Thomas Blake Glover, Order of the Rising Sun (June 6, 1838 – December 13, 1911) was a British merchant in Bakumatsu and Meiji Japan. He is acknowledged in that country for considerable contributions to its modernisation. The late Sir Peter Parker once hailed him as an all-round "trader through 360 degrees".

Thomas Glover was born at 15 Commerce Street, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in north east Scotland on June 6, 1838, moving to Bridge of Don, near Aberdeen six years later. His father worked for the coast guard. Upon leaving school, Glover entered into employment with a trading company and travelled widely.

in 1859, Glover crossed from Shanghai to Nagasaki and worked initially for Jardine Matheson buying Japanese green tea. Two years later, he founded his own firm, Glover Trading Co. (Guraba-Shokai). His first major success was as a merchant for ships, guns and gunpowder sold illegally to the rebellious Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa clans in Japan during the 1860s. His business was based in Nagasaki, and it was here that he had his home constructed, the first Western-style building in Japan. The numerous masonic symbols carved into the stone pillars in the garden of his Nagasaki residence may indicate that he was a freemason.[citation needed]

Anti-western sentiment was rife at this point throughout the country due to the unbalanced treaty agreements imposed upon the Shogunate by the USA, which included extraterritorial rights. Nationalistic militants in Satsuma and Choshu spearheaded anti-government efforts aimed at toppling the Shogunate and restoring the emperor as sovereign. It was to these factions, later to become leaders in the Restoration governemt, that Glover plied arms and warships.

In 1863, Glover helped the Choshu Five get to London on Jardine Matheson ships. He also helped send fifteen trainees from Satsuma under Godai Tomoatsu in 1865. He was also responsible in 1868 for bringing the first steam railway locomotive called "Iron Duke" to Japan which he demonstrated on an 8-mile track at Oura in Nagasaki.[1]

Glover assisted in toppling the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Meiji Restoration and as such, had cordial relations with the new government. These links led to his being responsible for commissioning one of the first warships in the Imperial Japanese Navy (the Jho Sho Maru, later called Ryujo Maru) which was built by Alexander Hall and Company in Aberdeen and launched on March 27, 1869. Glover also commissioned the smaller Ho Sho Maru for the navy and the Kagoshima for the Satsuma clan from the same Aberdeen shipyard.

In 1868, Glover made a contract with the Hizen (Saga) clan and began to develop Japan's first coal mine at Takashima. He also brought the first dry dock to Japan.

Thomas Glover went bankrupt in 1870, but he stayed in Japan to manage the Takashima coal mine after the Restoration for the mine's Dutch owners until it was taken over by the Meiji government. In 1881, the mine was acquired by Iwasaki Yataro.

Glover with Iwasaki Yanosuke, the son of the founder of Mitsubishi.Glover was a key figure in the industrialisation of Japan, helping to found the shipbuilding company, which was later to become the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. He also helped found the Japan Brewery Company, which later became the major Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. It is rumoured that the moustache of the mythical creature featured on Kirin beer labels is in fact a tribute to Glover (who sported a similar moustache).[2]

In recognition of these achievements, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (second class).

Thomas Glover died at his home in Tokyo, but was buried at the Sakamoto International Cemetery in Nagasaki