth "WC Eastlake") and his son Frank Warrington Eastlake, PhD ("FW Eastlake") contributed greatly to the development of modern dentistry and English education in Japan. 

Choosing Japan

After arriving in Japan in 1865, WC Eastlake educated Japanese dentists. Then in 1869, he moved his life to Germany and Hong Kong. He expanded his network of contacts in Berlin, including his friendships with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and former United States President Ulysses S Grant, who happened to be visiting Berlin. 

WC Eastlake and the former US President later met again in Hong Kong. They became such friends that President Grant agreed to visit WC Eastlake's home in Hong Kong before visiting Japan at the end of his world tour.

After returning to Japan in 1881, WC Eastlake opened a dental practice in the foreign settlement of Yokohama. He set up his home in central Tokyo with Yukichi Fukuzawa as his guarantor. 

While continuing his dental practice, he also took on the task of educating students in his field. For this reason, he is considered the founder of modern dentistry in Japan. In Yokohama, there is a monument in honor of WC Eastlake's contributions. It is inscribed with the words, "The birthplace of Western dentistry in Japan."

Pioneering English Education in Japan

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, learning foreign languages, including English, was necessary for Japanese hungering to acquire knowledge from overseas. It was FW Eastlake who helped many of them learn English. 

In 1885, FW Eastlake married Naomi Ota, the daughter of Nobushiro Sadaoki Ota, a former direct vassal of the Shogun. He started teaching at Keio University in 1886. 

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Besides teaching, FW translated dictionaries such as Webster's Unabridged Dictionary and English grammar books. Some of these books have been digitized and are available now at the National Diet Library. 

Frank also devoted himself to English education in Japan by founding the Seisoku English Academy with English scholar Shuzaburo Saito. Additionally, he taught at the academy himself. Among his students were people who later became active in Japanese political, economic, and literary circles. 

Furthermore, he became an author, His book, Heroic Japan (1896), was about the bravery of the Japanese people during the Sino-Japanese War. Incidentally, this book was said to have been presented by Kentaro Kaneko, a special envoy from the Japanese government, to US President Theodore Roosevelt together with Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1899). Kaneko hoped to gain US support for Japan before the conclusion of the peace treaty after the Russo-Japanese War. 

Interestingly, the Eastlake family has a lineage connected to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who married into the Delano family.

Naomi Eastlake's Memoir

In her book Memories, FW Eastlake's wife Naomi described her marriage to an American in the early Meiji period. She also chronicled their interactions with Yukichi Fukuzawa, Hirobumi Ito, and others. According to her book, Yukichi Fukuzawa frequently visited the Eastlake family and discussed various topics with them. 

Regarding FW Eastlake's interactions with Hirobumi Ito, Naomi mentioned how Ito brought Kim Ok-gyun, a reformist in exile from Korea, to the Eastlake home. Ito asked the family to take care of Kim. 

In another story, FW Eastlake proposed building a train line running down streets in Tokyo to Ito. He also introduced the Red Cross to Ito. This shows that Eastlake was not only an English educator but also extended a hand to the reformers of his time. However, it is written in Memories that FW Eastlake became furious when Ito asked for a concubine in return for the streetcar project, and he withdrew the idea.

Dental Technology in Modern Japan

In the present age, so many Japanese people are under the care of dentists. It would be difficult to find someone who has not been to a dentist. Dental technology in Japan is now so advanced that Tokyo Medical and Dental University is ranked fourth in the world in the dental category in the QS World University Ranking 2024. 

In Japan, research is also advancing on periodontal disease, a major issue associated with heart and brain diseases. Periodontal disease is also possibly linked to dementia. 

Crucially, the foundation of Japanese dental technology was laid by WC Eastlake. As of August 2023, there were 67,220 dental clinics in Japan — even more than the 55,810 convenience stores across the country. If WC Eastlake were to look at the Japanese dental world today, he would surely be amazed at the sheer number and technological skills of each dentist.

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Problems with Japanese English Education

In the early days of English education in Japan, the entire nation had to learn Western culture at the same time. FW Eastlake worked hard to help aspiring people learn English and sent them out into the world. 

Today, however, the typical pattern is for students to learn English to get into universities, earn credits, and graduate. Thereafter, unfortunately, they become estranged from English once they enter the workforce. 

Due to the importance of English language learning, the Japanese government decided to introduce English education from the third grade of elementary school in April 2020. Until then, English was taught from the first year of junior high school. 

That means students who entered junior high school before 2020 had 10 years to learn English. Since 2020, the period has been extended by 4 years, giving students 14 years. At the same time, Japan is experiencing a serious shortage of educators, particularly English teachers.

Expanding Horizons through English

If FW Eastlake were to see the current English level among Japanese people, he would be surprised and dismayed. In his time, ambitious Japanese people studied hard out of necessity. Today's English education is a trial-and-error process heavily focused on entrance exams with little regard for practical usage.

The English education of FW Eastlake's era encouraged students to use the language to expand their network with people in other countries. They also read English books as quickly as possible to deepen their knowledge of practical English. This helped many aspiring students learn Western culture, which became the driving force behind the nation's prosperity after the Meiji Restoration. 

Now is the time for Japan's English education, which has shifted its focus to entrance exams, to return to emphasizing practical skills instead. FW Eastlake would surely advise such a change.

The Eastlakes' Legacy

WC Eastlake died on February 22, 1887, and was buried in Aoyama Cemetery with the help of Yukichi Fukuzawa. FW Eastlake died eighteen years later and was buried beside his father's grave. 

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On February 22, 1936, an unveiling ceremony was held there to commemorate WC Eastlake's achievements. Japanese government officials such as Foreign Minister Koki Hirota and Finance Minister Korekiyo Takahashi gave congratulatory speeches. Other attendees were US Ambassador to Japan Joseph Clark Grew and then President of the Japanese Dental Association Morinosuke Chiwaki. 

It was a grand event for its time, and one can clearly see how grateful the Japanese government and dental community were to WC Eastlake for his contributions.

WC Eastlake introduced Western dental technology and FW Eastlake dedicated himself to English education in Japan. They loved Japan and devoted themselves to introducing the country to the world. The achievements of the Eastlake father and son should not be forgotten.

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Author: Yoshifumi Fukuzawa 

Yoshifumi Fukuzawa is a business consultant and former lecturer at Waseda University.