Linked by Water

From Aberdeen to Nagasaki

Whats maybe more surprising is how the deployment of water has linked Scotland with another remarkable small country Japan. From shipbuilding to sanitation, brewing and distilling, Scottish expertise significantly helped the development of modern Japan. There are two Scots in particular who are venerated in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The first of these is William Burton. Born in Edinburgh in 1856, Burton was a dedicated water system engineer who made a name for himself in London. When the Meiji Government were facing serious health problems due to poor sanitation in 1887, they invited Burton to become the first Professor of Sanitary Engineering at the Imperial University, Tokyo.

Burton operated most notably outside the academic arena and as sole consultant engineer for the Japanese Home Ministry, he went on to oversee the foundation of water and drainage systems not only for Tokyo but several other major cities in Japan. His achievements are regarded as the starting point for Japans environmental and sanitary engineering. He also made an outstanding contribution to the environmental improvement of Taiwan and is well known for designing Japans first skyscraper, situated in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. Its official name was Ryounkaku but publicly was known as Asakusa 12-Storeys.

Burton took a Japanese wife and after dedicating twelve years of his life improving the sanitary conditions of Japan and Taiwan, he was keen to take his wife and daughter on a trip to Scotland to visit his mother. Tragically he fell ill and died before he could do that. He was only 43 years of age and his family and friends so regretted his untimely death that they erected an impressive tombstone for him in the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

2006 marks the 150th anniversary of Burtons birth and a series of commemorative lectures and ceremonies have been scheduled to take place between May and September in Tokyo, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Remembering this man will certainly further enhance friendly relations between Scotland and Japan.

Preceding Burton was another Scot Thomas Blake Glover who also had a number of connections with water in Japan. Born in Aberdeenshire in 1838 Glover joined a trading company as a young man, travelled widely and arrived in Nagasaki at the age of 21 in 1859. Glover got involved in political struggles as well as business and assisted in the restoration of the Meiji to power. This in turn led to his being responsible for the commissioning of one of the first warships for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which he ensured was built by a fellow Aberdonian, Alexander Hall. Following this he founded a shipbuilding company in his adopted country that in a later incarnation was to become the famous Mitsubishi Company of Japan. As such Glover was a key figure in the industrialisation of Japan. He brought another Scottish skill to Japan as well as shipbuilding and that was brewing. He helped found the Japan brewery company which became the major Kirin Brewery Company. It is rumoured that the moustache of the mythical creature featured on Kirin beer labels is a tribute to Glover who sported one similar! Water is used in the making of whisky as well as beer and although this cannot be attributed to Glover, Japan has become one of the worlds very few whisky making nations, alongside Canada, America, Ireland and of course, Scotland.

Glovers first home in Japan was in Nagasaki and it was the first western-style house to be built in Japan. He also married a Japanese woman and in keeping with local protocol, took a Japanese mistress who bore him a son. When Glover and his wife adopted the boy his mistress attempted suicide, which caused a local scandal. The story is said to have been the inspiration for Giacomo Puccinis opera Madame Butterfly and although this link has never been proved, Glovers house in Nagasaki was for many years known as the. Despite the whiff of scandal Glovers contribution to the development of Japan was recognised when he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. He was the first non-Japanese to ever receive such an honour.

Full circle

Shipbuilding may have diminished but Scotlands rivers and lochs continue to provide wonderful locations for fishing, drawing enthusiasts from all over the world. These days water-sports like canoeing, sailing and wind-surfing are becoming buoyant industries. Whisky is Scotlands biggest and most famous export. Our 100 plus working distilleries rely on the pure water of burns and rivers in order to produce the unique water of life.

Scotland is probably not as well known internationally for its beers as its whiskies. It would be interesting to know what beers Thomas Blake Glover based his brew on. Traditional Scottish beer is a thick, dark ale known as heavy and is quite different from the English bitter. Its sweeter, has less of an edge and draft is served from a distinctive tall font. Scottish beers are graded by the shilling, which is a system used since the 1870s to indicate the level of potency. Tennents and McEwans are todays biggest Scottish breweries but there are many smaller breweries in Scotland today, making the discovery of Scottish beer, a beer lovers delight. Belhaven, Caledonian and Broughton Ales are amongst the smaller sized breweries. The new style micro breweries include Fraoch, Traquair, Black Isle, Skye, Arran, Orkney, West Brewery and Shetland.

Today Scotlands water is managed by Scottish Water a publicly owned business that was formed in 2002 through the merger of the three existing water authorities. Theres a lot of water and a lot of assets to manage for its five million or so customers. 2.5 billion litres of water are provided every day and nearly 1 billion litres of waste water are taken away and treated before being returned to the rivers and the sea. There are over 46,000 kilometres of water pipes, 48,000 kilometres of sewer pipes, 1807 waste water treatment works plus hundreds of water treatment works, pumping stations, sludge treatment centres and reservoirs. Impressive statistics. Surely ones that would have inspired and impressed William Burton one hundred and fifty years ago.

Good beer needs good water

With todays penchant for bottled water, its also not surprising that Scotland produces one of the UKs leading brands. Highland Spring was established at Blackford in Perthshire in 1979 and is the first bottled water to achieve organic status from the Soil Association for its catchment area taking something pure out to the world which the indigenous population get from the tap! A spokesman for Scottish water said the regulator has confirmed the water quality in Scotland was very high with 99.56% meeting strict quality standards.

To view one of Scotlands many reservoirs of water, you could take a trip on the Sir Walter Scott Steamship on. The ship allows visitors to opportunity to experience a bygone age, which inspired the poet Sir Walter Scott to write:

The Summers dawns reflected hueThe purple changed Loch Katrine blueMildly and softly the western breezeJust kissd the lake, just stirred the trees From The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott

Alternatively, you could take a tour around one of the many distilleries around the country such as the Auchentoshan Distillery and Visitors Centre.

Today both Japan and Scotland enjoy the benefits of an excellent water system. It all began many, many years ago, thanks to the ingenuity of the Scots. Along with beer, whisky and ships, these two seemingly distant nations that are so far apart geographically, are clearly linked by water.