1 00:00:09,562 --> 00:00:10,202 Speaker 1: Originals. 2 00:00:10,402 --> 00:00:18,722 Speaker 2: This is an iHeart original. The westernmost tip of the 3 00:00:18,762 --> 00:00:23,202 Speaker 2: Olympic Peninsula is a bit of a desolate place, thick 4 00:00:23,242 --> 00:00:27,922 Speaker 2: with trees and prone to storms. It's where the northwestern 5 00:00:28,162 --> 00:00:33,602 Speaker 2: US disappears into the Pacific Ocean. The rocky coastline is 6 00:00:33,842 --> 00:00:39,362 Speaker 2: especially forbidding and tends to catch ships unaware. That's what 7 00:00:39,522 --> 00:00:44,802 Speaker 2: happened one cold day in January eighteen thirty four, when 8 00:00:44,842 --> 00:00:49,282 Speaker 2: a battered wooden ship snagged on the rocks and began 9 00:00:49,562 --> 00:00:53,762 Speaker 2: leaning to one side. The ship had already been through 10 00:00:53,842 --> 00:00:56,962 Speaker 2: a lot, and so had the three men who soon 11 00:00:57,242 --> 00:01:02,202 Speaker 2: trudged up the beach, gaunt and bedraggled from fourteen months 12 00:01:02,202 --> 00:01:06,762 Speaker 2: at sea. The trio probably didn't look like much of 13 00:01:07,042 --> 00:01:11,242 Speaker 2: them were barely into their teen years. All three almost 14 00:01:11,402 --> 00:01:16,482 Speaker 2: certainly needed a hot meal and a bath. As unimpressive 15 00:01:16,602 --> 00:01:20,242 Speaker 2: as they probably looked, the three men must have been 16 00:01:20,282 --> 00:01:24,202 Speaker 2: an astonishing site to the members of the Macaw Nation, 17 00:01:24,762 --> 00:01:29,042 Speaker 2: the local Native Americans who first spotted them on the beach. 18 00:01:29,802 --> 00:01:35,362 Speaker 2: That's because the three shipwrecked sailors were far far from home, 19 00:01:36,082 --> 00:01:39,562 Speaker 2: in fact, farther away from home than they could have 20 00:01:39,842 --> 00:01:45,042 Speaker 2: ever imagined, going blown off course in a violent storm 21 00:01:45,242 --> 00:01:49,642 Speaker 2: more than a year earlier. They were the first Japanese 22 00:01:49,722 --> 00:01:54,242 Speaker 2: people known to set foot in what is now Washington State. 23 00:01:54,922 --> 00:01:58,842 Speaker 2: They may have been the very first Japanese people to 24 00:01:58,922 --> 00:02:03,922 Speaker 2: set foot in America period. Back in eighteen thirty four. 25 00:02:04,042 --> 00:02:08,602 Speaker 2: The Macaw had little if any idea Japanese people existed, 26 00:02:08,962 --> 00:02:14,002 Speaker 2: and these Japanese sailors, who were poor peasants, had little 27 00:02:14,162 --> 00:02:17,722 Speaker 2: if any idea the Macaw existed. It was, in the 28 00:02:17,762 --> 00:02:22,122 Speaker 2: words of one scholar, about as weird for both sides 29 00:02:22,522 --> 00:02:26,282 Speaker 2: as a Martian landing would be for us. But for 30 00:02:26,362 --> 00:02:29,122 Speaker 2: the three men on that beach, it was only a 31 00:02:29,162 --> 00:02:34,122 Speaker 2: single moment in one of history's most amazing journeys. The 32 00:02:34,242 --> 00:02:37,562 Speaker 2: trio would end up going halfway around the world and 33 00:02:37,682 --> 00:02:41,602 Speaker 2: back again, seeing things they never could have dreamed of, 34 00:02:42,122 --> 00:02:46,762 Speaker 2: and acting as accidental pioneers in a world that was 35 00:02:46,802 --> 00:02:51,562 Speaker 2: on the precipice of being transformed. Yet at the moment 36 00:02:51,762 --> 00:02:55,242 Speaker 2: the men staggered up the beach on the Olympic Peninsula, 37 00:02:55,442 --> 00:03:00,562 Speaker 2: they probably had two pressing questions, where the heck were 38 00:03:00,602 --> 00:03:06,602 Speaker 2: they exactly? And how or when would they ever get home? 39 00:03:08,402 --> 00:03:13,402 Speaker 2: Welcome to very special episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm 40 00:03:13,442 --> 00:03:17,642 Speaker 2: your host Dana Schwartz, and this is no turning back 41 00:03:18,042 --> 00:03:24,122 Speaker 2: the amazing journey of the Three ki Chies. My husband 42 00:03:24,162 --> 00:03:26,882 Speaker 2: is actually from the Pacific Northwest and he had never 43 00:03:26,962 --> 00:03:28,202 Speaker 2: heard of this story before. 44 00:03:28,362 --> 00:03:29,522 Speaker 3: That's what I love about this. 45 00:03:29,842 --> 00:03:32,002 Speaker 1: That's wild. I mean, as a first contact story, and 46 00:03:32,082 --> 00:03:34,122 Speaker 1: you think it would be like just a legend it's 47 00:03:34,162 --> 00:03:36,762 Speaker 1: always told. Can there be something you learned about in school? 48 00:03:37,162 --> 00:03:37,522 Speaker 3: Yeah? 49 00:03:37,602 --> 00:03:40,362 Speaker 4: Yeah, this had that stuff you missed in history class. 50 00:03:40,442 --> 00:03:42,962 Speaker 4: Feel where we never talked about any of this. It's 51 00:03:43,002 --> 00:03:46,162 Speaker 4: like a Below Deck season gone terribly wrong. 52 00:03:47,402 --> 00:03:50,682 Speaker 3: I'm laughing. I've never seen below Deck. It's fun. People 53 00:03:50,802 --> 00:03:51,082 Speaker 3: like it. 54 00:03:53,402 --> 00:03:55,082 Speaker 4: We'll do an episode on below Deck. 55 00:03:55,282 --> 00:03:55,922 Speaker 3: I can't wait. 56 00:03:58,642 --> 00:04:02,042 Speaker 2: The village of Onia is wedged between the mountains and 57 00:04:02,202 --> 00:04:07,162 Speaker 2: the sea on the southern part of Japan's Cheetah Peninsula. Today, 58 00:04:07,322 --> 00:04:10,682 Speaker 2: it's known for its family friendly beaches and its fishing, 59 00:04:11,322 --> 00:04:14,762 Speaker 2: but it's also known in Japan as the birthplace of 60 00:04:14,842 --> 00:04:21,602 Speaker 2: the three Kichis, Otokichi, Kukichi, and Iwakichi, the three sailors 61 00:04:21,642 --> 00:04:26,522 Speaker 2: who staggered up that Olympic Peninsula beach in eighteen thirty four. 62 00:04:27,202 --> 00:04:32,522 Speaker 2: Otokichi and Kiukichi, fourteen and fifteen years old, respectively, were 63 00:04:32,562 --> 00:04:38,362 Speaker 2: apprentice cooks. Iwakichi, aged twenty eight, was a ship navigator. 64 00:04:38,922 --> 00:04:42,122 Speaker 2: When the three set sail on a cargo vessel called 65 00:04:42,122 --> 00:04:47,122 Speaker 2: the Hojin Maru, they were probably expecting a pretty routine journey. 66 00:04:47,682 --> 00:04:52,362 Speaker 2: The destination Edo known today as Tokyo. Back in the 67 00:04:52,482 --> 00:04:56,762 Speaker 2: nineteenth century, Edo is where the Shogun lived, the Shogun 68 00:04:56,842 --> 00:05:00,842 Speaker 2: being the military dictator who ruled Japan at the time. 69 00:05:01,802 --> 00:05:06,162 Speaker 2: The Hojinmoru was carrying rice and porcelain meant as the 70 00:05:06,322 --> 00:05:10,522 Speaker 2: annual tribute to the Shogun. When the ship left in 71 00:05:10,642 --> 00:05:15,402 Speaker 2: late eighteen thirty two, the sailors on board probably expected 72 00:05:15,402 --> 00:05:19,162 Speaker 2: to spend just a few days making the three hundred 73 00:05:19,202 --> 00:05:22,882 Speaker 2: and twenty five mile trip to the port nearest the 74 00:05:22,922 --> 00:05:28,082 Speaker 2: Shogun's palace, but the Hojin Maru and the Kichis never 75 00:05:28,162 --> 00:05:33,122 Speaker 2: made it as far as Edo. Instead, shortly after leaving port, 76 00:05:33,642 --> 00:05:39,202 Speaker 2: a violent storm took hold, Unfortunately for the crew. Japanese 77 00:05:39,242 --> 00:05:43,562 Speaker 2: ships like the Hojin Maru had some design characteristics that 78 00:05:43,722 --> 00:05:48,202 Speaker 2: weren't so great for typhoons. They were built with enormous 79 00:05:48,362 --> 00:05:53,042 Speaker 2: rudders and one very tall mast. They didn't have a keel, 80 00:05:53,602 --> 00:05:56,482 Speaker 2: that big blade that sticks down into the water from 81 00:05:56,522 --> 00:05:59,922 Speaker 2: a ship's hull and