[JapanUrbanLegend] Ryoei Maru Distress Incident
In December 1926, the Japanese fishing boat Ryoeimaru set sail from Misaki Harbor in Kanagawa Prefecture, unaware of the calamity that awaited it. This small motorized vessel, like most ships of its time, lacked wireless communication equipment, leaving it vulnerable to the perils of the sea.
Caught in a violent storm off the coast of Choshi, the boat was forced to dock briefly on December 6 to make repairs. However, the engine was beyond saving, and by December 12, the ship had been left adrift. With no way to return to Japan, Captain Miki Tokizo made the fateful decision to head westward, towards the distant shores of America, allowing the winds to carry them.
As the days passed, the Ryoeimaru drifted farther away from Japan, and the crew began to feel the devastating effects of starvation. With limited food supplies, they survived on fish they caught, rainwater they collected, and what little remained from their original stock. However, as the months wore on, their hope dwindled. Despite repeated distress signals to passing ships, none of them responded.
On March 6, after months of hardship, the crew wrote their final letter, a testament to their despair. "We departed on December 5th from Misaki, and until now, we have managed to cling to life. We have decided to die here." One by one, the crew fell ill and perished from malnutrition and disease. By April 19, only Captain Miki and Matsumoto remained alive, but they too were weakened and near death. By May 11, the last journal entry was written, and then silence fell.
After 10 long months of drifting, the Ryoeimaru was discovered off the coast of Seattle, USA, on October 31 by the cargo ship Margaret Dollar. The bodies of Captain Miki and Matsumoto were recovered and returned to Japan. The boat itself, however, was burned in the U.S., never to return to its homeland.
The story of the Ryoeimaru is not just one of a ship lost at sea, but a tale of human determination, survival, and the tragic final decision that echoes through history. The souls of the crew rest in the vast, unforgiving ocean, their story forever etched into the annals of maritime history.
