John Manjiro

The graves of Nakahama Manjirô and his relatives, at Zôshigaya Cemetery in Tokyo

• Born: 1827
• Died: 1898
• Other Names: 中濱万次郎 (Nakahama Manjirô), John Mung
• Japanese: ジョン万次郎 (Jon Manjirou)

John Manjirô is among the most famous of 19th century Japanese castaways, and one of the first Japanese to ever travel to the United States.

While out at sea as a fisherman, one day in 1841 the fisherman Nakahama Manjirô's ship was dashed up on some rocks. Stranded, he survived there in a cave for some time, eating mainly fish, until he was found and rescued by an American ship. They brought him back with them to Massachusetts, where he learned English, Western techniques of navigation, whaling, and coopering (the making of barrels), before returning to Japan in 1851. He would later serve as an interpreter during the shogunate's encounters with Commodore Perry.

References

• Matt Matsuda, Pacific Worlds, Cambridge University Press (2012), 234.