Yamada Torajirō (Japanese: 山田寅次郎, Hiragana: やまだ とらじろう; 23 August 1866 – 13 February 1957) was a Japanese businessman and tea master who is considered to have laid the foundation of Japanese–Turkish relations. He took the name Yamada Sōyū when he became a tea ceremony master, Iemoto (Japanese: 山田宗有), after 1923. He arrived in Istanbul in 1892, where he donated to the families of the victims of the sinking of the Turkish frigate Ertuğrul. He remained there for 13 years, finally going back to Japan in 1905. Although he was not able to ensure Japanese political or economic interests in Istanbul, his activity was the beginning of a period of intensification of contact between the two countries. He acted as an Honorary Consul, helped introduce the Turks to Japanese culture and wrote many books about Turkey after returning to Japan. His work is considered a fundamental basis of amicable Japan–Turkey relations.
Source: “Yamada Torajirō”, English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), excerpt