勇之助のこと : 開国後帰国漂流民第1号 (1)

抄録

“No Japanese can leave and return from abroad” was the law enforced during the time of the national isolation. This strict law had many tragic results for Japanese seamen who unavoidably drifted out to sea because of heavy storms.
If luckily picked up by foreign ships passing, they were brought back to Japan by these kind foreigners, however, they were treated as violators of the law. They were forced not to move out, not to get aboard the ship again, or not to tell anything about their experiences abroad.
This paper discusses the issue of whether or not these shipwrecked seamen ever told about what they saw or experienced in foreign countries. There are 3 private account telling about foreign life besides official records, kept secretly by local families.
Yuunosuke, a shipwrecked Japanese seaman who stayed in San Francisco for a year under the care of Americans, and brought back to Shimoda, a newly opened port, in 1854, right after the Perry's Black Ship left Japan.
Despite the prohibition he could not help but tell others about the other world he saw, and people were eager to hear his story. This fact may imply that the Government control prevented people's interest from growing. The government official in Shimoda tried to utilize his English communication ability by employing him as an official interpreter.
The writer also discusses about his prompt learning of English during a short stay.