Will Adams builds Ships for the Shogun (litho)

Will Adams builds Ships for the Shogun. Adams was born in 1575 at Gillingham, near Chatham, England, and at an early age he was apprenticed to the seafaring life. In order to engage in the Dutch trade with the East, he shipped as pilot in 1598 with a company of five ships outward bound from the Texel. Adams's ship, the Charity, which was the only vessel to survive the journey, reached Japan in April 1600. There he was employed in shipbuilding, and his practical knowledge of it raised him greatly in the esteem of the Shogun, who presented him with an estate. He was not, however, allowed to return to England. Illustration for Hutchinson's History of the Nations (Hutchinson, c.1920). Note: Image has been digitally enhanced to facilitate repro.