Godai Tomoatsu
| Godai Tomoatsu 五代友厚 |
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| Born |
February 12, 1836 Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain, Japan |
| Died | September 25, 1885 (aged 49) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Godai Tomoatsu (五代 友厚?, February 12, 1836 – September 25, 1886) was one of the Satsuma students of 1865 who were smuggled out of Bakumatsu period Japan to study in Great Britain. He returned to become Japan's leading entrepreneur of the early Meiji period.
Godai was born in Satsuma domain (in what is now part of Kagoshima city, Kagoshima Prefecture), and was sent by the domain to study naval science and technology at the Kaigun Denshujo in Nagasaki. At the outbreak of the Anglo-Satsuma War of 1864, he was appointed captain of the Tenu Maru. Along with Matsuki Koan, he was taken prisoner by the Royal navy when his ship was captured. He was chosen as one of 15 students to be sent to Great Britain to study at the University College, London in defiance of the Tokugawa bakufu's official national seclusion policy.
In 1865 Godai made contact with Thomas Glover who steered negotiations with the Platt textile machinery giant in Oldham, Lancashire, England. This visit led to the establishment of the Kagoshima Mill in Satsuma in 1867 - reputed to be Japan's first modern factory. Manchester engineers spent a year in Kagoshima to supervise building, factory production and the training of local workers. The Manchester Seven - as they became known had a special White Mansion constructed for their comfort and is today a museum. Godai's UK visit also included the Manchester Chamber of Commerce - reputed to have inspired the foundation of the pioneering Osaka Chamber and Industry.
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