Drifting - Drifting

Japanese: 漂流 - ひょうりゅう

To be on a ship that cannot be steered due to a shipwreck or to be stuck on floating objects and wander aimlessly on the sea. If one drifts to land, it is considered to be adrift, but if the place is an isolated island isolated from human society, this can also be considered as drifting.

[Kaji Tatsuo]

Drifting and Cultural Exchange

In times when maritime transportation was underdeveloped and long-distance ships were not possible, drifting played a major role in the movement of peoples and the spread of culture. The theory that the Japanese people were mixed with southern peoples, which is found in theories about their origins, is also due to drifting on the Kuroshio Current. It was for this reason that in 1947, Norwegian archaeologist and anthropologist Heyerdahl intentionally drifted in a balsa wood raft called the Kon-Tiki, modeled after an Inca ship, in order to prove the theory that the indigenous people of the South Pacific islands migrated from South America. Even in the early modern period, when civilization gradually developed, transportation between continents and countries across the sea was not necessarily convenient, so accidental drifting played a significant role in the history of human culture. Examples of this include the Englishman William Adams (Japanese name Miura Anjin), who was shipwrecked in Japan in 1600 (Keicho 5) and served the Tokugawa shogunate, which pursued a policy of national isolation, making contributions to Western-style shipbuilding technology and diplomacy. Conversely, there were men such as Nakahama Manjiro (John Manjiro), who was shipwrecked in 1841 (Tenpo 12), and Hamada Hikozo (Amerika Hikozo), who was castaway in 1850 (Kaei 3), who were rescued by an American ship and traveled to America, where they became knowledgeable about English and Western European affairs. After returning to Japan, which had opened up to the world, they worked as interpreters and contributed to diplomacy and cultural enlightenment.

[Kaji Tatsuo]

A true story of adrift

Drifting in the middle of the ocean, whether on a raft or on a drifting object, or even on a ship, often leads to extreme physical and mental hardship, leading to some amazing stories and some that are suspected to have been heavily embellished. Drifting often gives rise to the legend of Urashima Taro. In 1719 (Kyoho 4), 12 sailors from Arai, Enshu (now Kosai City, Shizuoka Prefecture) were shipwrecked off the coast of Kujukuri Beach in a storm and drifted there. They were washed ashore on a deserted island and endured a life of hardship. By the time Jinzaburo and three others finally returned home, 21 years had passed. The world's longest endurance drifting alone on the water is thought to be 133 days, held by a Chinese man named Poon Liem. In 1943, the British transport he was aboard was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. He built a raft from floating objects, collected rainwater with the few tools he had collected, and fished with fishing hooks made from bent wire. He endured hardships, but he was saved when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the mouth of the Amazon River. However, he had lost only four and a half kilos.

If a drifting ship is not rescued and all of its crew die, it becomes a ghost ship. The tuna fishing boat Ryoeimaru, which left Choshi Port, Chiba Prefecture in December 1926 (Taisho 15), was discovered drifting off the coast of Vancouver the following autumn as a ghost ship. All of the crew were skeletons, but the events that had taken place during that time were made clear from the logbook that was left behind. Another example of a ghost ship is the British ship Marlborough, which drifted for 23 years before being discovered off the coast of Chile in 1913. The ship was last seen in the Strait of Magellan in January 1890 and was never seen again. When it was discovered, no logbook was found, except for the bones of some of the crew members. One of the great mysteries of shipwrecks is that of the British ship Mary Celeste. When it was discovered drifting off the coast of Portugal in 1872, all of the crew had disappeared, but the inside of the ship was neatly organized and no traces of any trouble were found. Various theories have been put forward to explain this, but it has not yet been completely solved.

[Kaji Tatsuo]