helps to keep it stable. In 82 00:06:00,042 --> 00:06:04,402 Speaker 2: typhoons like this one, the rudders would often break off, 83 00:06:04,842 --> 00:06:09,042 Speaker 2: leaving the ship unable to steer. With no keel to 84 00:06:09,082 --> 00:06:13,042 Speaker 2: stabilize the vessel, the tall mast would leave the ship 85 00:06:13,242 --> 00:06:18,202 Speaker 2: prone to tipping over and capsizing. Some scholars argue that 86 00:06:18,322 --> 00:06:22,162 Speaker 2: design was intentional. You see, at the time, the shogun 87 00:06:22,202 --> 00:06:27,202 Speaker 2: didn't want ships surviving sailing on the open ocean far 88 00:06:27,242 --> 00:06:31,922 Speaker 2: from their nation's shores. In the mid seventeenth century, Japan 89 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:36,442 Speaker 2: had instituted a policy of near total isolation when it 90 00:06:36,482 --> 00:06:42,242 Speaker 2: came to most foreigners, especially Europeans. Except for a few 91 00:06:42,482 --> 00:06:47,202 Speaker 2: Dutch and Chinese traders in Nagasaki Bay, almost nothing in 92 00:06:47,242 --> 00:06:50,922 Speaker 2: the way of foreign influence was supposed to come into Japan, 93 00:06:51,642 --> 00:06:56,962 Speaker 2: and almost nothing was supposed to come out leaving Japanese soil. 94 00:06:57,482 --> 00:07:01,322 Speaker 2: Even being seen with a foreigner, even talking to one, 95 00:07:01,762 --> 00:07:04,042 Speaker 2: was generally punishable by death. 96 00:07:05,122 --> 00:07:08,922 Speaker 5: This seclusion policy meant that Japan had ironically over two 97 00:07:08,962 --> 00:07:12,922 Speaker 5: hundred years of peace. It was never colonized by foreign powers. 98 00:07:13,322 --> 00:07:15,402 Speaker 5: But the other side of it is is that that 99 00:07:15,482 --> 00:07:18,842 Speaker 5: seclusion policy it could be very very cool as well, 100 00:07:19,042 --> 00:07:21,042 Speaker 5: just like the Berlin Wall could be very very cool 101 00:07:21,522 --> 00:07:22,362 Speaker 5: during the Cold War. 102 00:07:23,562 --> 00:07:27,962 Speaker 2: That's Frederick Schatt, a writer, interpreter, and translator who has 103 00:07:28,002 --> 00:07:31,402 Speaker 2: written extensively on Japan and Japanese culture. 104 00:07:32,722 --> 00:07:35,322 Speaker 5: This had all kinds of implications because it meant that 105 00:07:35,402 --> 00:07:39,202 Speaker 5: if you wound up accidentally leaving Japan as a drifter 106 00:07:39,562 --> 00:07:43,042 Speaker 5: or a castaway and a ship that was disabled, you 107 00:07:43,122 --> 00:07:45,722 Speaker 5: were not welcome home. Hundreds of people who of course 108 00:07:45,802 --> 00:07:47,922 Speaker 5: just went off, maybe thousands, you know, went off into 109 00:07:47,962 --> 00:07:49,482 Speaker 5: the Pacific Ocean and disappeared. 110 00:07:49,962 --> 00:07:53,162 Speaker 2: This event was so common there was even a ritual 111 00:07:53,242 --> 00:07:54,242 Speaker 2: for when it happened. 112 00:07:54,922 --> 00:07:58,882 Speaker 5: Your writer is torn off, the ship is disabled. You 113 00:07:59,002 --> 00:08:01,842 Speaker 5: cut down the mast so the ship is not turned 114 00:08:01,882 --> 00:08:06,082 Speaker 5: over in the wind, and then you pray, and you 115 00:08:06,202 --> 00:08:10,722 Speaker 5: cut off your top knots, and you pray to the gods. 116 00:08:11,682 --> 00:08:14,562 Speaker 5: You leave your life to the wind and the ocean, 117 00:08:14,922 --> 00:08:16,722 Speaker 5: and you drift, and you drift and you drift. 118 00:08:17,522 --> 00:08:20,002 Speaker 2: In the case of the ki Cheese, their ship made 119 00:08:20,082 --> 00:08:23,122 Speaker 2: it through the storm even though it lost both its 120 00:08:23,242 --> 00:08:27,682 Speaker 2: rudder and its mast. But now off course, it drifted 121 00:08:27,802 --> 00:08:30,362 Speaker 2: into a current it was never meant to be in 122 00:08:30,922 --> 00:08:34,762 Speaker 2: the so called black current. All in all, the ship 123 00:08:34,802 --> 00:08:38,522 Speaker 2: would drift along that current across the Pacific Ocean to 124 00:08:38,682 --> 00:08:42,322 Speaker 2: North America. No one is quite sure how the ki 125 00:08:42,482 --> 00:08:45,762 Speaker 2: Cheese managed to survive that long on the open ocean, 126 00:08:46,322 --> 00:08:49,282 Speaker 2: but they had a few things happening in their favor. 127 00:08:49,922 --> 00:08:50,922 Speaker 2: Here's Fred again. 128 00:08:51,762 --> 00:08:55,122 Speaker 5: One thing they had going for them was that in 129 00:08:55,162 --> 00:08:57,882 Speaker 5: this case was that they were carrying rice, so they 130 00:08:57,882 --> 00:09:00,282 Speaker 5: had a lot of rice t eat, and they were fishermen, 131 00:09:00,762 --> 00:09:03,882 Speaker 5: so the crew could catch a lot of fish. But 132 00:09:03,882 --> 00:09:06,082 Speaker 5: then the question is, of course, how do you avoid 133 00:09:06,122 --> 00:09:09,242 Speaker 5: getting scurvy, and even more than that, how do you 134 00:09:09,722 --> 00:09:13,922 Speaker 5: not die from dehydration because you can't drink sea water 135 00:09:14,922 --> 00:09:15,562 Speaker 5: in this way. 136 00:09:15,642 --> 00:09:19,082 Speaker 2: At least, Japanese ships like the Hojin Mauru were frequently 137 00:09:19,162 --> 00:09:23,162 Speaker 2: prepared for these types of situations. They often carried a 138 00:09:23,162 --> 00:09:26,122 Speaker 2: piece of equipment called arenbiki. 139 00:09:26,682 --> 00:09:31,242 Speaker 5: And anambiki was a ceramic kind of porcelain device used 140 00:09:31,282 --> 00:09:36,562 Speaker 5: to distill sake and also especially chochu, which is potato wine. 141 00:09:36,882 --> 00:09:39,762 Speaker 5: But it could also be used to distill seawater and 142 00:09:39,802 --> 00:09:41,402 Speaker 5: you could create pure water from this. 143 00:09:42,482 --> 00:09:47,442 Speaker 2: Despite these assets, disease and exposure eventually carried off most 144 00:09:47,482 --> 00:09:51,282 Speaker 2: of the crew. In fact, only the three ki Chies 145 00:09:51,802 --> 00:09:58,282 Speaker 2: managed to survive the fourteen month journey The Macaw who 146 00:09:58,322 --> 00:10:01,442 Speaker 2: found them on shore were used to shipwrecks from Japan, 147 00:10:02,002 --> 00:10:05,322 Speaker 2: and they often collected the contents of those shipwrecks for 148 00:10:05,602 --> 00:10:08,482 Speaker 2: metal that they could use to make weapons or trade with. 149 00:10:09,122 --> 00:10:13,282 Speaker 2: But one thing they weren't used to finding was living sailors, 150 00:10:13,842 --> 00:10:17,442 Speaker 2: at least not ones from as far away as Japan. 151 00:10:18,162 --> 00:10:21,882 Speaker 2: The Macaw brought the men back to their Cedar longhouse, 152 00:10:22,282 --> 00:10:26,082 Speaker 2: feeding them dried fish and other foods and wrapping them 153 00:10:26,122 --> 00:10:30,802 Speaker 2: in furs, but the Macaw also enslaved them, something that 154 00:10:30,922 --> 00:10:35,042 Speaker 2: was actually pretty normal back then. Here's Fred shot again. 