HONOLULU -- Japanese-U.S. cultural relations are filled with ironies. Perhaps the greatest is that many of the thousands of foreigners hired by the Japanese government during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) are far better known in Japan than they are in their own countries. A second fascinating irony is that Japanese teachers, widely respected as a major reason for success of Japan's educational system, have been the products of teacher-education enterprise that is largely American in origin.

An important reflection of both is Marion MacCarrell Scott (1843-1922), a native Virginian who spent most of his 79 years far away from Virginia. The great bulk of Scott's life was spent in three places -- San Francisco, Japan and Honolulu -- where he made significant contributions to the educational systems of each. Yet today his name is best known in Japan.

Leaving Virginia as a young man, Scott journeyed to San Francisco at a time when that city was rapidly growing as a result of the Gold Rush of 1848 and California's reputation as a land of opportunity was at a height. Upon his arrival, Scott taught at the Washington Grammar School, quickly rising to become the school's principal. Before long, the talented young man was appointed a member of the State Board of Examiners, whose responsibilities included not only the writing but also the administration of a test to those wishing to become teachers. Scott's name will rarely be found in any of the major American biographical dictionaries, but it is commonly listed in those published in Japan. This despite his having spent only three years (1871-1874) in Japan, during which time he was a major figure in establishing Japan's first teacher-training institution, the Tokyo Normal School.