Taro Kusakabe (Yasohachi Yagi) was the first Japanese student to go to Rutgers College, where he studied mathematics and the physical sciences. Kusakabe died prematurely from tuberculosis, two weeks before his intended graduation as a member of the class of 1870. His degree was awarded posthumously. He was the first Japanese student to graduate from an American college, and the first Japanese member of Phi Beta Kappa. Kusakabe's burial began the Japanese section of the Willow Grove Cemetery in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His plot was purchased by the Japanese Consulate on behalf of the Imperial Government. His funeral was attended by other Japanese students at Rutgers including Kozo Soogiwoora (second from the left), and Saburo Takaki (fourth from the left).
Subject (ID = SUBJ1); (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Cemeteries
Subject (ID = SUBJ2); (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Foreign study
Subject (ID = SUBJ3); (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Japanese students
Subject (ID = SUBJ4); (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Funeral service
Subject (ID = SUBJ5); (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Subject (ID = SUBJ6); (authority = NJCCS)
Temporal
Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Subject (ID = SUBJ7); (authority = NJCCS)
Temporal
The Industrial Revolution (1870-1900)
Subject (ID = SUBJ8); (authority = Other)
Temporal
Meiji period, (1868-1912)
Subject (ID = SUBJ9); (authority = RULIB)
Name
NamePart
Rutgers College. Class of 1870
Subject (ID = SUBJ10); (authority = RULIB)
Name
NamePart
Willow Grove Cemetery (New Brunswick, N.J.)
Subject (ID = SUBJ11); (authority = other)
HierarchicalGeographic
Country
UNITED STATES
State
New Jersey
County
Middlesex County
City
New Brunswick (N.J.)
RelatedItem (ID = RELATEDITEM001); (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Photographs from the William Elliot Griffis Collection
RightsDeclaration (AUTHORITY = RU_Archives); (ID = RU_Archives_v4)
This work is made available for non-commercial educational, scholarly, or research purposes subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Proper attribution must be provided. Please contact the rightholder to obtain permission for other purposes or for uses in excess of fair use. Use outside the United States is subject to the copyright law of the nation where the work is being used.
Copyright
Status
Public domain
Availability
Status
Open
RightsHolder (ID = 1)
Name (TYPE = corporate)
CorporateName
Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries
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Source
FindingAid
Availability
Yes
Shelving
Locator (TYPE = Other)
MC1015 Photograph Box 18
Note
Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. William Elliot Griffis Collection.