155 00:10:35,722 --> 00:10:40,042 Speaker 5: Slavery was very common in the Pacific Northwest, all along 156 00:10:40,042 --> 00:10:42,162 Speaker 5: the coast, and it didn't have anything to do with 157 00:10:42,242 --> 00:10:44,922 Speaker 5: race at all. It was more like we beat you, 158 00:10:45,882 --> 00:10:49,362 Speaker 5: we're not going to kill you, and in return, you're 159 00:10:49,402 --> 00:10:50,162 Speaker 5: going to work for us. 160 00:10:50,762 --> 00:10:54,682 Speaker 2: And the Kichies did work for the Macaw, gathering seaweed 161 00:10:54,802 --> 00:10:58,122 Speaker 2: and shellfish on the beach and firewood in the forest, 162 00:10:58,642 --> 00:11:03,082 Speaker 2: often handcuffed together with strips of leather, but they didn't 163 00:11:03,162 --> 00:11:07,402 Speaker 2: work for long. Soon word of the trio reached a 164 00:11:07,562 --> 00:11:12,082 Speaker 2: powerful figure on the other side of the forest, across 165 00:11:12,122 --> 00:11:16,682 Speaker 2: the peninsula, through miles and miles of dense rainforest, and 166 00:11:16,882 --> 00:11:20,562 Speaker 2: down on the northern banks of the Columbia River, there 167 00:11:20,682 --> 00:11:25,442 Speaker 2: was another world. It was a place where quote everything, 168 00:11:25,762 --> 00:11:30,162 Speaker 2: and of every kind and description could be quote got. 169 00:11:30,642 --> 00:11:35,642 Speaker 2: In the words of American naval officer and explorer Charles Wilkes, 170 00:11:36,402 --> 00:11:40,242 Speaker 2: one American missionary even called it the New York of 171 00:11:40,322 --> 00:11:45,442 Speaker 2: the Pacific Ocean. It was Fort Vancouver, the headquarters and 172 00:11:45,602 --> 00:11:50,082 Speaker 2: supply depot for the Hudson's Bay Company, and the most 173 00:11:50,242 --> 00:11:55,722 Speaker 2: important community on the Pacific coast. Now today, the Hudson's 174 00:11:55,722 --> 00:12:00,282 Speaker 2: Bay Company is perhaps best known as a Canadian department 175 00:12:00,322 --> 00:12:04,882 Speaker 2: store with colorful striped blankets, But back then it was 176 00:12:04,962 --> 00:12:10,122 Speaker 2: a vast commercial enterprise with an English royal charter that 177 00:12:10,322 --> 00:12:14,442 Speaker 2: stretched across the North American continent. It even acted like 178 00:12:14,482 --> 00:12:18,642 Speaker 2: a government in some places. One of its major operations 179 00:12:18,842 --> 00:12:22,882 Speaker 2: was running the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest. Fort 180 00:12:23,002 --> 00:12:28,602 Speaker 2: Vancouver was filled with hundreds of fur traders, pioneers, missionaries, 181 00:12:28,682 --> 00:12:32,922 Speaker 2: and Native Americans. It was a crossroads of culture that 182 00:12:33,042 --> 00:12:37,162 Speaker 2: connected points as far away as Alaska, Chile, and the 183 00:12:37,202 --> 00:12:41,362 Speaker 2: East coast of the US and Canada. In eighteen fifty nine, 184 00:12:41,762 --> 00:12:45,842 Speaker 2: the artist Paul Caine wrote, there was a quote babble 185 00:12:45,922 --> 00:12:49,602 Speaker 2: of languages at the fort. It wouldn't have been unusual 186 00:12:49,722 --> 00:12:53,402 Speaker 2: to see folks from Hawaii and Ireland chatting together at 187 00:12:53,442 --> 00:12:56,802 Speaker 2: the bakery, say, or to watch a Native American person 188 00:12:56,962 --> 00:13:01,162 Speaker 2: interact with a French Canadian trader at the blacksmiths. And 189 00:13:01,362 --> 00:13:06,682 Speaker 2: overseeing it all was John mcloughton, chief Factor, who was 190 00:13:06,722 --> 00:13:10,842 Speaker 2: in charge of all the Hudson's Bay Company operations in 191 00:13:10,882 --> 00:13:15,882 Speaker 2: the Pacific Northwest. A former physician from Quebec, he was 192 00:13:15,922 --> 00:13:20,082 Speaker 2: about six foot four and had flowing white hair, which 193 00:13:20,162 --> 00:13:24,882 Speaker 2: may be why the region's Native Americans called him White Eagle. 194 00:13:25,482 --> 00:13:30,282 Speaker 2: Mclochton helped establish Fort Vancouver, and today he's sometimes called 195 00:13:30,402 --> 00:13:35,962 Speaker 2: the father of Oregon. Mclochton was a savvy guy and ambitious. 196 00:13:36,602 --> 00:13:39,322 Speaker 2: That's why when one of his captains handed him a 197 00:13:39,482 --> 00:13:43,442 Speaker 2: strange message on a scrap of rice paper, he knew 198 00:13:43,522 --> 00:13:47,642 Speaker 2: he had to follow up. The message included a drawing 199 00:13:47,762 --> 00:13:51,882 Speaker 2: of a shipwreck and characters written in kanji, a type 200 00:13:51,882 --> 00:13:56,562 Speaker 2: of Japanese script. The kanji actually spelled out the names 201 00:13:56,602 --> 00:14:00,002 Speaker 2: of the three Kichees, but to mclochton it was just 202 00:14:00,042 --> 00:14:05,802 Speaker 2: a fascinating, if incomprehensible scrawl. Mclachton did not know what 203 00:14:05,882 --> 00:14:08,522 Speaker 2: he was dealing with a exactly, but he could tell 204 00:14:08,642 --> 00:14:11,842 Speaker 2: it was something from Asia that meant it could be 205 00:14:12,122 --> 00:14:17,002 Speaker 2: very valuable. Indeed, at the time, just about everybody was 206 00:14:17,042 --> 00:14:22,202 Speaker 2: interested in trade with Asia, the land of silk, spices, tea, 207 00:14:22,242 --> 00:14:28,122 Speaker 2: and much more. Mclaughton sent several expeditions looking for whoever 208 00:14:28,162 --> 00:14:33,202 Speaker 2: had written the mysterious message. Eventually he succeeded in locating 209 00:14:33,242 --> 00:14:36,562 Speaker 2: the trio and paid a ransom to the Macaw to 210 00:14:36,682 --> 00:14:40,522 Speaker 2: release them from slavery and bring them to Fort Vancouver. 211 00:14:41,642 --> 00:14:44,882 Speaker 2: When the Kei Cheese arrived, they must have been amazed 212 00:14:44,962 --> 00:14:48,522 Speaker 2: by what they saw. The fort's buildings and farms were 213 00:14:48,522 --> 00:14:52,122 Speaker 2: filled with things they had rarely, if ever encountered before, 214 00:14:52,522 --> 00:14:56,082 Speaker 2: things like red meat and guns and glass windows. 215 00:14:56,562 --> 00:14:58,962 Speaker 5: They entered a society which for them it was just 216 00:14:59,282 --> 00:15:02,242 Speaker 5: must have been like another world. You know, they had 217 00:15:02,282 --> 00:15:05,122 Speaker 5: never seen white people before, but here they are in 218 00:15:05,202 --> 00:15:08,722 Speaker 5: Fort Vancouver. It's not just white people. Well, there's half 219 00:15:08,762 --> 00:15:12,242 Speaker 5: Indian and half European. There's a lot of Hawaiians. There's 220 00:15:12,242 --> 00:15:14,962 Speaker 5: a lot of the crewmen on the ships were Hawaiians 221 00:15:14,962 --> 00:15:16,922 Speaker 5: because they knew how to swim. The Europeans didn't know 222 00:15:16,922 --> 00:15:19,482 Speaker 5: how to swim, so this was I'm sure for them, 223 00:15:19,522 --> 00:15:22,442 Speaker 5: it's just a totally totally different world, like landing on 224 00:15:22,482 --> 00:15:23,282 Speaker 5: another planet. 225 00:15:24,322 --> 00:15:26,762 Speaker 2: And there was something else new for the Kichies at 226 00:15:26,802 --> 00:15:30,842 Speaker 2: Fort Vancouver. It was an ancient religion, but one that 227 00:15:31,042 --> 00:15:36,242 Speaker 2: was brand new to them, Christianity. After recovering in the 228 00:15:36,242 --> 00:15:40,642 Speaker 2: Fort's hospital, the trio were presented to the Methodist Mission 229 00:15:40,722 --> 00:15:44,442 Speaker 2: of Oregon. They were taught English and instructed in the 230 00:15:44,482 --> 00:15:49,042 Speaker 2: new faith. Their teacher, Cyrus Shepherd, mentioned them in a 231 00:15:49,082 --> 00:15:53,882 Speaker 2: report to supervisors back east quote while at school, they 232 00:15:53,882 --> 00:15:58,562 Speaker 2: made rapid improvement and were remarkably studious and docile, and 233 00:15:58,802 --> 00:16:02,082 Speaker 2: learned to repeat the Lord's Prayer and some portions of 234 00:16:02,122 --> 00:16:06,082 Speaker 2: the Scriptures. Christianity would go on to play a big 235 00:16:06,202 --> 00:16:09,082 Speaker 2: role in the Key Cheese Journey, and it was part 236 00:16:09,082 --> 00:16:13,682 Speaker 2: of the plan that White Eagle John mcloughton began hatching 237 00:16:13,922 --> 00:16:17,522 Speaker 2: not long after their arrival. Here's Fred shot again. 