Uryū Shigeko

[2][3] When she was six years old, she experienced the Battle of Ueno, part of the Boshin War in which her father and brother supported the losing side of the Tokugawa shogunate.

[4] In November 1871 at the age of only 10 years old, Nagai Shige was among the five Japanese girls sent to the United States as part of the Iwakura Mission and was brought to the household of John Stevens Cabot Abbott.

[6]: 90 After returning to Japan in 1881, Nagai Shigeko married Uryū Sotokichi in a Christian ceremony[6]: 91  on 1 December 1882.

[10][8] Her husband Uryū Sotokichi was made a Baron for his service in Japan's navy 1894-1895 and 1904–1905, and Shigeko became a Baroness.

[6]: 91  Baroness Uryū Shigeko made a visit to the United States in 1909, attending Vassar's commencement ceremony and speaking about the education of women in Japan.

First female study-abroad students, from the left, Nagai Shigeko (10), Ueda Teiko (16), Yoshimasu Ryōko [ ja ] (16), Tsuda Ume (9) and Yamakawa Sutematsu (12)
Nagai Shigeko, when attending Vassar College .
From left: Tsuda Umeko (1864–1929), Alice Bacon (1858–1918), Baroness Uryū Shigeko (1862–1928), Princess Ōyama Sutematsu (1860–1919)