2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The Waters Brothers : their activities in New Zealand and in Colorado, U.S.A.
| Project/Area Number |
15560555
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Architectural history/design
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
FUJIMORI Terunobu The University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science, professor, 生産技術研究所, 教授 (80159128)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Waters Brothers / Thomas Waters / Architectural History of Japan / Meiji Architecture / oyatoi / adventure engineer / Irish engineer / mining engineer |
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| Research Abstract |
The Waters Brothers : Thomas James Waters (1842.1898), John Albert Robinson Waters (1846-1902), and Joseph Henry Ernest Waters (1851-1893) were Irish born engineers, who worked for Japanese government in the beginning of Meiji Era. The author conducted field survey and documentary research in New Zealand, in Colorado, US, and on the Net, to find out to where they went and what they did after they left Japan.
1.Field Survey :
The author visited ruins of the mines and mining facilities, in which the Waters Brothers used to work. The author also visited railroad facilities in Colorado, among which the train station in Durango was the only surviving building constructed by J.H.Ernest Waters.
2.Documentary Research :
The author collected materials on the Waters Brothers at archives and libraries in New Zealand and in Colorado, and also on the Net. As a result, a tremendous amount of data has been obtained.
3.Conclusion
The author calls such engineers like the Waters Brothers who, traveling between newly opened colonies, worked as generalist engineers flexibly responding to various kinds of demand in the late nineteenth century, "adventure-engineers". No matter how much they contributed to the modernization, they are likely to be unknown without being evaluated properly in the history, as they didn't stay long at one place. The Waters Brothers, in fact, had been mystery men for decades until recent studies. This project was the first attempt of the extensive overseas research on them and the data obtained, including more than 200 newspaper articles and 50 magazine articles, successfully gave us a vivid image of their life in New Zealand and in Colorado. It has also suggested us a new direction of this research. The studies on the Waters Brothers, adventure-engineers, continue to be very prospective.
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