Terajima Munenori (1832-93) was born as the second son of a low-ranking samurai from Satsuma fief (Kyushu). He traveled to England as a member of Satsuma's mission to England together with Machida Hisanari, who later became the first director of the Tokyo National Museum. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, he became a diplomat to use his experiences in England and made efforts to amend treaties Japan had signed with foreign countries.