Quick quiz: Who was the first Japanese civilian to be issued a passport?

If your mind is drifting in the direction of a businessman who might have availed himself of an early opportunity to travel abroad in the mid-1860s, when the government first permitted such things, think again.

It was a circus performer named Sumidagawa Namigoro, whose speciality was to keep paper butterflies afloat in midair using only a fan. He is known to have delighted audiences the world over.