Official

Anjin-dori (1-chome, Nihonbashi Muromachi, April 2022)

In the monument, Adams was born in Kent, England in 1564, came to Japan in 1600, and was greeted by Ieyasu Tokugawa and worshiped a mansion in this area (currently Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-chome), Shipbuilding, artillery, geography, mathematics, etc. Contributed to Ieyasu and Hidetada's diplomacy, especially trade adviser. *1

In addition, it is written that this area (currently Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-chome) was called Anjincho until the beginning of the Showa era in connection with his Japanese name.

Monument of Historic Site Anjin Miura Yashiki Ruins (1-chome, Nihonbashi Muromachi, taken in April 2022)

What is worrisome here is why Adams came to be called Anjin Miura?
"Anjin" was once adopted as a street name and now remains as a street name.
Because it is related to the current Chuo-ku, I can't help but know its origin as a correspondent!
Let's take a look at the historical monuments, references, and explanations on the website.

・The Japanese name Anjin Miura is derived from the fact that it had a territory in Henmi Miura, Sagami country and was originally a sailor. (Monument of Historic Sites)
・Miura, the last name, comes from the territory, and Anjin is a pilot. (Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education)
・The territory was located in Henmi (now Yokosuka City). After this place name, Adams came to be called "Anjin Miura" in Japan. "Anjin" was generally a term that refers to "ruder" at the time. (Clains, p. 162)

In other words, the surname is derived from Miura of the territory, and the name is derived from the Anjin, which means "the captain", "the pilot", and "the steering" that can be said to be his occupation. *2
In this way, knowing the origin of Adams' Japanese name came to see where he had his territory and what he was doing.
Until now, he had a strong image of "Anjin = Ieyasu's diplomatic adviser", but his occupation seems to have been greatly involved in voyages and ships as well as Japanese names.

The current Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-chome, where Adams once set up a residence, was very close to Nihonbashi, and at that time it was a lively area where many merchants lived.
In addition, the Nihonbashi Fish Bank is very close and it may have been a lively place.
Adams' thoughts on such a residence in Nihonbashi and the aforementioned Henmi territory can be seen from the letter he left.

For this knowledge, Adams wrote in a letter addressed to an unknown friend that his hard work was rewarded.
"This is comparable to the status of the British feudal nobles," he explains, proudly adds, "It has never been given to foreigners in Japan before." (Clains, pp. 162-163)

From here, you can see how Adams was relied on by Ieyasu and how important it was.
However, it was not only the diplomatic and trade fields that were relied on.

Located in a place overlooking Ito Port, Anjin Memorial Park has a monument to `` Japan's first Western-style sailing shipbuilding site '', a bust of Anjin Miura by sculptor Kenji Shigeoka and a statue of the Western-style sailing ship San Bena Ventura. There is.
This is known as the place where Adams worked on shipbuilding at the request of Ieyasu.

Anjin Memorial Park (Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture, taken in April 2022)

At one point, Ieyasu heard that Adams had been serving as an apprentice at the ship carpenter's master, called Adams and asked him to build a small boat.
To the humble Adams, "You can try it. You don't have to be able to do it well, "he said.
So Adams took on the request of Ieyasu, gathered former crew members of the Leafde, and with the help of a large number of Japanese carpenters, began shipbuilding. (Clains, pp. 144-146)

Monument of William Adams (Ito City, taken in April 2022)

According to the Keicho era visit collection, Ito Izu country was selected because the river flows into the beach is a terrain suitable for shipbuilding.
This shipbuilding seems to have been a big business that was recorded in Japanese historical materials at the time!
The ship was built with an 80-ton boat, which is very small and about 30 people compared to the 300-ton Leafde.

Relief depicting shipbuilding (Ito City, taken in April 2022)

However, before the size of the ship, it is presumed that Ieyasu ordered Adams to shipbuilding was the purpose of communicating shipbuilding technology to Japanese shipowners.
Adams was anchored in the cove of the Asakusa River (Sumida River) on the boat built at this time, and Ieyasu sometimes came to see the boat.
Ieyasu, who visited the ship, was very satisfied, and it is said that Adams came to be greatly respected by Ieyasu. (Clains, pp. 144-146)

Relief depicting shipbuilding (Ito City, taken in April 2022)

Adams' reliable shipbuilding technology grabbed Ieyasu's heart.
As mentioned above, Adams set up a mansion in Nihonbashi, which is close to Edo Castle, but unfortunately, this reference and website did not tell the actual situation of life in Nihonbashi's mansion.
However, it is recorded that he married a Japanese woman and has two children.
There are various theories about the marriage partner, and the details remain shrouded in mystery, but it is said that there was a roman who was engaged in this marriage partner.
For that reason, Adams has been abducted by the ronin, and there is also a story that Ieyasu sent several Samurai and released it!

This story was later converted into Kabuki, and was staged at Kabukiza on February 24, 1906 under the title of "Old Story of Japan-England Allieance".
This Kabuki, like a general movie today, was performed to commemorate the visit of His Highness Prince Arthur, the British State Guest Connote.
Although this Kabuki attracted great excitement among the audience, Ieyasu was not given a sufficient role, and Ieyasu said that his reputation in the newspaper was not good because of his depiction of relying on Adams. (Prom, pp. 86-87)

This article featured part of Adams' life and achievements, but the proof that he lived during the Edo period is alive in modern Japan and in Chuo-ku.
When walking through Anjin, why not close your eyes once and think about the time when Adams lived?

[Supplement]
*1： Adams is often referred to as Ieyasu's "diplomacy advisor", but it seems that he did not formally have such a position. (Forest, p. 190)
*2: Actually, there is no record of "Ann Jin" in the records of Adams himself and the countries that traded with Japan at that time, and in Japanese books of the Edo period, "Anjin", "Yasunobu", "Anjin" It was said that it was not "Anjin". (Forest, p. 29)

[References]
Supervised by Klaus Monk Prom Ben Hatai, translated by Tadao Shimomiya, "Anjin and Ieyasu: The Life of the British Who served the Shogun" Deho Shinsha, 2006.
Frederick Cranes "William Adams: A man loved by Ieyasu, Anjin Miura," Chikuma Shobo, 2021.
Ryowa Mori "Anjin Miura: His Life and Era" Tokyodo Publishing, 2020.

[Reference Website]
Shibusawa's History Database “Kabukiza“ 100 Years History Materials ”(1995.04)”
https://shashi.shibusawa.or.jp/details_index.php?sid=14390&query=&ini=%E3%82%80 (viewed on May 1, 2022)
Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education “Tokyo Metropolitan Cultural Property Meguri-Anjin Miura Site”
https://www.syougai.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/bunkazai/week/chuo/chuo08.html (viewed on May 13, 2022)
The Nippon Foundation Library "Nature and Culture 73"
https://nippon.zaidan.info/seikabutsu/2003/00693/contents/0031.htm (viewed on May 1, 2022)

Ruins of Anjin Miura Yashiki
Address: 1-10-8, Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo