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My understanding is that during the period (1600 to 1868) leaving the country, even by accident was punishable by death. better treatment of shipwrecked America
by kipchak 6y ago
My understanding is that during the period (1600 to 1868) leaving the country, even by accident was punishable by death.
better treatment of shipwrecked American sailors was part of the demands of Perry's expedition in the Convention of Kanagawa.
>For the Japanese the punishment for leaving the country (and coming back) was death. The Japanese view at the time was that their world was complete and their was no place in it for crude, materialistic and barbaric Westerners. It was one of the few times in modern history that a nation rejected "progress." Punishments were equally harsh for foreigner that arrived in Japan. Thirteen members of a group of Portuguese merchants that arrived in 1640 were executed. The rest returned home with the message: "Think of us no more."[1]
[1]http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub107/item504.html http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub107/item504.html
[2]https://unseenjapan.com/edo-era-castaways-in-russia/ https://unseenjapan.com/edo-era-castaways-in-russia/
- themodelplumber 6y agoThat's curious. So did the survivors not know about the perishable by death factor? Otherwise I'd expect that they'd also fight the return in any way possible...
- Taniwha 6y agoI suspect the goal would have been to sneak back home (rather than arrive on a big western sailing ship)
- kipchak 6y agoI would guess they knew what awaited them, but hoped efforts to open the country would be successful and they would be allowed to return. The Manhattan was able to return some sailors to Japan in 1845[1] that shipwrecked in Japanese waters, making the rule seem somewhat flexible. I think an earlier version of the Perry expedition helmed by John Aulick intended to try and return 17 Japanese sailors as a sign of good faith/bargaining tool.[2] [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_(1843_ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_(1843_ship) [2]https://www.classicsofstrategy.com/2015/07/commodore-perry-opening-japan.html https://www.classicsofstrategy.com/2015/07/commodore-perry-o...