Frederick Ringer
Encyclopedia
Frederick Ringer was a British merchant who took over Thomas Glover
's role as leader in the Nagasaki foreign settlement. Ringer House (built 1865) is situated in Glover Garden
. During the decades from the late 19th to early 20th century, Ringer made great contributions to trade and industrial promotion in Nagasaki.
The Ringer Hut
chain of fast-food restaurants, specialising in Nagasaki dishes Champon
and Sara udon
, is named after him.
but spent most of his life in Japan
. Frederick, like his elder brother John, also left Norwich for the Far East whilst still young. The middle brother of the three, Prof Sydney Ringer
MD, FRS (1836-1910) became an eminent physician, physiologist and pharmacologist at University College, London
.
(built 1869) was one of the last of the clippers. Fortunes could be made—and lost—in the China tea trade. In 1865, Frederick was recruited by Glover & Co. to supervise the company's tea trade in Nagasaki
, the great sea port on the western coast of Kyushu, Japan. In 1868, he joined with fellow Englishman Edward Z Holme to found Holme Ringer & Co. Here, trade was also in tea initially, but soon expanded with the first burgeoning of Japanese industry to include shipping, coal, munitions and even to exports of seaweed, shark fins and vegetable wax, all important items of trade at that time. Holme left Japan soon after to conduct the London end of the business and eventually left the interests in Japan to his partner.
Frederick’s main associate at the Nagasaki end of the business was John C. Smith, who had worked with him previously at Glover & Co.
In 1888, Holme Ringer & Co. moved its headquarters to No. 7 Oura, a choice location on the Nagasaki waterfront. Holme Ringer & Co. served as Lloyd's representative in Nagasaki and agents for a long list of international banking, insurance and shipping companies. It also began to expand overseas, with branch offices in China and Korea, as well as conducting extensive trade with Russia. In the early 1890s, Holme Ringer & Co. established a branch company in the port of Shimonoseki, giving it the Japanese name "Wuriu Shokwai" because, as a foreign entity, it was not allowed to establish a branch outside the treaty ports.
From the beginning, Frederick Ringer was an active participant in the political and social affairs of the Nagasaki foreign settlement. He was elected to the Municipal Council in 1874 and 5 years later served on the reception committee to welcome former US President Ulysses S. Grant
to Nagasaki. From 1884, Ringer served as Consul for Belgium, and at various times was Acting Consul for Denmark, Sweden and Hawaii. He was also a guiding force in the establishment of the International Club in 1899.
Some of the context in which business was conducted in Japan at that time is revealed when considering two major national companies Mitsubishi
and Mitsui
. They both exported coal in large quantities, but their principal agent in Kyushu was none other than Wuriu Shokwai, the Holme Ringer & Co. branch in Shimonoseki.
Frederick Ringer's contributions to the economic development of Nagasaki and Japan were enormous. Over the years, he established a mechanized flour mill, a steam laundry, petroleum storage facilities, and stevedoring, trawling and whaling concerns. By the late 1890s, thanks to the Sino-Japanese War, the Spanish-American War, and the presence of the Russian Winter Fleet, Nagasaki was a boomtown and Ringer was the dominant foreign merchant there. Reflections of his prosperity included the establishment of a daily English language newspaper, the Nagasaki Press, in 1897 and the construction of the opulent four-story Nagasaki Hotel, replete with electricity, private telephones and a French chef, on the waterfront the following year.
until 1906, when he traveled to England for health reasons. He briefly returned once more to Nagasaki, but was unable to stay long. He died on November 29, 1907 at the age of sixty-nine, back in Norwich. He is buried at the non-conformist cemetery at Rosary Road. His legacy includes a number of artifacts and donations to the Norwich Castle Museum.
Frederick was survived by his two sons, Fred and Sydney (named as a salute to his brother), both of whom had been born in Nagasaki. Fred died in Nagasaki in 1940 at the age of 56. In August of the same year, Sydney's two sons, Michael and Vanya, were arrested as spies by Japanese authorities and forced to leave the country. Sydney was required to close the Nagasaki office of Holme Ringer & Co. in October 1940 and to flee to Shanghai, where he and his wife were later arrested and interned in a Japanese war camp.
After the war, the ‘Japanese’ Sydney Ringer sold off most of the property in Nagasaki and eventually returned to England, where he died in 1967. Holme Ringer & Co. was re-started by former Japanese employees and is still in business today in Moji, Kitakyushu City. The only remaining evidence of the once considerable Ringer presence in Nagasaki is the old stone residence at No.2 Minamiyamate sitting high above Nagasaki Harbour and now preserved in Glover Garden
between the other two British mansions from days gone by -- the former Glover and Alt houses.
Thomas Blake Glover
Thomas Blake Glover, Order of the Rising Sun was a Scottish merchant in Bakumatsu and Meiji period Japan.-Early life :...
's role as leader in the Nagasaki foreign settlement. Ringer House (built 1865) is situated in Glover Garden
Glover Garden
thumb|right|250px|Glover House known as Ipponmatsu from a drawing of 1863. The tree was chopped down in the early 1900s is a park in Nagasaki, Japan built for Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish entrepreneur who contributed to the modernization of Japan in shipbuilding, coal mining, and many other...
. During the decades from the late 19th to early 20th century, Ringer made great contributions to trade and industrial promotion in Nagasaki.
