Board Incident

• Date: 1854
• Japanese: ボード事件 (boodo jiken)

In 1854, when Commodore Perry left for mainland Japan, he left a number of sailors behind in Naha. One of those sailors, a man by the name of Board, assaulted an old Okinawan woman, and was beaten to death by a group of people including the woman's son.

Upon his return to Ryûkyû, Perry conducted an intense investigation, and in the end the Ryukyuan authorities brought forward those responsible for the sailor's death. They were exiled to Miyako Island & the Yaeyama Islands, but there are suggestions that the men sent away were actually substitutes for those truly responsible.

The grave of the American sailor Board can be found in the Foreign Cemetery at Tomari in Naha today.

References

• "Board Jiken." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003.