Otokichi

Otokichi
Japanese drawing of Otokichi in 1849, as he visited Japan passing for a Chinese man.
Born	1818 Mihama,Aichi Prefecture,Tokugawa shogunate
Died	January 1, 1867(1867-01-01)(aged 49) Singapore
Resting place	Japanese Cemetery Park,Hougang,Singapore
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	John Matthew Ottoson
Citizenship	British

Otokichi(Âm cát or ất cát),also known asYamamoto Otokichiand later known asJohn Matthew Ottoson(1818 – January 1867), was a Japanesecastawayoriginally from the area of Onoura near modern-dayMihama,on the west coast of theChita PeninsulainAichi Prefecture.

Biography

Otokichi was fromMihama,Aichi Prefecture.In 1832, at age 14, he served as a crew member on a rice transport ship bound forEdo,theHojunmaru( bảo thuận hoàn ), 15 metres (49 ft) in length with a cargo of 150 tons and a crew of 14. The ship left on October 11, 1832, but was caught in a storm and blown off-course far out in thePacific Ocean.

Drift to America

The ship, without a mast or a rudder, was carried across the northernPacific Oceanby currents. It drifted for 14 months, during which the crew lived ondesalinatedseawater and on the rice of their cargo.Several crew members died ofscurvy;only three survived by the time they arrived atCape Alava,the westernmost point ofWashington'sOlympic Peninsula,in 1834. The three survivors were Iwakichi, 29; Kyukichi, 16; and Otokichi, then 15.

The three castaways were looked after and briefly enslaved by theMakahIndiantribe.They were later handed over toJohn McLoughlin,theChief Factorfor theColumbia Districtat theHudson's Bay Company.

Travel to Europe

McLoughlin,envisioning an opportunity to use the castaways to open trade with Japan, sent the trio toLondonon theEagleto try to convince the Crown of his plan. They reached London in 1835, probably the first Japanese to do so sinceChristopher and Cosmasin the 16th century.

The British Government ultimately declined interest in the enterprise, and the castaways were instead dispatched toMacauon board theGeneral Palmer,so that they could be returned to their home country.

Macau and attempt to return to Japan

Japanese drawing of theMorrison,anchored in front ofUragain 1837.

Once in Macau, Otokichi, Kyukichi, and Iwakichi were welcomed byKarl Gutzlaff,a German missionary and Chinese translator for the British government. Gutzlaff, who had views on evangelizing Japan, enthusiastically learned theJapanese languagefrom the trio, and with their help managed to make a translation of theGospel of Johninto Japanese.The trio was joined in Macau by four more castaways fromKumamoto PrefectureinKyūshū,who had been shipwrecked on the island ofLuzonin thePhilippines.

An opportunity to return them to Japan appeared, when the American traderCharles W. Kingoffered to take them back to Japan, again with the hope of establishing trade relations with the country.In July 1837, the seven castaways left with Charles W. King on board theMorrisontoUragaat the entrance ofEdoBay. There the ship was fired on repeatedly, and King was not able to accomplish his objective to establish diplomatic contact.He then went toKagoshima,but again met with cannon fire, and finally decided to abandon his efforts and go back toCanton.The castaways resigned themselves to a life inexile.Returning to Japan was problematic, for this was during Japan'speriod of isolationwhere leaving the country was an offense that was punishable by death.

New life abroad

Unable to return to Japan, the castaways started a new life in Macau. They seem to have worked as translators for the British trade legation and British missionaries.

Otokichi is next recorded as working for the British trading companyDent & Co.inShanghaiin 1843. He apparently also worked as a crewman on American ships, and worked at helping Japanese castaways to return to Japan on board Chinese or Dutch ships, the only ones allowed to visit the country. He also engaged in business on his own behalf.

Otokichi married a Scotswoman in Macao who later died of illness.His second wife, Louisa Belder, was half-German and half-Malay,living in Singapore, with whom he had a son and three daughters.He became a naturalized British subject, taking the name John Matthew Ottoson. "Ottoson" is said to have been a transliteration of "Oto-san" (literally "Mr. Oto" ), a respectful nickname used by his Japanese friends.

Return to Japan

Otokichi is known to have returned to Japan twice, first as a translator on boardHMSMariner,which entered Uraga Port in 1849 to conduct atopographicalsurvey. To avoid problems with Japanese authorities, he disguised himself asChinese,and said that he had learned Japanese from his father, allegedly a businessman who had worked in relation withNagasaki.

The second time, Otokichi went to Japan under his British name "Ottoson", in September 1854.He was a member of the British fleet under AdmiralJames Stirling.The fleet docked at Nagasaki and negotiated and signed theAnglo-Japanese Friendship Treatyon October 14. On that occasion, Otokichi met with many Japanese, includingFukuzawa Yukichi.He was apparently offered permission to live in Japan, but he chose to return to his family in Shanghai.

Toward the end of his life, Otokichi moved from Shanghai to Singapore, his wife's native island, where he became the first known Japanese resident of Singapore.The British had compensated him generously for his contribution to the treaty with Japan, and he had done well in business deals in Shanghai. He apparently rented a luxurious colonial house onOrchard Road,which is where he died of tuberculosis at the age of 49, in 1867.Otokichi was buried at theJapanese Cemetery of Singapore.Half of his remains were returned to his hometown ofMihamain Japan on February 20, 2005.

In popular culture

The story of theHojunmarucastaways was adapted as the feature filmKaireiin 1983.Despite starring country singerJohnny Cashas John McLoughlin, and having a reported budget of US$4,000,000, the film was not a commercial success.

See also

• Nakahama Manjirō,another castaway, who went to America 10 years later.
• Oguri Jukichi,another castaway, whose damaged vesselTokujomarudrifted to vicinity ofSanta Barbara, Californiain 1815.
• Hasekura Tsunenaga,who went to Europe through Mexico on a diplomatic mission in 1614, on the JapanesegalleonSan Juan Bautista.
• Tanaka Shōsukevisited the Americas in 1610
• William Adams (sailor),English pilot of Dutch fleet who settled in Japan 1600.
• Christopher and Cosmas,first Japanese to visit England in 1591
• Bernardo the Japanese,first Japanese person to set foot in Europe
• Ranald MacDonald,first native-English speaker to teach English in Japan
• Tsudayu,castaway onUnalaska, Alaska,first Japanese to complete acircumnavigationof the world withNikolai Rezanovin 1806
• Wakamiya-maru,a 1794 Japanese shipwreck inAlaska,some of the survivors becoming the first Japanese to circumnavigate the world, as passengers with thefirst Russian circumnavigation.

External links

• Life of Otokichi
• Friends of MacDonald official website