In 1834, a Japanese fishing boat called the Hojunmaru, was blown from its course by a storm. It drifted all across the Pacific Ocean for a little more than an entire year. Most of the crew died from a combination of scurvy, malnutrition, and exposure. Only three of the sailors survived by the time the wreckage inadvertently washed up on the Washington coastline. The survivors were rescued, and then promptly enslaved, by local Makah (a Pacific Northwest coastal tribe) sealers. I haven't found much information on their servitude, but they were often tasked with picking berries. Several months later, a nearby Indian Agent from the Hudson Bay Company learned of the strange newcomers. He then strong armed the Makah into handing the castaways over to him. The agent and his cohorts hoped to use the castaways as leverage to open trade with Japan, and then sent them to England in preparation for their journey home. Their efforts were unsuccessful, as they were denied entry by the very xenophobic Japanese government. With little other options left, the castaways took jobs as translators in various British colonies in Singapore and Hong Kong. Out of the three castaways, only one was able to (briefly) into their homeland. Even then, he quickly went back to Singapore to be with his Anglo-Malay wife and her family. Sources: 1.https://www.historylink.org/File/9065 2.https://www.nps.gov/articles/castawaysatfova.htm
Today I learned about the Japanese shipwreck that was shipwrecked on the Washington coast fix'd Pretty cool story.
Couldn't resist it? I wanted to do the same. But figured it might be from the Department of Redundancy Department.
Nope. It could also be Today I learned about the Japanese Ship that was wrecked on the Washington coast. The OP could actually go into Thread Tools across the top of the page and edit the title if he wanted to ().
For what it's worth, this thread got me curious if there was a word similar to 'adrift' but in a noun form to describe a ship that is 'blown off course', similar to nouns like 'shipwreck' or 'castaway' or 'stray' but I couldn't find any. So if a ship is wrecked, it can just be called a 'shipwreck', if a passenger is cast away they can be called a 'castaway' but a boat blown off course is just blown off course, there's no noun, or if there is I couldn't find it. There is of course 'derelict' but that's something different.
Why use a single noun when you can say 'drifting forlorn and lost like a ghost ship across trackless seas'? Of course it's a bit much for a thread title.
I'm about to shipwreck all of you. But yeah, the United States is littered with fascinating shipwrecks. Part-Time Explorer - YouTube Here's a channel about 'em. And shipwrecks from other places in the world.
