A Japanese businessman who lived in Istanbul between 1892 and 1905 and made positive contributions to Turkish-Japanese relations first arrived in Istanbul in 1892. The reason for his visit was the Ertuğrul Frigate, which went to Japan in 1890 and sank on its return. He initiated campaigns to assist the families of the martyrs on board the ship.
In 1892, he came to Istanbul to deliver the undelivered monetary donations and stayed in the city until 1905. During this time, he tried to learn Turkish and the cultural structure of the Ottoman Empire while promoting Japanese culture.
He gifted a samurai sword, inherited from his father, to Sultan Abdülhamid through a Japanese journalist named Abdülhalim Nuda Efendi (Shotara Noda). Wanting to develop commercial relations between Japan and the Ottoman Empire, Yamada opened a shop named "Shop Nakamura" in Istanbul.
The samurai armor he gifted to Sultan Abdülhamid is currently displayed in the Topkapi Palace.
Torajiro Yamada Hall