238 00:16:18,442 --> 00:16:21,482 Speaker 5: And of course John McLaughlin was a very smart man 239 00:16:21,522 --> 00:16:24,722 Speaker 5: with a global view. He I'm sure was thinking that 240 00:16:24,802 --> 00:16:27,882 Speaker 5: these three Japanese could be used by Britain to help 241 00:16:27,922 --> 00:16:30,882 Speaker 5: pry open Japan for trade. And of course, in the 242 00:16:30,922 --> 00:16:34,122 Speaker 5: back of everybody's mind. There's also this other motive of 243 00:16:34,162 --> 00:16:37,682 Speaker 5: maybe being able to convert Japanese to Christianity, that kind 244 00:16:37,722 --> 00:16:40,922 Speaker 5: of thing. As I'm sure for him he was probably thinking, Wow, 245 00:16:41,042 --> 00:16:43,162 Speaker 5: you know, this will really look good on my resume, 246 00:16:43,362 --> 00:16:43,562 Speaker 5: you know. 247 00:16:45,242 --> 00:16:49,362 Speaker 2: On November eighteenth, eighteen thirty four, mcloughton wrote a letter 248 00:16:49,482 --> 00:16:52,282 Speaker 2: to the head of the Hudson's Bay Company in London. 249 00:16:52,922 --> 00:16:55,962 Speaker 2: He described his plan to send the Trio there on 250 00:16:56,042 --> 00:16:59,482 Speaker 2: the company's brig the aptly named Eagle. 251 00:17:00,602 --> 00:17:02,962 Speaker 6: As I believe they are the first Japanese who have 252 00:17:03,042 --> 00:17:05,642 Speaker 6: been in the power of the British nation. I thought 253 00:17:05,642 --> 00:17:09,482 Speaker 6: the British government would avail itself of this opportunity to 254 00:17:09,642 --> 00:17:13,602 Speaker 6: endeavor to open a communication with the Japanese government, and 255 00:17:13,642 --> 00:17:16,522 Speaker 6: that by these men going to Great Britain, they would 256 00:17:16,522 --> 00:17:19,642 Speaker 6: have an opportunity of being instructed and convey to their 257 00:17:19,642 --> 00:17:23,602 Speaker 6: countrymen a respectable idea of the grandeur and power of 258 00:17:23,642 --> 00:17:24,402 Speaker 6: the British nation. 259 00:17:24,842 --> 00:17:28,442 Speaker 2: Alas history does not record what the Kichies thought of 260 00:17:28,482 --> 00:17:33,202 Speaker 2: this plan. We have no diaries, letters, or interviews from them, 261 00:17:33,842 --> 00:17:37,562 Speaker 2: but after being away from Japan for two years, it's 262 00:17:37,602 --> 00:17:41,282 Speaker 2: safe to imagine the Trio must have been homesick, all 263 00:17:41,322 --> 00:17:45,482 Speaker 2: but desperate for a place with a familiar landscape, language, 264 00:17:45,522 --> 00:17:50,162 Speaker 2: and food. Unfortunately for the Kichies, they were once again 265 00:17:50,682 --> 00:17:54,682 Speaker 2: caught up in currents beyond their control, and it was 266 00:17:54,802 --> 00:17:58,482 Speaker 2: far from the last time they'd be used as ponds 267 00:17:58,562 --> 00:18:02,362 Speaker 2: in a scheme that involved some of the most powerful 268 00:18:02,442 --> 00:18:12,442 Speaker 2: forces of the nineteenth century. It's June eighteen thirty five 269 00:18:12,602 --> 00:18:16,002 Speaker 2: in London. The Eagle is docked on the Thames River 270 00:18:16,162 --> 00:18:20,922 Speaker 2: after a dangerous seven month journey from the Pacific northwest 271 00:18:21,402 --> 00:18:25,602 Speaker 2: down around the tip of South America. London is the 272 00:18:25,642 --> 00:18:29,882 Speaker 2: capital of what would become the largest empire in history, 273 00:18:30,362 --> 00:18:35,602 Speaker 2: and its bustling. It's packed with people, and especially since 274 00:18:35,682 --> 00:18:40,282 Speaker 2: its summer, it really smells. The Thames itself was filled 275 00:18:40,362 --> 00:18:43,922 Speaker 2: with sewage. Yet the view from the river must have 276 00:18:44,042 --> 00:18:48,202 Speaker 2: been impressive, with Saint Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of 277 00:18:48,282 --> 00:18:53,162 Speaker 2: London looming from its banks. Far from all this quote 278 00:18:53,482 --> 00:18:57,642 Speaker 2: grandeur and power of the British nation that John Mcloughton 279 00:18:57,762 --> 00:19:02,322 Speaker 2: hoped the Japanese men would experience. The three Kichies stayed 280 00:19:02,442 --> 00:19:07,442 Speaker 2: on board the Eagle, waiting to hear their fate. And waiting. 281 00:19:08,322 --> 00:19:12,002 Speaker 2: They stayed on the ship for ten days, though they 282 00:19:12,042 --> 00:19:15,642 Speaker 2: did get one day out to see the sites. When 283 00:19:15,642 --> 00:19:20,002 Speaker 2: the news finally came from the Hudson's Bay Company leaders, 284 00:19:20,562 --> 00:19:25,522 Speaker 2: it wasn't good. The company's top brass eventually wrote back 285 00:19:25,562 --> 00:19:31,282 Speaker 2: to mclochdon that his Majesty's government was not quote disposed 286 00:19:31,322 --> 00:19:35,042 Speaker 2: to open a communication with the Japanese government through the 287 00:19:35,162 --> 00:19:40,322 Speaker 2: medium of three shipwrecked seamen. The Hudson's Bay Company was 288 00:19:40,442 --> 00:19:44,882 Speaker 2: not interested in ki Chi diplomacy. So where would the 289 00:19:44,922 --> 00:19:49,242 Speaker 2: three men go next? And why had the Hudson's Bay 290 00:19:49,242 --> 00:19:53,562 Speaker 2: Company and the British government turned their backs on them? 291 00:19:54,042 --> 00:19:58,282 Speaker 2: The answer to both China Here's fred shot again. 292 00:19:59,602 --> 00:20:03,082 Speaker 5: Opimore was about to start, and things for chaotic. They 293 00:20:03,082 --> 00:20:06,242 Speaker 5: had their hands full with China and trying to basically 294 00:20:06,242 --> 00:20:08,322 Speaker 5: carve up parts of China. You know, they were busy 295 00:20:09,082 --> 00:20:10,962 Speaker 5: getting ready for all these things. 296 00:20:11,642 --> 00:20:15,362 Speaker 2: And there may also have been another motivation behind the 297 00:20:15,522 --> 00:20:19,682 Speaker 2: Hudson's Bay Company rebuff, one that went a little beyond 298 00:20:20,042 --> 00:20:21,762 Speaker 2: don't bother us? Where busy? 299 00:20:22,282 --> 00:20:24,802 Speaker 5: And it was known, I mean among people who were 300 00:20:25,162 --> 00:20:28,002 Speaker 5: relatively aware and well read that going back to Japan 301 00:20:28,082 --> 00:20:31,402 Speaker 5: could be very dangerous. And it was well known that 302 00:20:31,602 --> 00:20:35,002 Speaker 5: if you were tainted by Christianity, you could be executed. 303 00:20:35,082 --> 00:20:36,922 Speaker 5: Even American sailors knew that. 304 00:20:37,522 --> 00:20:41,042 Speaker 2: In other words, all that time the Kichies spent in 305 00:20:41,122 --> 00:20:46,042 Speaker 2: Fort Vancouver, learning English, eating meat, using knives, and being 306 00:20:46,122 --> 00:20:51,722 Speaker 2: indoctrinated in Christianity. With every second of exposure, they were 307 00:20:51,762 --> 00:20:55,122 Speaker 2: becoming more and more dangerous in the eyes of the 308 00:20:55,242 --> 00:20:59,562 Speaker 2: Japanese government, which meant that even if the Kichies did 309 00:20:59,762 --> 00:21:04,042 Speaker 2: get home, home might not want them. So what were 310 00:21:04,082 --> 00:21:06,522 Speaker 2: the British going to do with them? 311 00:21:07,122 --> 00:21:11,202 Speaker 5: Well, they're basically like I guess, they're treated like almost 312 00:21:11,242 --> 00:21:14,602 Speaker 5: stateless people. Everyone knows they can't go back to Japan 313 00:21:15,002 --> 00:21:17,402 Speaker 5: through normal channels. There are no normal channels. 314 00:21:18,402 --> 00:21:21,882 Speaker 2: The British decided to ship the trio off to the 315 00:21:22,002 --> 00:21:26,162 Speaker 2: port of Macau, the closest place to Japan, where they 316 00:21:26,162 --> 00:21:30,282 Speaker 2: had an outpost. From there, British officials handed them over 317 00:21:30,402 --> 00:21:35,162 Speaker 2: to Karl Gutzlaf, a German missionary and linguist who was 318 00:21:35,282 --> 00:21:40,562 Speaker 2: also secretary to the British trade representative in China. Gutzlaf, 319 00:21:40,842 --> 00:21:46,322 Speaker 2: like mclochton, was an ambitious guy, a rogue evangelist promoting 320 00:21:46,442 --> 00:21:51,162 Speaker 2: Christianity in Asia, and soon enough, he too came up 321 00:21:51,202 --> 00:21:55,482 Speaker 2: with a plan for how to use the Kichies. Gutslaf 322 00:21:55,842 --> 00:21:59,882 Speaker 2: wanted the trio to help him translate the New Testament 323 00:22:00,362 --> 00:22:02,562 Speaker 2: into Japanese. 