Even though we went in the evening, the water was crystal clear and there were many fish. I enjoyed the underwater sounds and atmosphere for the first time in a long time.

Odo Kaigan is commonly known as “John Manjiro Beach” (John Man Beach). John Man was the first Japanese to visit the Americas at the end of the Edo period. When he returned to Japan, he landed on this beach in Okinawa.

Reading all this, it sounds like John Mann was an adventurer who came to America with no intentions, but that is not the case. It was all a coincidence.

In 1841, at the age of 14, John Mann went fishing with his friends and got lost. They drifted ashore on Torishima, an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. John Mann and his crew lived a harsh life on the uninhabited island. One hundred and forty-three days later, they were rescued by an American whaling ship, the John Howland. This encounter would change the course of Johnman’s life.

Although rescued, Japan was closed to the outside world at the time, and foreign vessels were not easily accessible. Besides, even if they were able to return home, there was no guarantee of life. Whitfield, the captain of the John Howland, unloaded the four men, except for Johnman, to the safety of Hawaii. However, the captain, who was fond of John Mann, wanted to take him to the United States, and after confirming John Mann’s willingness, he took him to the United States.

After arriving on the American mainland, Manjiro was adopted by Captain Whitfield and lived with him in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He studied English, mathematics, surveying, navigation, shipbuilding, and other subjects at the school, and was so enthusiastic in his studies that he reached the top of his class.

After graduation, he decided to return to Japan on a whaling ship. To obtain funds to return home, he went to California during the gold rush. With the money he earned from the gold mines, he headed to Hawaii to join his fellow castaways. Then, in 1851, he landed in Ryukyu (now Okinawa Prefecture), a territory of the Satsuma clan.

Later, John Mann was invited by the Edo shogunate and became a direct retainer of the shogunate. After that, he continued to be highly valued as a connoisseur of the United States.

A lifetime that is already like a picaresque novel. Your ability to solve things as best you can wherever you go! I want to learn from him.