Expat Brit solves pirate ship mystery -- NHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS [4:33]

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Transcript
During the Edo period, when Japan was closed to the outside world, an unknown ship arrived off the western part of the country. Details were few, but one British resident has solved the mystery. NHK World's Yoshoka Akari reports.

Tbajima is a peaceful island off the southern coast of Tokushima Prefecture. About 50 residents live here. Nicholas Russell is deeply drawn to the island. After buying a house here about 12 years ago, he began researching local history.

The ship arrived around here. He learned that during the Edo period, a mysterious foreign ship approached the island. A local samurai left behind an account of the incident. The government had ordered that any foreign ships that arrived should be driven off. Using gestures, the samurai demanded that the foreigners sail away. The ship was eventually driven away by gunfire.

Looking at the illustration of the ship, Russell's attention was drawn to the flag. It's a flag of the UK where he is from. Seeing the British flag, I felt I absolutely had to investigate this mystery. I thought maybe it's my destiny.

He carefully studied related historical materials. He says it was quite a challenge. [laughter] It was very difficult. Different kanji characters were used with different meanings. The calendar at that time was different as well.

After about two years of research, Russell identified the ship as a Cyprus, a British vessel. It had been seized almost 200 years ago by convicts in Australia who sailed across the Pacific in search of freedom. Details he found about the ship, including the time of its arrival and its size and crew, matched the records preserved in Tokushima's prefectural archives.

Following his discovery, Julie Fendley, a descendant of one of the pirates on the Cyprus, visited Takushima with her family. You see that's the island thing over there. That's where the ship sailed to. That's where great great great great grandfather was on that ship on the pirate ship. I feel very lucky to be in the same area that he was sailing through. It's amazing. Incredible.

Russell introduced the family to Yamamoto, a descendant of the samurai who once guarded the coast. I'm grateful that she could welcome us after, you know, how long it's been. Yeah, it's incredible. I think they would be surprised, grateful that we could have that connection. I had a wonderful time. Thank you. I hope we can stay connected.

It was a moving experience. The ship was driven away by gunfire 195 years ago, and now we're enjoying tea together. It's wonderful. By reconnecting the past and the present, a new chapter in friendship has begun.

[Yoshio Akari, NHK World]

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