324 00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:08,122 Speaker 7: And some of the missionaries, particularly Gutslav and Williams, were 325 00:22:08,162 --> 00:22:11,842 Speaker 7: forward looking, and they believed that Japan would sooner or 326 00:22:11,962 --> 00:22:15,402 Speaker 7: later open its stores, and they wanted to be prepared 327 00:22:16,282 --> 00:22:21,082 Speaker 7: when that happened, so that they could get missionaries there 328 00:22:21,162 --> 00:22:25,522 Speaker 7: to evangelized for Christianity at the earliest possible opportunity. 329 00:22:26,122 --> 00:22:30,242 Speaker 2: Steve Cole is an Associate professor emeritus in Japanese literature 330 00:22:30,282 --> 00:22:35,362 Speaker 2: at Oregon State University. He's probably America's greatest expert on 331 00:22:35,362 --> 00:22:36,442 Speaker 2: the Kichies story. 332 00:22:37,442 --> 00:22:42,362 Speaker 7: They undertook to translate the Bible into Japanese. How are 333 00:22:42,402 --> 00:22:44,762 Speaker 7: they going to do that? And if they didn't have 334 00:22:45,402 --> 00:22:49,362 Speaker 7: a teacher of Japanese, they didn't have a dictionary, they 335 00:22:49,362 --> 00:22:54,082 Speaker 7: didn't even have much in the way of texts in Japanese. 336 00:22:54,402 --> 00:22:59,722 Speaker 7: And so suddenly here's three native speakers of Japanese show 337 00:22:59,842 --> 00:23:03,242 Speaker 7: up in Macau, and they say they must have been 338 00:23:03,602 --> 00:23:06,202 Speaker 7: heaven sent to help us in this project. 339 00:23:07,202 --> 00:23:11,762 Speaker 2: But there were some problems. After all, the Kichis were 340 00:23:12,042 --> 00:23:18,922 Speaker 2: semi literate sailors, not professional translators. They probably only knew Katakana, 341 00:23:19,402 --> 00:23:23,122 Speaker 2: an angular script. That's just one of the scripts used 342 00:23:23,162 --> 00:23:28,242 Speaker 2: in Japan today. Plus there was another wrinkle. According to 343 00:23:28,362 --> 00:23:29,482 Speaker 2: Fred Shott. 344 00:23:30,642 --> 00:23:33,322 Speaker 5: The Nagoya area or where they're from, has quite a 345 00:23:33,362 --> 00:23:37,162 Speaker 5: strong dialect that sometimes comedians in Japan today make fun of. 346 00:23:38,202 --> 00:23:42,242 Speaker 5: So the First Japanese Bible is a very interesting document, 347 00:23:42,282 --> 00:23:46,162 Speaker 5: and even the first page that I have seen, they're struggling, 348 00:23:46,202 --> 00:23:48,202 Speaker 5: you know, I mean, how do you translate a lot 349 00:23:48,242 --> 00:23:50,722 Speaker 5: of these concepts in the language in the Bible anyway 350 00:23:50,762 --> 00:23:53,482 Speaker 5: into something that makes any sense at all. 351 00:23:53,762 --> 00:23:56,682 Speaker 2: Gutzlaf and the Kichies only got as far as the 352 00:23:56,722 --> 00:24:01,122 Speaker 2: Gospel of John and possibly a few other texts, but 353 00:24:01,282 --> 00:24:04,562 Speaker 2: the results weren't quite seen as up to snuff and 354 00:24:04,762 --> 00:24:08,722 Speaker 2: the project was scrapped. That was okay, because it wasn't 355 00:24:08,762 --> 00:24:12,402 Speaker 2: long before the missionaries figured out something else to do 356 00:24:12,442 --> 00:24:14,882 Speaker 2: with the Kichies. Here's Steve again. 357 00:24:15,882 --> 00:24:20,562 Speaker 7: The missionaries had a great idea, what if we repatriated 358 00:24:20,602 --> 00:24:24,522 Speaker 7: these guys to Japan. Maybe the shogun would look on 359 00:24:24,642 --> 00:24:31,682 Speaker 7: this humanitarian gesture kindly and give us the opportunity to 360 00:24:31,722 --> 00:24:36,122 Speaker 7: do some evangelizing in Japan. And that's where the Morrison 361 00:24:36,802 --> 00:24:37,282 Speaker 7: comes in. 362 00:24:38,282 --> 00:24:41,202 Speaker 2: The Morrison, that's the name of a ship, was a 363 00:24:41,282 --> 00:24:45,482 Speaker 2: go big or go home kind of project. At the time. 364 00:24:45,682 --> 00:24:50,562 Speaker 2: An American merchant named Charles King had recently arrived in 365 00:24:50,682 --> 00:24:56,202 Speaker 2: Macau to trade with China. Besides selling goods, King also 366 00:24:56,362 --> 00:25:00,362 Speaker 2: wanted to spread Christianity in the Far East. He got 367 00:25:00,362 --> 00:25:05,042 Speaker 2: connected to Gutzlaf, who by then had four other Japanese 368 00:25:05,082 --> 00:25:08,762 Speaker 2: sailors at his mission, men who had been rescued from 369 00:25:08,802 --> 00:25:12,962 Speaker 2: a shipwreck in the Philippines. The pair hatched a plan 370 00:25:13,322 --> 00:25:17,362 Speaker 2: to take all seven Japanese men back to their home country. 371 00:25:18,042 --> 00:25:21,602 Speaker 2: King thought he could benefit both as a merchant and 372 00:25:21,922 --> 00:25:26,962 Speaker 2: as an evangelist. Let's call it his business and Bibles motivation. 373 00:25:27,762 --> 00:25:30,682 Speaker 2: As for the Kicheese, it must have seemed like a 374 00:25:30,842 --> 00:25:36,082 Speaker 2: tantalizing chance to finally get home for good. That is, 375 00:25:36,322 --> 00:25:40,962 Speaker 2: if home still wanted them. The Morrison was the first 376 00:25:41,002 --> 00:25:45,002 Speaker 2: American ship to try to visit Japan in thirty years 377 00:25:45,682 --> 00:25:50,762 Speaker 2: before it said sale. King and Gutslaf made special preparations. 378 00:25:51,242 --> 00:25:54,282 Speaker 2: They wanted to show they came in peace, so they 379 00:25:54,402 --> 00:25:57,442 Speaker 2: stripped the ship of its guns and filled the hold 380 00:25:57,522 --> 00:26:02,642 Speaker 2: with gifts, including US history books, a telescope, and a 381 00:26:02,682 --> 00:26:07,682 Speaker 2: portrait of George Washington. They also wrote what they hoped 382 00:26:07,802 --> 00:26:12,282 Speaker 2: would be persuasive letters to the shogun expressing their concern 383 00:26:12,522 --> 00:26:15,962 Speaker 2: for the Kichis and the other castaways, who should be 384 00:26:16,122 --> 00:26:21,082 Speaker 2: quote restored to their homes and behold again their aged parents. 385 00:26:22,002 --> 00:26:25,722 Speaker 2: The letters also emphasized the virtues of opening up a 386 00:26:25,802 --> 00:26:30,522 Speaker 2: relationship with America, a place where people quote, worship the 387 00:26:30,562 --> 00:26:35,482 Speaker 2: God of Peace, respect our superiors, and live in harmony 388 00:26:35,562 --> 00:26:40,322 Speaker 2: with one another. The Morrison set sail on July fourth, 389 00:26:40,402 --> 00:26:45,042 Speaker 2: eighteen thirty seven. King wasn't messing around, and he decided 390 00:26:45,082 --> 00:26:49,122 Speaker 2: the ship should go straight to Edobay, straight to the 391 00:26:49,162 --> 00:26:54,522 Speaker 2: Shogun's capital. Apparently King didn't know that sending the Morrison 392 00:26:54,642 --> 00:27:00,162 Speaker 2: directly to Edobey was more or less suicidal. Back in 393 00:27:00,282 --> 00:27:04,762 Speaker 2: eighteen twenty five, the Shogunate had issued an expulsion decree 394 00:27:05,082 --> 00:27:08,922 Speaker 2: that set all foreign ships approaching Japan were to be 395 00:27:09,082 --> 00:27:13,162 Speaker 2: immediately fired upon. As Stephen Cole tells it. 396 00:27:13,442 --> 00:27:18,282 Speaker 7: Their policy in Japanese they call uchi haai, which is 397 00:27:18,482 --> 00:27:22,162 Speaker 7: translated off in a shell and repel. When a foreign 398 00:27:22,242 --> 00:27:26,682 Speaker 7: ship approaches, just shoot at it and keep shooting until 399 00:27:26,722 --> 00:27:29,042 Speaker 7: they get the message and go away. 400 00:27:29,842 --> 00:27:34,162 Speaker 2: The Japanese had artillery emplacements set up on both sides 401 00:27:34,202 --> 00:27:37,642 Speaker 2: of the channel leading into Edo Bay. When the Morrison 402 00:27:37,802 --> 00:27:42,482 Speaker 2: arrived and started sailing up the channel, the batteries opened fire. 403 00:27:43,322 --> 00:27:45,882 Speaker 2: At first, some of those on the ship didn't take 404 00:27:45,962 --> 00:27:49,162 Speaker 2: the fire too seriously. They thought it might just be 405 00:27:49,242 --> 00:27:52,642 Speaker 2: a signal from the lookouts back to Edo, but others 406 00:27:52,682 --> 00:27:55,642 Speaker 2: on board had a feeling it was a warning to 407 00:27:55,722 --> 00:27:59,522 Speaker 2: the ship. Soon the truth became clear. 