Thursday, July 11, 2013

Japanese American Relations fostered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts?

While we were in Fairhaven, Massachusetts for a tour of the Mayflower II in drydock, we visited the Northeast Maritime Institute.  I didn't know that this building was previously a Unitarian Church with a very interesting history until I saw these granite markers outside of the building...



THIS BUILDING WAS THE 
ORIGINAL UNITARIAN CHURCH
WHERE THE WHITFIELDS AND
MANJIRO NAKAHAMA ATTENDED
SERVICES IN THE 1840'S


CAPTAIN WILLIAM H. WHITFIELD
NOVEMBER 11, 1804
FEBRUARY 14, 1886
ON JUNE 27, 1841, CAPTAIN WILLIAM
WHITEFIELD'S CREW OF THE 
WHALING SHIP JOHN HOWLAND
RESCUED FIVE SHIPWRECKED JAPANESE
FISHERMEN ON AN UNINHABITED
VOLCANIC ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC
OCEAN.  THIS ENCOUNTER WAS THE
BEGINNING OF THE FIRST FRIENDLY
CONTACT BETWEEN THE JAPANESE
AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE


WHALE SHIP
JOHN HOWLAND
"ONLY THOSE WHO RISK GOING
TOO FAR WILL EVER KNOW HOW
FAR THAT THEY CAN GO"


MANJIRO NAKAHAMA WAS THE FIRST
JAPANESE TO LIVE IN AMERICA.
HE WAS EDUCATED IN FAIRHAVEN
MASSACHUSETTS AND
PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN FOSTERING THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JAPAN AND
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY 
ENLIGHTENING THE JAPANESE OFFICIALS
ABOUT WESTERN CULTURE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND DEMOCRACY PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL
OF COMMODORE MATTHEW PERRY ON
HIS HISTORIC MISSION THAT ADVANCED
THE SIGNING OF THE U. S.- JAPAN TREATY
OF 1854.

I loved finding a hidden bit of American history here outside of this historic church.  I know that at the time of these events, Japan was a closed country, and Manjiro would have risked death returning.  During this period of isolation leaving Japan was punishable by death.  Instead he became educated, participated in the Gold Rush as a '49er, and eventually returned home.  He was recieved with great honor and worked with the ambassadors to the United States.  In the 1870s he studied military science in Europe and became a professor at the Tokyo Imperial University.  He died in 1898 at age 71.

You can read more about Manjiro Nakahama and his honorable career rising from a simple fisherman to a diplomat for the Japanese Emperor at this Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakahama_Manjir%C5%8D

The Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society
11 Cherry Street
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
phone 508-858-5303
website http://whitfield-manjiro.org/


-------------------------
Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

2 comments:

  1. This is a completely inspirational story. I'm so glad you blogged about this discovery. It bolsters my faith in human nature. Not only were some people brave enough to rescue these Japanese fishermen -- they were wise enough to memorialize the results of their good deeds. Trust is a wonderful thing.

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    1. Yes, Mariann, it was fun to come across this little memorial. And even more fun to read up on the story behind the story. Don't you just love the "widow's walk" up on the steeple. You can tell that Fairhaven was a sea-faring town just from that photo.

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