Attendance at a private viewing of the Henry Dyer Collection
2025/11/11
On Tuesday 11th November, Consul General Katsutoshi Takeda attended a private viewing of the Henry Dyer Collection held at the Edinburgh Central Library, hosted by the Japan Society of Scotland.
Henry Dyer was a Scottish engineer who, after graduating from the University of Glasgow, served as the first principal of the Imperial College of Engineering, a predecessor of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, from 1873 to 1882, laying the foundation for Japan's technical education system. The Mitchell Library in Glasgow houses some of the artworks and crafts, including paintings, books, and hanging scrolls, that Henry Dyer collected in Japan and brought back to Scotland. Additionally, through donations from Dyer's family in 1945 and 1955, others are also held in the Edinburgh Central Library, where even today visitors can appreciate these valuable items that symbolise the connection with early Meiji-era Japan.
Under the guidance of staff who had received specialised training, the Consul General viewed ukiyo-e prints, tinted photographs, picture scrolls, and medals awarded by the Japanese government at the time.
The collections are currently digitised and can also be viewed in the following digital archive, which showcases the collections held in Edinburgh's libraries, museums, and galleries.
Capital Collections is the digital image library for Edinburgh Libraries and Museums and Galleries:
https://www.capitalcollections.org.uk/quick-search?q=Henry%20Dyer&WINID=1762793241532
Henry Dyer was a Scottish engineer who, after graduating from the University of Glasgow, served as the first principal of the Imperial College of Engineering, a predecessor of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, from 1873 to 1882, laying the foundation for Japan's technical education system. The Mitchell Library in Glasgow houses some of the artworks and crafts, including paintings, books, and hanging scrolls, that Henry Dyer collected in Japan and brought back to Scotland. Additionally, through donations from Dyer's family in 1945 and 1955, others are also held in the Edinburgh Central Library, where even today visitors can appreciate these valuable items that symbolise the connection with early Meiji-era Japan.
Under the guidance of staff who had received specialised training, the Consul General viewed ukiyo-e prints, tinted photographs, picture scrolls, and medals awarded by the Japanese government at the time.
The collections are currently digitised and can also be viewed in the following digital archive, which showcases the collections held in Edinburgh's libraries, museums, and galleries.
Capital Collections is the digital image library for Edinburgh Libraries and Museums and Galleries:
https://www.capitalcollections.org.uk/quick-search?q=Henry%20Dyer&WINID=1762793241532