408 00:28:00,202 --> 00:28:03,922 Speaker 7: And then pretty soon they began to see water spouts 409 00:28:03,962 --> 00:28:08,162 Speaker 7: as cannon balls were landing in the water around the ship, 410 00:28:08,642 --> 00:28:13,162 Speaker 7: and they said, well, they're shooting at us well, and 411 00:28:13,242 --> 00:28:16,442 Speaker 7: so the Morrison backed off a little bit, got out 412 00:28:16,522 --> 00:28:21,282 Speaker 7: of range and said we'll anchor here until morning and 413 00:28:21,322 --> 00:28:24,682 Speaker 7: then we'll try to go ashore and negotiate. 414 00:28:25,282 --> 00:28:29,842 Speaker 2: But that only made the Japanese more determined. During the night, 415 00:28:30,042 --> 00:28:33,762 Speaker 2: the Japanese fortress commander brought his cannons down from the 416 00:28:33,842 --> 00:28:37,722 Speaker 2: hillside onto the beach so he could fire point blank 417 00:28:37,922 --> 00:28:39,842 Speaker 2: at the Morrison, and. 418 00:28:39,882 --> 00:28:42,722 Speaker 7: As soon as it was light enough to see in 419 00:28:42,762 --> 00:28:47,602 Speaker 7: the morning, they opened fire once again, and the Morrison 420 00:28:47,682 --> 00:28:51,522 Speaker 7: had no choice but to withdraw. 421 00:28:51,642 --> 00:28:55,762 Speaker 2: Undeterred, the ship eventually made it to Kagashima Bay in 422 00:28:55,802 --> 00:28:59,482 Speaker 2: the southern part of the country. There, one of the 423 00:28:59,522 --> 00:29:03,042 Speaker 2: castaways went ashore and talked to some of the officials, 424 00:29:03,442 --> 00:29:07,802 Speaker 2: trying to plead their case. But the next the word 425 00:29:07,962 --> 00:29:11,722 Speaker 2: from the officials came down get rid of that ship. 426 00:29:12,442 --> 00:29:17,442 Speaker 2: Once again, the morrison was barraged by Japanese artillery, and 427 00:29:17,642 --> 00:29:20,722 Speaker 2: once again they were forced to turn around. 428 00:29:21,362 --> 00:29:25,482 Speaker 7: And you can imagine emotionally and psychologically what this must 429 00:29:25,482 --> 00:29:29,282 Speaker 7: have been for these guys. At this point, they'd been 430 00:29:29,922 --> 00:29:36,562 Speaker 7: five years away from home, shipwrecked, captured by Indians, rescued 431 00:29:36,642 --> 00:29:40,682 Speaker 7: by people they didn't know, travel all the way around 432 00:29:40,682 --> 00:29:47,162 Speaker 7: the world. Finally they're within literally yards of home. They 433 00:29:47,162 --> 00:29:50,722 Speaker 7: can see the rice fields, they can see the towns, 434 00:29:50,722 --> 00:29:54,242 Speaker 7: they can see people walking back and forth on the roads, 435 00:29:55,042 --> 00:29:58,362 Speaker 7: and they're being shot at. They're being told not here. 436 00:29:59,482 --> 00:30:03,962 Speaker 2: Steve thinks the ki Cheese must have felt devastated, unwanted. 437 00:30:04,922 --> 00:30:08,922 Speaker 7: In a fit of depression, some of them shaved their 438 00:30:08,962 --> 00:30:13,562 Speaker 7: heads as a sign of rejection, and they said, no, 439 00:30:13,962 --> 00:30:18,162 Speaker 7: we'll just go back and live our lives among the 440 00:30:18,922 --> 00:30:23,642 Speaker 7: foreign communities in China. Japan doesn't want us, We don't 441 00:30:23,642 --> 00:30:24,322 Speaker 7: want Japan. 442 00:30:25,362 --> 00:30:35,962 Speaker 2: But that wouldn't be the end of the Ki Cheese journey. Today, 443 00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:38,842 Speaker 2: the story of the Three Kei Cheese is remembered better 444 00:30:38,882 --> 00:30:41,962 Speaker 2: in Japan, where there was a best selling novel about 445 00:30:41,962 --> 00:30:45,362 Speaker 2: it in the nineteen eighties and even a movie featuring 446 00:30:45,442 --> 00:30:49,562 Speaker 2: none other than Johnny Cash as White Eagle John Mclockton. 447 00:30:50,122 --> 00:30:52,722 Speaker 2: In the US, there's a monument to the three in 448 00:30:52,882 --> 00:30:57,442 Speaker 2: Fort Vancouver, which is now a National Historic Site, and 449 00:30:57,482 --> 00:31:00,442 Speaker 2: a cherry tree was planted at the Macaw Museum in 450 00:31:00,482 --> 00:31:04,802 Speaker 2: the Olympic Peninsula. But the story is often omitted from 451 00:31:04,842 --> 00:31:09,082 Speaker 2: the larger narrative about Jazzopanese people in the Pacific Northwest 452 00:31:09,442 --> 00:31:12,122 Speaker 2: and America in general, and that's a shame. 453 00:31:13,282 --> 00:31:15,802 Speaker 8: This is a reminder to me, as a historian of 454 00:31:16,082 --> 00:31:20,402 Speaker 8: trans Pacific migration, that migrants have always played a very 455 00:31:20,402 --> 00:31:24,082 Speaker 8: important role in connecting different nations and empires. 456 00:31:24,522 --> 00:31:28,402 Speaker 2: That's Michael Jin, Associate professor at the University of Illinois, 457 00:31:28,522 --> 00:31:31,682 Speaker 2: Chicago and an expert on Asian American history. 458 00:31:32,762 --> 00:31:40,482 Speaker 8: It's easy to overlook this story as history's many unintended accidents, because, 459 00:31:40,522 --> 00:31:42,842 Speaker 8: after all, the Kitsches never meant to travel all the 460 00:31:42,842 --> 00:31:47,962 Speaker 8: way across the ocean to reach North America, but they 461 00:31:48,002 --> 00:31:53,322 Speaker 8: eventually emerged as not unsignificant actors who shaped what was 462 00:31:53,362 --> 00:31:58,482 Speaker 8: perhaps one of the earliest modern diplomatic encounters between the 463 00:31:58,482 --> 00:31:59,722 Speaker 8: British Empire and Japan. 464 00:32:02,122 --> 00:32:05,562 Speaker 2: Back in eighteen thirty seven, when the Kichese ship was 465 00:32:05,682 --> 00:32:10,162 Speaker 2: chased away from by cannons, it ignited a debate in 466 00:32:10,242 --> 00:32:15,682 Speaker 2: some Japanese circles about how to treat foreign ships. After all, 467 00:32:15,722 --> 00:32:19,682 Speaker 2: when people found out that an unarmed ship which had 468 00:32:19,802 --> 00:32:24,442 Speaker 2: arrived on a mercy mission to repatriate lost sailors had 469 00:32:24,482 --> 00:32:28,282 Speaker 2: been shot at, well, it wasn't a very good look. 470 00:32:29,202 --> 00:32:34,162 Speaker 2: Some historians say this internal debate may have helped contribute 471 00:32:34,442 --> 00:32:39,002 Speaker 2: to the end of Japan's seclusion era around twenty years later. 472 00:32:39,882 --> 00:32:43,602 Speaker 2: In any case, as Michael notes, the Kichis were only 473 00:32:43,722 --> 00:32:49,282 Speaker 2: early and accidental migrants in what later became a wave 474 00:32:49,362 --> 00:32:52,002 Speaker 2: of Japanese immigration to the United States. 