the adventurer william adams (inspiration for a character in the novel "shōgun"), the first briton to set foot in japan, arrived at uraga aboard the dutch trading vessel "liefde" in 1600. in 1612, he was granted the title of samurai and a fief in hemi within the boundaries of present-day yokosuka, due to his services to the tokugawa shogunate. a monument to william adams (called "miura anjin" in japanese) is a local landmark in yokosuka.