Drifting records and literature

Stories about drifting are often bizarre, adventurous, and exotic, so there are many drifting accounts that record the experience of drifting. In particular, during Japan's isolationist policy in the Edo period, the inflow of culture and news from overseas was limited, so the experiences of drifters were valuable. Examples include "Hokusabunryaku" (1794), written by Katsuragawa Hoshu, a physician to the shogunate, about the experiences of Daikokuya Kodayu of Ise, who drifted in the North Pacific Ocean and was protected by Russia before returning home, and "Kankai Ibun" (1807), written by Otsuki Gentaku, a scholar of Dutch studies in the Sendai domain, about the drifting of Kodayu and his companions and what they saw and saw in Russia. In addition, the experiences of Jirokichi and six other sailors who were adrift on the Pacific Ocean aboard the cargo ship Choja Maru, were rescued by an American whaling ship, and were sent back to Japan via Hawaii and Russia. The experiences were recorded by the shogunate Confucian scholar Koga Kin'ichiro in the book "Bandan" (1849), and at the same time Endo Takanori, a retainer of the Toyama domain, the castaways' homeland, also recorded their conversations and wrote "Jiki Monogatari" (1850). These records contain not only the experiences of the castaways themselves, but also a mixture of various knowledge gained by the recorder himself, who had already begun to open his eyes to foreign cultures, and it is important to note that they created an undercurrent of momentum for the approaching opening of Japan to the world.

Drifting is also a serious theme that exposes the true nature of humans in a state of crisis, and is often the subject of novels, such as Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719), which was inspired by the real-life Alexander Selkirk's drifting to a deserted island; Nogami Yaeko's Kaijin-Maru (1922), which deals with cannibalism, a common occurrence among people at sea due to starvation; Ibuse Masuji's Hyōmin Usaburo (1956), which was inspired by the record of the drifting of the Choja-Maru mentioned above; and Inoue Yasushi's Oroshiya Kuni Suimutan (1968), which is based on the life of Daikokuya Kōdayū.

[Kaji Tatsuo]

"Collection of Narratives of Castaways in Foreign Lands," edited by Arakawa Hidetoshi (1962, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Materials on Castaways and Shipwrecks in Japan," edited by Arakawa Hidetoshi (1962, Chijin Shokan)" ▽ "Collection of Narratives of Castaways in Early Modern Times," edited by Arakawa Hidetoshi (1969, Hosei University Press)" ▽ "Narratives of Castaways in Japan," by Kawai Hikomitsu (Shakai Shisosha, Gendai Kyoyo Bunko)" ▽ "Strange Tales of the Sea," by Shoji Asamizu (Shakai Shisosha, Gendai Kyoyo Bunko)" ▽ "Aboriginal Tales," edited and translated by Muroga Nobuo and Yamori Kazuhiko (1965, Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

難船などによって、操縦不能の船上で、または浮遊物につかまり、海上をあてもなくさまようこと。漂流によって陸上に達した場合には漂着であるが、そこが人間社会と隔絶した孤島などのときには、これも漂流に入れる場合もある。

［梶　龍雄］

漂流と文化交渉

海上交通も未発達で、船による目的のある長い航行も不能であった時代には、民族の移動や文化の伝播(でんぱ)には、漂流の果たした役割は大きかった。日本民族の成立論などにある、南方系民族の混血説なども、黒潮に乗った漂流によるものである。1947年ノルウェーの考古学者、人類学者ヘイエルダールが、南太平洋諸島先住民の南アメリカからの移動説証明のために、インカ時代の船をかたどったバルサ材の筏(いかだ)コン・ティキ号で意図的に漂流したのも、このためである。その後しだいに文明が発達していった近世に至っても、海を隔てた大陸間や国の間の交通は、かならずしも便利ではなかったから、偶発的な漂流が人類文化の歴史のうえで少なからず大きな役目をした。イギリス人ウィリアム・アダムス（日本名・三浦按針(あんじん)）が1600年（慶長5）難船によって日本に漂着し、鎖国政策の徳川幕府に仕えて、洋船建設技術や外交に貢献したり、また、逆に1841年（天保12）遭難後した中浜万次郎（ジョン・万次郎）や、1850年（嘉永3）漂流の浜田彦蔵（アメリカ彦蔵）のように、アメリカ船に救助されてアメリカに行き、英語や西欧の事情に通じて、帰国後は開国後の日本で、通辞として活躍したり、外交や文化啓蒙(けいもう)に尽くしたりしたのも、その例である。