475 00:32:52,362 --> 00:32:55,682 Speaker 8: Once the transnational immigration became a part of the state 476 00:32:55,762 --> 00:32:58,842 Speaker 8: policy of the major Empire of Japan in the late 477 00:32:58,922 --> 00:33:03,042 Speaker 8: nineteenth century, the Japanese immigrants they would play a very 478 00:33:03,082 --> 00:33:06,482 Speaker 8: important role in the American settler colonial empire on Hawaiian 479 00:33:06,522 --> 00:33:10,442 Speaker 8: Island in the US Western States, in particular, as one 480 00:33:10,482 --> 00:33:12,642 Speaker 8: of the many groups from Asia who were brought to 481 00:33:12,682 --> 00:33:16,842 Speaker 8: North America to replace the indigenous enslave labor. I mean, 482 00:33:16,842 --> 00:33:20,122 Speaker 8: they were regardless a very very important source of labor, 483 00:33:20,402 --> 00:33:23,562 Speaker 8: but they were never meant to be welcomed as future citizens. 484 00:33:24,482 --> 00:33:28,242 Speaker 2: Like the ki Cheese returning home, even the idea of 485 00:33:28,282 --> 00:33:32,882 Speaker 2: what home means could be complicated for these migrants. 486 00:33:33,442 --> 00:33:37,442 Speaker 8: Many migrants themselves came to North America with the understanding 487 00:33:37,562 --> 00:33:40,802 Speaker 8: that they would make some money, then they would go 488 00:33:40,882 --> 00:33:43,762 Speaker 8: back to their hometowns in Japan. But of course we 489 00:33:43,842 --> 00:33:46,882 Speaker 8: know that as difficult as it is for one to 490 00:33:46,962 --> 00:33:50,202 Speaker 8: leave their homes to move to another country, it is 491 00:33:50,242 --> 00:33:53,722 Speaker 8: also not easy to simply pack up and go back. 492 00:33:53,762 --> 00:33:57,722 Speaker 8: Because things happen in life, right, you know, People establish 493 00:33:57,842 --> 00:34:01,122 Speaker 8: their families here and then they become more comfortable. So 494 00:34:01,562 --> 00:34:03,722 Speaker 8: many of them simply felt that they didn't really have 495 00:34:03,762 --> 00:34:05,362 Speaker 8: anything to go back to back home. 496 00:34:07,162 --> 00:34:11,082 Speaker 2: Though the details around these later Japanese migrants and the 497 00:34:11,162 --> 00:34:14,802 Speaker 2: Kichis differ, they are linked by the idea of being 498 00:34:14,922 --> 00:34:19,362 Speaker 2: caught between countries. After their ship had been shot at 499 00:34:19,362 --> 00:34:23,042 Speaker 2: and chased away by their own countrymen, the Kichis were 500 00:34:23,082 --> 00:34:26,522 Speaker 2: on their own again. The Morrison was back in Macau 501 00:34:26,722 --> 00:34:30,402 Speaker 2: by late August, eighteen thirty seven, and the Japanese men 502 00:34:30,482 --> 00:34:34,522 Speaker 2: were given thirty coins each by a sympathetic British official. 503 00:34:35,242 --> 00:34:40,362 Speaker 2: Then they were left to themselves adrift. Once again. We 504 00:34:40,522 --> 00:34:44,042 Speaker 2: don't know much about how Iwakichi and Kikichi spent the 505 00:34:44,082 --> 00:34:48,602 Speaker 2: rest of their lives. Both continued to work as translators, 506 00:34:48,642 --> 00:34:52,242 Speaker 2: and Kikichi worked in Hong Kong after it became a 507 00:34:52,282 --> 00:34:57,282 Speaker 2: British colony. Less is known about Iwakichi, but by one 508 00:34:57,322 --> 00:35:01,682 Speaker 2: account he was quote killed by a jealous wife in 509 00:35:01,762 --> 00:35:07,002 Speaker 2: eighteen fifty two. Eventually, though both Iwakichi and Kikichi, he 510 00:35:07,522 --> 00:35:12,282 Speaker 2: disappeared into history. Odo Queche, on the other hand, left 511 00:35:12,362 --> 00:35:15,762 Speaker 2: a legacy. He went to work for a big British 512 00:35:15,802 --> 00:35:20,402 Speaker 2: trading firm in Shanghai. He became a naturalized British citizen, 513 00:35:20,882 --> 00:35:26,282 Speaker 2: converted to Christianity, changed his name to John Matthew Ottison, 514 00:35:26,682 --> 00:35:30,442 Speaker 2: and got married. He also worked as an interpreter on 515 00:35:30,522 --> 00:35:34,482 Speaker 2: British ships, and he actually went to Japan on those 516 00:35:34,522 --> 00:35:39,762 Speaker 2: ships twice. The first time was in eighteen forty nine 517 00:35:39,922 --> 00:35:43,562 Speaker 2: on a British ship surveying the waters around at O Bay. 518 00:35:44,282 --> 00:35:47,802 Speaker 2: But he was still so rattled by his experience on 519 00:35:47,842 --> 00:35:52,522 Speaker 2: the Morrison that he pretended to be Chinese. The Japanese 520 00:35:52,562 --> 00:35:55,522 Speaker 2: he met didn't buy it for a minute, but Odo 521 00:35:55,642 --> 00:35:59,962 Speaker 2: Quiche made it through unscathed the second time he fessed 522 00:36:00,042 --> 00:36:03,682 Speaker 2: up about his origins. By then it was eighteen fifty 523 00:36:03,722 --> 00:36:08,362 Speaker 2: four and the situation in Japan had changed. The seclusion 524 00:36:08,482 --> 00:36:12,842 Speaker 2: era was over, and Odokichi traveled to Nagasaki aboard a 525 00:36:12,882 --> 00:36:16,642 Speaker 2: British warship as part of a mission to convince the 526 00:36:16,762 --> 00:36:21,082 Speaker 2: Japanese not to let the Russians use their ports during 527 00:36:21,122 --> 00:36:25,842 Speaker 2: the Crimean War. This time Odokichi gave the Japanese officials 528 00:36:26,042 --> 00:36:30,322 Speaker 2: his real name and background, and this time the response 529 00:36:30,602 --> 00:36:33,082 Speaker 2: was very different, and. 530 00:36:33,482 --> 00:36:36,602 Speaker 7: The officials he talked to said, why don't you come home? 531 00:36:36,682 --> 00:36:40,722 Speaker 7: You know we'll welcome you back, resume the life as 532 00:36:40,762 --> 00:36:42,442 Speaker 7: his Japanese. 533 00:36:42,602 --> 00:36:46,522 Speaker 2: As for Odokichi's response, that was pretty different too. 534 00:36:47,162 --> 00:36:50,922 Speaker 7: That's when he said no thanks. He said, I built 535 00:36:50,962 --> 00:36:53,882 Speaker 7: a new life for myself. I have a wife and 536 00:36:53,922 --> 00:36:58,042 Speaker 7: a family, I've got a job, Happy and satisfied with 537 00:36:58,162 --> 00:37:00,802 Speaker 7: the life I have. I don't need to go back. 538 00:37:01,642 --> 00:37:05,642 Speaker 2: Like the later Japanese migrants that Michael mentioned, Odo Kichi 539 00:37:05,722 --> 00:37:08,882 Speaker 2: had been put in this situation because of factors out 540 00:37:08,922 --> 00:37:11,882 Speaker 2: of his control, but he went on to make a 541 00:37:11,962 --> 00:37:16,882 Speaker 2: life outside Japan, and eventually Japan must not have felt 542 00:37:16,922 --> 00:37:20,522 Speaker 2: like a home to go back to. Odo Kichi later 543 00:37:20,602 --> 00:37:24,082 Speaker 2: moved to Singapore, where he's believed to have been the 544 00:37:24,122 --> 00:37:29,082 Speaker 2: first Japanese resident, and where he died of tuberculosis in 545 00:37:29,202 --> 00:37:33,922 Speaker 2: eighteen sixty seven, after forty nine years on earth. He 546 00:37:34,042 --> 00:37:37,802 Speaker 2: was buried in a Christian graveyard and then later moved 547 00:37:37,842 --> 00:37:43,322 Speaker 2: to a different one. Around nineteen seventy, that cemetery was moved, 548 00:37:43,802 --> 00:37:47,562 Speaker 2: and no one knew where Odo Kichi's remains ended up, 549 00:37:48,402 --> 00:37:53,562 Speaker 2: that is until two thousand and four, when devoted researchers 550 00:37:53,602 --> 00:37:58,362 Speaker 2: in Singapore tracked down Odo Kichi's grave and exhumed. 551 00:37:57,922 --> 00:38:02,682 Speaker 7: It, and there was only some sand and a nail 552 00:38:03,802 --> 00:38:06,722 Speaker 7: a bit of a tooth in there. That They divided 553 00:38:06,762 --> 00:38:12,322 Speaker 7: the remains into three portions and reburied one portion in 554 00:38:12,682 --> 00:38:16,522 Speaker 7: Singapore where he died, and one portion went back to 555 00:38:16,642 --> 00:38:21,922 Speaker 7: Japan to his family's temple where in eighteen thirty two 556 00:38:22,042 --> 00:38:25,922 Speaker 7: they had put a gravestone with his name on it there, 557 00:38:26,402 --> 00:38:29,242 Speaker 7: not knowing that he was still alive. And then the 558 00:38:29,282 --> 00:38:33,562 Speaker 7: third portion they gave to his descendants to keep with 559 00:38:33,682 --> 00:38:38,082 Speaker 7: the family alto, so in the end he did kind 560 00:38:38,082 --> 00:38:39,562 Speaker 7: of returned to Japan. 