Satō Masayasu (佐藤政養; 1821 - 1877)

Satō Masayasu (佐藤政養; 1821 - 1877), also sometimes read as Satō Seiyō, was a Rangaku (Dutch learning) scholar and expert on foreign technology in the late Tokugawa era (Bakumatsu). Born in Akumi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, he moved to Edo in 1853 to study a range of subjects, including Chinese classics, gunnery, and sculpture. In 1855, Satō began studies at the newly-established Nagasaki Naval Training Center (長崎海軍伝習所), an attempt by the Tokugawa government to build modern warships, where he also learned surveying. Soon afterwards, he was tasked with learning Dutch and translating foreign texts into Japanese for the Gunkan Training School (軍艦操練所), a training center for naval officers. In 1864, he was placed in charge of the Kobe Naval Training Center (神戸海軍操練所). After the Meiji Restoration, Satō joined the new government's nascent bureaucracy and was deeply involved with planning Japan's first railway line, between Yokohama and Tokyo.