Via FB / 1832 Shipwreck

In October 1832, a Japanese merchant ship named the *Hojunmaru* set sail from Onoura, a port on the Chita Peninsula in southeast Japan, bound for Edo (modern-day Tokyo). The ship, approximately 50 feet long and carrying about 150 tons of cargo, was loaded with rice and porcelain for what was intended to be a routine coastal journey of a few hundred miles. The crew consisted of 14 men, including a 28-year-old navigator named Iwakichi and two teenage apprentice cooks, Kyukichi (15) and Otokichi (14). Most of the crew were local villagers, and their roles were shaped by family traditions in fishing, farming, or sailing, as career options were limited in rural Japan at the time.

### The Incident

Shortly after departing on October 11, 1832, the *Hojunmaru* was caught in a typhoon. The storm severely damaged the ship, snapping its mainmast, breaking its rudder, and tearing its sail. Unable to navigate, the vessel was swept out into the Pacific Ocean. For over a year, it drifted approximately 5,000 miles across the ocean, carried by the Kuroshio Current. The crew faced extreme hardship, with most succumbing to scurvy due to a lack of vitamin C. They survived on the ship’s cargo of rice, fished when possible, and used a device called a *ranbiki* (typically for brewing sake) to desalinate seawater or collect rainwater. Despite these efforts, only three crew members—Iwakichi, Kyukichi, and Otokichi—survived the ordeal.

### Arrival in Washington State

In January 1834, the *Hojunmaru* ran aground on the northern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, near Cape Alava in what is now Washington state. The three survivors, weakened and disoriented, encountered Makah seal hunters, a Native American tribe with limited prior contact with outsiders. Japan had been isolated from the world for over 200 years under the Tokugawa shogunate’s seclusion policies (*sakoku*), and the Makah had only interacted sporadically with European fur traders. Neither group was aware of the other’s existence. The Makah took the sailors captive, claiming them as slaves—a common practice among coastal tribes at the time—and retrieved items from the wrecked ship, including ceramic bowls, a map with Japanese script, and perforated copper coins. Five fragments of porcelain from the *Hojunmaru* were later found on Makah land.

### Rescue and Aftermath

News of the castaways reached John McLoughlin, the chief factor of Fort Vancouver, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s regional headquarters. A communiqué, possibly a drawing or letter depicting the shipwreck, was passed between tribes and reached the company. McLoughlin arranged for the sailors’ release, and they were brought to Fort Vancouver, where they spent several months recovering. There, they reportedly met Ranald MacDonald, a young man who later became the first American to travel voluntarily to Japan in 1848, inspired partly by the sailors’ story. MacDonald may have taught them English while learning some Japanese from them.

The Hudson’s Bay Company sent the three survivors, later dubbed the “three kichis” (a reference to their names ending in “-kichi”), to London and then to Macao, China, in hopes of returning them to Japan. However, Japan’s strict seclusion laws forbade citizens from leaving the country or returning if they had been exposed to foreign influences, as the castaways were deemed “contaminated.” When a British ship carrying the sailors approached Japan, it was fired upon, forcing the ship to retreat. The three were taken back to Macao, where they remained exiles for the rest of their lives, unable to return home. Historian Frederik Schodt notes that they were “ordinary sailors, dealt a harsh hand by fate,” whose own government prevented their repatriation.

### Historical Context

The *Hojunmaru* incident occurred during Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868), when the Tokugawa shogunate enforced *sakoku* to isolate Japan from foreign influence. Japanese ships were intentionally built for coastal navigation, lacking the sturdiness for open-sea voyages, which made the *Hojunmaru*’s survival across the Pacific remarkable. The event is considered the first documented instance of Japanese individuals reaching what is now Washington state, predating formal Japanese-American contact. It also highlights the perils of maritime travel and the cultural isolation of Japan at the time.

### Legacy

The story of the “three kichis” is commemorated by a monument at Fort Vancouver, Washington, erected to honor their journey and survival. The incident underscores the human cost of Japan’s isolationist policies and the resilience of the survivors. It also foreshadowed later interactions between Japan and the West, such as Ranald MacDonald’s journey and Commodore Matthew Perry’s 1853 expedition, which ended Japan’s seclusion. The *Hojunmaru*’s wreck and the artifacts recovered by the Makah provide tangible evidence of this early cross-cultural encounter.

This event is a fascinating glimpse into a period of limited global connectivity, where a storm could lead to an extraordinary trans-Pacific journey with profound consequences for those involved.