561 00:38:40,162 --> 00:38:43,882 Speaker 2: For fred shot. In addition to the Kichi's incredible tale 562 00:38:43,922 --> 00:38:48,082 Speaker 2: of survival and adaptation, there's another lesson here too. 563 00:38:49,042 --> 00:38:52,042 Speaker 5: The world has always been interconnected in some way or another, 564 00:38:52,082 --> 00:38:55,682 Speaker 5: and there's been a lot more exchanges, not necessarily frequent, 565 00:38:55,922 --> 00:38:59,202 Speaker 5: but there's been a lot more mobility. One hundreds and 566 00:38:59,282 --> 00:39:03,402 Speaker 5: hundreds of years ago, maybe in ancient times, maybe thousands 567 00:39:03,402 --> 00:39:07,362 Speaker 5: of years ago, there's more mobility than people in imagine. 568 00:39:08,082 --> 00:39:10,442 Speaker 5: That's one thing. And the other thing I think is 569 00:39:10,442 --> 00:39:12,642 Speaker 5: that just related to that, is that you really can't 570 00:39:12,682 --> 00:39:16,362 Speaker 5: close off of society, and that should speak to people 571 00:39:16,362 --> 00:39:19,802 Speaker 5: in today because it's tempting to think you can just 572 00:39:20,282 --> 00:39:24,522 Speaker 5: shut the doors, but actually you can't. You know, it's 573 00:39:24,602 --> 00:39:25,322 Speaker 5: not possible. 574 00:39:28,002 --> 00:39:31,162 Speaker 4: So we mentioned last week that we were nominated for 575 00:39:31,242 --> 00:39:36,002 Speaker 4: a Signal Award in the Best Commute Podcast category, Right, 576 00:39:36,082 --> 00:39:39,322 Speaker 4: that's right. Yeah, it's like the Cable Ace Awards of podcasting. 577 00:39:39,402 --> 00:39:40,202 Speaker 1: Yes, the awards. 578 00:39:40,282 --> 00:39:40,482 Speaker 6: Yes. 579 00:39:40,602 --> 00:39:44,522 Speaker 4: Yes, today's episode was in many ways like the worst 580 00:39:44,562 --> 00:39:47,402 Speaker 4: commute story of all time. These guys are just on 581 00:39:47,482 --> 00:39:50,442 Speaker 4: a ship and we're talking about it. How awful it was. 582 00:39:50,562 --> 00:39:52,882 Speaker 4: One hundred and ninety years later. 583 00:39:53,002 --> 00:39:56,522 Speaker 1: Fourteen month commute. I mean, the most hellish thing imaginable 584 00:39:56,642 --> 00:39:58,682 Speaker 1: on open ocean, the entire time wondering where are we 585 00:39:58,722 --> 00:39:59,082 Speaker 1: getting to? 586 00:39:59,402 --> 00:40:01,602 Speaker 3: It sounds like a nightmare. As someone whose favorite thing 587 00:40:01,602 --> 00:40:04,682 Speaker 3: in the world is being home, it just made me 588 00:40:04,802 --> 00:40:05,802 Speaker 3: insanely acious. 589 00:40:07,002 --> 00:40:09,522 Speaker 4: So if you are listening to this on your commute, 590 00:40:09,722 --> 00:40:12,482 Speaker 4: which apparently people do, if we're in the best commute 591 00:40:12,522 --> 00:40:16,602 Speaker 4: podcast category, then maybe it makes you feel slightly better 592 00:40:16,642 --> 00:40:19,882 Speaker 4: about your terrible delays, or make. 593 00:40:19,762 --> 00:40:22,522 Speaker 1: You recognize and really appreciate, much like Dane of the 594 00:40:22,602 --> 00:40:25,002 Speaker 1: value of getting home and being home, because this one, 595 00:40:25,002 --> 00:40:27,042 Speaker 1: do you have the whole thing about home is essentially 596 00:40:27,082 --> 00:40:28,922 Speaker 1: where you lay your head, but it's also to whom 597 00:40:28,962 --> 00:40:30,722 Speaker 1: you give your heart. I really liked that point. 598 00:40:30,842 --> 00:40:34,482 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, if we're going for a very special character 599 00:40:34,642 --> 00:40:38,202 Speaker 4: in this one, I'm taken by whoever the fourth Kichi was. 600 00:40:38,322 --> 00:40:41,522 Speaker 4: It's like being the fifth Beatle. It just like, you know, 601 00:40:41,562 --> 00:40:44,682 Speaker 4: you had this awful experience but didn't make it long 602 00:40:44,802 --> 00:40:46,922 Speaker 4: enough to get into the history books. 603 00:40:47,242 --> 00:40:47,522 Speaker 5: M h. 604 00:40:48,082 --> 00:40:50,082 Speaker 1: I'm going with the kichi who caught the first fish 605 00:40:50,122 --> 00:40:51,482 Speaker 1: and they're like, wait, we can do this. 606 00:40:52,762 --> 00:40:56,522 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I think the Kichi that spotted land. Yeah, 607 00:40:56,642 --> 00:40:59,802 Speaker 3: is probably that moment. I just wish I could capture 608 00:40:59,802 --> 00:41:04,242 Speaker 3: that moment. It's almost worth having a terrible, terrible shipwrecked 609 00:41:04,242 --> 00:41:08,282 Speaker 3: disaster situation just for that ex on the other side. 610 00:41:08,442 --> 00:41:11,162 Speaker 1: Oh, completely, that rush. Can you imagine just the thrill 611 00:41:11,242 --> 00:41:13,522 Speaker 1: of feeling saved by something you have no idea what 612 00:41:13,682 --> 00:41:15,682 Speaker 1: you're about to encounter. But yes, it feels like this 613 00:41:15,762 --> 00:41:17,642 Speaker 1: is going to say to me, thank God or you know, 614 00:41:17,682 --> 00:41:20,962 Speaker 1: thank whatever. The first contact aspect of this was wild 615 00:41:21,002 --> 00:41:23,442 Speaker 1: to me about you know, there's this native indigenous population. 616 00:41:23,482 --> 00:41:25,482 Speaker 1: All of a sudden, these Japanese guys roll up on 617 00:41:25,562 --> 00:41:28,522 Speaker 1: the shore. But apparently they've been having boats come over 618 00:41:28,602 --> 00:41:31,042 Speaker 1: and does shipwreck without the sailors alive. So they've just 619 00:41:31,042 --> 00:41:33,522 Speaker 1: been giving this like gifts from the sea of boats 620 00:41:33,562 --> 00:41:35,522 Speaker 1: with like metal and stuff in it. Like how wild 621 00:41:35,602 --> 00:41:38,482 Speaker 1: was that? Then finally they get oh these are the people, Hey, 622 00:41:38,562 --> 00:41:39,682 Speaker 1: thanks for all the stuff. 623 00:41:43,202 --> 00:41:46,322 Speaker 4: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 624 00:41:46,722 --> 00:41:50,362 Speaker 4: This show is hosted by Danish Schwartz, Sarah Burnett, and 625 00:41:50,442 --> 00:41:54,602 Speaker 4: Jason English. Today's episode was written by Bess Lovejoy. Best 626 00:41:54,642 --> 00:41:57,362 Speaker 4: is Amazing. We've worked together at various places for about 627 00:41:57,402 --> 00:42:00,042 Speaker 4: a decade, she wrote a book called rest in Pieces 628 00:42:00,122 --> 00:42:04,162 Speaker 4: about famous corpses. We've got another best episode in development 629 00:42:04,282 --> 00:42:09,402 Speaker 4: to look at for that is Josh Fisher. Our story 630 00:42:09,522 --> 00:42:13,762 Speaker 4: editor is Marissa Brown. Editing and sound design by Jonathan 631 00:42:13,882 --> 00:42:18,002 Speaker 4: Washington and Josh Fisher. Mixing and mastering by the Heat Fraser. 632 00:42:18,682 --> 00:42:23,682 Speaker 4: Original music by Alis McCoy, Research in bactchecking by Meredith Thanko, 633 00:42:24,082 --> 00:42:28,362 Speaker 4: Best Love Joy and Austin Thompson. Show logo by Lucy Cantonia. 634 00:42:29,002 --> 00:42:32,162 Speaker 4: Our executive producer is Jason English. You'd like to email 635 00:42:32,202 --> 00:42:34,722 Speaker 4: the show, you can reach us at Very Special Episodes 636 00:42:34,762 --> 00:42:38,642 Speaker 4: at gmail dot com. Very Special Episodes is a production 637 00:42:38,762 --> 00:42:40,122 Speaker 4: of iHeart Podcasts.