SYOIN JINJYA
There was a man who approached Perry's fleet by rowing a small boat, in a bid to travel to America. This man was Yoshida Shoin, whose private school called 'Shokasonjuku' later fostered many talented people opposed to the Shogunate. He himself could not achieve his aims, but Itoh Hirobumi and many other followers took over his wishes and went abroad. The author of the critical biography 'Yoshida Torajiro', R. L. Stevens said "When I think that I lived in the same period as those people with such great minds, I feel very happy."