Today marks the annual celebration of Japan’s National Foundation Day, the date Japan celebrates its culture on the day that the country was founded.

Included in Japan’s rich culture is the history of Will Adams, a merchant from the Kent Town of Gillingham and the first English person to set foot in Japan. Both Gillingham and Japan have honoured Adams as a figure of great cultural and historical importance, celebrating him in various ways.

“He means a lot to me because of the historical connections” former Medway mayor Susan Haydock said about Adams. “He means much more to people in Japan because of what he did in Japan, but he was never famous here for anything”.

Adams, washed up on the island of Kyushu, off the coast of Japan, in 1600, after a gruelling 19 months at sea. After a brief stint being held as a prisoner, suspected of being a pirate, Adams’ knowledge of western shipbuilding and nautical navigation appealed to future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Adams also posed a consistent issue to the Portugese Jesuit priests, who were unable to gain the favour of Shogunate Ieyasu as efficiently as Adams. Helping to establish the Red Seal guild of armed Japanese merchant ships, Adams also helmed four trading missions to Southeast Asia.

Adams, becoming a key figure in Ieyasu’s court, was given the name Miura Anjin (meaning ‘Pilot of Miura’), and remained in the Japanese courts until his death in 1620. He married a Japanese woman and fathered two half Japanese children.

Both Japan and Gillingham celebrate Adams’ life and share huge cultural connections. The town of Gillingham is paired with the cities of Ito and Yokosuka, the latter of which holds a memorial to Adams. Two roads in Gillingham, Ito Way and Yokosuka Way, are connected by Will Adams Roundabout, with a Japanese style bridge in the centre of the roundabout.

Japan also celebrates Miura Anjin Day every August.