The nineteenth century was a time of trade, and it was trade which really moved the British Empire. It was trade which brought the British and other Europeans to East Asia, in particular to Japan. With it there was the need for technology and financing. The key point which we tend to forget, however, in all of this is the question of communication, particularly language. I am a linguist, and I am very much interested in the problems of language and communication. If we think about the resources, for example, which Ernest Satow had, there were no dictionaries, nothing as we have today. There were a few word lists available. There was no readily available grammar book, something we take for granted today. There was a grammar of Japanese written by a Portuguese scholar, which had been translated into Dutch and into French, but I understand that Sir Ernest had no access to it. In other words, when he began his language study, he did not have the wonderful learning resources which today we take for granted, whethethey were dictionaries, textbooks, grammar books, language programs, films, all of which can significantly contribute to our understanding and ease of learning. One of the key points, therefore, that a person like Sir Ernest raises for us, is the question of our motivation, or interest, and the amount of energy and sustained time which we are willing to give to what we want to do. Unless we are willing to sustain the time to pursue what we want to do, the results cannot overcome the many barriers. Certainly the pioneers at that time had tremendous barriers to overcome without the ease and convenience that we have today.