The Ringer Hut
Ringer Hut
is a Japanese chain of fast-food restaurants, specializing in Nagasaki dishes Champon and Sara udon. The chain was named after Frederick Ringer, a British merchant who made great contributions to trade and industrial promotion in Nagasaki during the late 19th to early 20th century.- External...
chain of fast-food restaurants, specialising in Nagasaki dishes Champon
Champon
, also known as Chanpon, is a noodle dish that is a regional cuisine of Nagasaki, Japan. Due to the inspiration from Chinese cuisine, it is also a form of Japanese Chinese cuisine. Champon is made by frying pork, seafood and vegetables with lard; a soup made with chicken and pig bones is added. A...
and Sara udon
Sara udon
', literally "plate noodles" is a dish native to Nagasaki prefecture, Japan.Consisting of a base of noodles, and a topping of fried cabbage, bean sprouts and other vegetables, as well as squid, prawns, pork, kamaboko etc...
, is named after him.
Family background
Frederick Ringer was born 1838 in NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
but spent most of his life in 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...
. Frederick, like his elder brother John, also left Norwich for the Far East whilst still young. The middle brother of the three, Prof Sydney Ringer
Sydney Ringer
Sydney Ringer FRS was a British clinician and pharmacologist, best known for inventing Ringer's solution. He was born in March 1836 in Norwich, England and died following a stroke 14 October 1910, in Lastingham, Yorkshire, England...
MD, FRS (1836-1910) became an eminent physician, physiologist and pharmacologist at University College, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Career
In 1856, at the age of 25, Frederick was already a tea inspector in China with the prominent English company of Fletcher & Co. This is early in the time of the fast tea clippers that literally raced to bring the seasonal tea cargoes to Europe; the Cutty SarkCutty Sark
The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...
(built 1869) was one of the last of the clippers. Fortunes could be made—and lost—in the China tea trade. In 1865, Frederick was recruited by Glover & Co. to supervise the company's tea trade in Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
, the great sea port on the western coast of Kyushu, Japan. In 1868, he joined with fellow Englishman Edward Z Holme to found Holme Ringer & Co. Here, trade was also in tea initially, but soon expanded with the first burgeoning of Japanese industry to include shipping, coal, munitions and even to exports of seaweed, shark fins and vegetable wax, all important items of trade at that time. Holme left Japan soon after to conduct the London end of the business and eventually left the interests in Japan to his partner.
Frederick’s main associate at the Nagasaki end of the business was John C. Smith, who had worked with him previously at Glover & Co.
In 1888, Holme Ringer & Co. moved its headquarters to No. 7 Oura, a choice location on the Nagasaki waterfront. Holme Ringer & Co. served as Lloyd's representative in Nagasaki and agents for a long list of international banking, insurance and shipping companies. It also began to expand overseas, with branch offices in China and Korea, as well as conducting extensive trade with Russia. In the early 1890s, Holme Ringer & Co. established a branch company in the port of Shimonoseki, giving it the Japanese name "Wuriu Shokwai" because, as a foreign entity, it was not allowed to establish a branch outside the treaty ports.
From the beginning, Frederick Ringer was an active participant in the political and social affairs of the Nagasaki foreign settlement. He was elected to the Municipal Council in 1874 and 5 years later served on the reception committee to welcome former US President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
to Nagasaki. From 1884, Ringer served as Consul for Belgium, and at various times was Acting Consul for Denmark, Sweden and Hawaii. He was also a guiding force in the establishment of the International Club in 1899.
Some of the context in which business was conducted in Japan at that time is revealed when considering two major national companies Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
and Mitsui
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
. They both exported coal in large quantities, but their principal agent in Kyushu was none other than Wuriu Shokwai, the Holme Ringer & Co. branch in Shimonoseki.
Frederick Ringer's contributions to the economic development of Nagasaki and Japan were enormous. Over the years, he established a mechanized flour mill, a steam laundry, petroleum storage facilities, and stevedoring, trawling and whaling concerns. By the late 1890s, thanks to the Sino-Japanese War, the Spanish-American War, and the presence of the Russian Winter Fleet, Nagasaki was a boomtown and Ringer was the dominant foreign merchant there. Reflections of his prosperity included the establishment of a daily English language newspaper, the Nagasaki Press, in 1897 and the construction of the opulent four-story Nagasaki Hotel, replete with electricity, private telephones and a French chef, on the waterfront the following year.
Decline, death and legacy
Frederick Ringer remained in NagasakiNagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
until 1906, when he traveled to England for health reasons. He briefly returned once more to Nagasaki, but was unable to stay long. He died on November 29, 1907 at the age of sixty-nine, back in Norwich. He is buried at the non-conformist cemetery at Rosary Road. His legacy includes a number of artifacts and donations to the Norwich Castle Museum.
Frederick was survived by his two sons, Fred and Sydney (named as a salute to his brother), both of whom had been born in Nagasaki. Fred died in Nagasaki in 1940 at the age of 56. In August of the same year, Sydney's two sons, Michael and Vanya, were arrested as spies by Japanese authorities and forced to leave the country. Sydney was required to close the Nagasaki office of Holme Ringer & Co. in October 1940 and to flee to Shanghai, where he and his wife were later arrested and interned in a Japanese war camp.
After the war, the ‘Japanese’ Sydney Ringer sold off most of the property in Nagasaki and eventually returned to England, where he died in 1967. Holme Ringer & Co. was re-started by former Japanese employees and is still in business today in Moji, Kitakyushu City. The only remaining evidence of the once considerable Ringer presence in Nagasaki is the old stone residence at No.2 Minamiyamate sitting high above Nagasaki Harbour and now preserved in Glover Garden
Glover Garden
thumb|right|250px|Glover House known as Ipponmatsu from a drawing of 1863. The tree was chopped down in the early 1900s is a park in Nagasaki, Japan built for Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish entrepreneur who contributed to the modernization of Japan in shipbuilding, coal mining, and many other...
between the other two British mansions from days gone by -- the former Glover and Alt houses.