［梶　龍雄］

実話としての漂流

大洋のただ中をさまよう漂流は、筏や漂流物につかまっての海上漂流はもちろん、船上の漂流でも、肉体、精神ともに困苦の極に追い詰められることが多いため、驚異的な話や、ときにかなり潤色された疑いのものもある。漂流は浦島説話を生むことも多い。1719年（享保4）遠州新居(あらい)（現、静岡県湖西(こさい)市）の水夫12人は九十九里浜沖で暴風雨のため遭難漂流し、無人島に漂着して困苦の生活に耐え、仁三郎ほか3人がようやく故郷に帰りついたときには、21年が経過していた。たった1人での水上漂流世界最高耐久記録は、中国人プーン・リームの133日と思われる。1943年、彼の乗っていたイギリス輸送船が、南アフリカ、ケープタウン沖でドイツ潜水艦に撃沈された。浮遊物で筏をつくり、わずかに拾い集めた道具類で雨水をため、針金を曲げて釣り針をつくって魚を釣り、困苦に耐えた彼が救われたのは、大西洋を横断したアマゾン河口沖であった。しかしその際に、体重はわずか4キロ半しか減っていなかったという。

　漂流船舶が救助されず乗員全部が死亡すれば幽霊船となる。1926年（大正15）12月千葉県銚子(ちょうし)港を出港したマグロ漁船良栄丸は、翌年の秋に幽霊船としてバンクーバー沖で漂流中を発見された。乗組員は全部白骨体となっていたが、残された航海日誌でその間の経過は判明した。幽霊船のなかには、1913年チリ沖で発見されるまでに23年間も漂流していたイギリス船マールボロー号のような例もある。同船は1890年1月マゼラン海峡で目撃されたのを最後に消息を絶ち、発見時には、船員の何人かの骨のほかは、航海日誌も発見できなかった。漂流事件のなかで世界の大きな謎(なぞ)の一つとされているのはイギリス船マリー・セレスト号の事件で、1872年ポルトガル沖を漂流中を発見されたときには、乗員全部の姿がまったくかき消えていたのに、船内はきれいに整頓されてなんの騒ぎの跡もみられなかった。この解釈をめぐりいろいろの説が出されたが、まだ完全には解けていない。

［梶　龍雄］

漂流記録と文学

漂流には奇異な話、冒険的な話、異国情緒に富んだ話が付きまとうので、漂流の体験を記録した漂流記は数多く残されている。とくに日本の江戸時代の鎖国では、海外の文化や消息の流入は限られていたから、漂流者の体験は貴重なものであった。伊勢(いせ)の大黒屋光太夫(だいこくやこうだゆう)の、北洋を漂流し、ロシアに保護されて帰国するまでの体験を、幕府の侍医桂川甫周(ほしゅう)が記録した『北槎聞略(ほくさぶんりゃく)』（1794）、仙台藩の蘭学(らんがく)者大槻玄沢(おおつきげんたく)が、津太夫らの漂流とロシアの風物見聞を記録した『環海異聞(かんかいいぶん)』（1807）などがそれである。また、回船、長者丸で太平洋上を漂流し、アメリカ捕鯨船に救助され、ハワイ、ロシアを経て送還された次郎吉以下6人の船乗りの体験は、幕府の儒学者古賀謹一郎(こがきんいちろう)によって記録され『蕃談(ばんだん)』（1849）となったが、同時に漂流民の故郷である富山藩の家臣遠藤高環(たかのり)も、彼らの談話を記録して、『時規物語』（1850）を著した。これらの記録には、漂流者自身の体験ばかりでなく、すでに海外の文化に対して目を開き始めた記録者自身が得た、さまざまな知識も交じり、近づく開国の気運の底流をつくったことも見逃せない。

　漂流はまた限界状態における人間の本質性をつく深刻なテーマだけに、小説にもよく扱われる。実在の人物アレクサンダ・セルカークの無人島漂流をヒントに書かれたというデフォーの『ロビンソン・クルーソー』（1719）、漂流中の飢餓からよくおこるといわれる人肉食いを扱った野上弥生子(やえこ)の『海神丸』（1922）、井伏鱒二(ますじ)の前述の長者丸の漂流記録をヒントにした『漂民宇三郎』（1956）、大黒屋光太夫がテーマの井上靖(やすし)の『おろしや国酔夢譚(すいむたん)』（1968）などがある。

［梶　龍雄］

『荒川秀俊編『異国漂流記集』（1962・吉川弘文館）』▽『荒川秀俊編『日本漂流漂着資料』（1962・地人書館）』▽『荒川秀俊編『近世漂流記集』（1969・法政大学出版局）』▽『川合彦充著『日本漂流記』（社会思想社・現代教養文庫）』▽『庄司浅水著『海の奇談』（社会思想社・現代教養文庫）』▽『室賀信夫・矢守一彦編訳『蕃談』（1965・平凡社・東洋文庫）』