Louis Boehmer
Encyclopedia
Louis Boehmer was an ethnic German
-American agronomist
and government advisor in Meiji period
Japan
who later worked as a success entrepreneur in Yokohama.
in Lower Saxony
, Germany
. He apprenticed as a gardener, and received an appointment to tend the royal gardens of the Kingdom of Hannover. However, after the Franco-Prussian War
of 1867, he immigrated to America and become a successful gardener in Rochester, New York
. In January 1871, when Kuroda Kiyotaka
was in the United States hiring foreign advisors for his Hokkaidō Colonization Office, Boehmer was recommended as a horticulturist
by a mutual friend of Horace Capron
.
Boehmer arrived in Yokohama
, Japan on March 23, 1872 and was initially placed in charge of an experimental farm in Aoyama, Tokyo
where he raised carrots, potatoes, asparagus, as well as wheat, barley and soybeans. He also planted apple, cherry, peach and pear fruit trees as well as grapes, and introduced new varieties of livestock.
With the end of the Boshin War
, the Japanese government redoubled its efforts to settle Hokkaidō, especially with displaced former samurai
from pro-Tokugawa shogunate
domains. Boehler arrived in Hakodate on May 19, 1874 and spent the next five months travelling around the island exploring sites for experimental government farms. While in Saru District
, he discovered the local Ainu tribe
growing hops
, which when combined with locally-grown barley enabled him to recommend to Horace Capon at the nearby Sapporo Agricultural College
that a brewery be established. The new operation was run by Edwin Dun
and exists to this date under the name of Sapporo Breweries
. Boehler transferred to Sapporo in 1876, where he assisted Edwin Dun for several years.
After the break-up of Hokkaidō Colonization Office in 1882, Boehmer established his own nursery in Yamate Bluff, Yokohama, trading under the name of L. Boehmer & Company. The firm specialized in exporting Japanese plants to Europe and the United States, and supplied plants and flowers to the German Emperor
and helped popularize the Japanese art of bonsai
to the western world. Boehmer retired in 1890, selling the business to fellow expatriate German businessman Alfred Unger, but the company continued to operate under his name until 1908. On October 13, 1894 Boehler departed Japan due to failing health. He died in his native Germany on July 29, 1896.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
-American agronomist
Agronomist
An agronomist is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. An agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, with the exception veterinary sciences.Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and...
and government advisor in Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
who later worked as a success entrepreneur in Yokohama.
Biography
Louis Boehmer was born in LüneburgLüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He apprenticed as a gardener, and received an appointment to tend the royal gardens of the Kingdom of Hannover. However, after the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1867, he immigrated to America and become a successful gardener in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. In January 1871, when Kuroda Kiyotaka
Kuroda Kiyotaka
, also known as , was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era. He was the second Prime Minister of Japan from 30 April 1888 to 25 October 1889.-As a Satsuma samurai:...
was in the United States hiring foreign advisors for his Hokkaidō Colonization Office, Boehmer was recommended as a horticulturist
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
by a mutual friend of Horace Capron
Horace Capron
Horace Capron was an American businessman and agriculturalist, a founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union officer in the American Civil War, the United States Commissioner of Agriculture under U.S. Presidents Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S...
.
Boehmer arrived in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan on March 23, 1872 and was initially placed in charge of an experimental farm in Aoyama, Tokyo
Aoyama, Tokyo
is a neighborhood of Tokyo, located in the northeastern Minato Ward. During the Edo Period, Aoyama was home to various temples, shrines, and samurai residences. The name Aoyama derived from a samurai named Aoyama Tadanari who served the Tokugawa Shogunate and held his mansion in this area...
where he raised carrots, potatoes, asparagus, as well as wheat, barley and soybeans. He also planted apple, cherry, peach and pear fruit trees as well as grapes, and introduced new varieties of livestock.
With the end of the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
, the Japanese government redoubled its efforts to settle Hokkaidō, especially with displaced former samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
from pro-Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
domains. Boehler arrived in Hakodate on May 19, 1874 and spent the next five months travelling around the island exploring sites for experimental government farms. While in Saru District
Saru District, Hokkaido
is a district located in Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2004, the district has an estimated population of 21,190 and a density of 12.21 persons per km²...
, he discovered the local Ainu tribe
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
growing hops
Hops
Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
, which when combined with locally-grown barley enabled him to recommend to Horace Capon at the nearby Sapporo Agricultural College
Sapporo Agricultural College
was a school in Sapporo established in the purpose of education of student who would pioneer Hokkaidō by Kaitakushi, the local government of Hokkaidō in those days...
that a brewery be established. The new operation was run by Edwin Dun
Edwin Dun
Edwin Dun was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an o-yatoi gaikokujin in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agricultural techniques during the Meiji modernization period.Dun was a native of Chillicothe, Ohio and had studied at...
and exists to this date under the name of Sapporo Breweries
Sapporo Breweries
is a Japanese brewery founded in 1876. Their world headquarters are in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The company purchased the Canadian company Sleeman Breweries in 2006.The company has five breweries in Japan as well as the Sleeman brewery in Canada...
. Boehler transferred to Sapporo in 1876, where he assisted Edwin Dun for several years.
After the break-up of Hokkaidō Colonization Office in 1882, Boehmer established his own nursery in Yamate Bluff, Yokohama, trading under the name of L. Boehmer & Company. The firm specialized in exporting Japanese plants to Europe and the United States, and supplied plants and flowers to the German Emperor
German Emperor
This article is about the emperors of the German Empire. For full list of German monarchs before 1871, see List of German monarchs.The German Emperor was the official title of the Head of State and ruler of the German Empire, beginning with the proclamation of Wilhelm I as emperor during the...
and helped popularize the Japanese art of bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
to the western world. Boehmer retired in 1890, selling the business to fellow expatriate German businessman Alfred Unger, but the company continued to operate under his name until 1908. On October 13, 1894 Boehler departed Japan due to failing health. He died in his native Germany on July 29, 1896.