By Beth David, Editor
The Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society held its annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the Friendship House and Museum on Cherry Street in Fairhaven on Sunday, 5/5/24. Local officials and the Consul General of Japan in Boston, Kotaro Suzuki greeted the public for tours of the museum; a taste of Japanese food, and other activities, such as origami and drumming.
Mr. Suzuki told the crowd that he has been “constantly amazed” by how deep and long the historic relationship is between the US and Japan, and all because of a stranded 14-year-old.
Manjiro Nakahama was stranded on an island in the Pacific in 1843. He was rescued by Fairhaven’s Capt. William Whitfield of the whaleship John Howland and brought back to Fairhaven. Manjiro was the first known Japanese person to live in the United States, as Japan was a closed society then. He was educated here and became instrumental in opening up Japan to the west.
Ms. Suzuki said that all over Japan, “Manjiro” is “quite a familiar name.”
He said the story has some “very important meanings.”
It is one thing to rescue a person from a remote island, he said, but to bring him back home across the whole ocean, “and to educate him for years, is a totally different thing.”
Mr. Suzuki said he was scheduled to speak in New Hampshire, and he was thinking of explaining to them about the relationship between Japan and the U.S. and how it began.
“How people, whose courage and goodwill created the long relationship between the two nations,” said Mr. Suzuki.
To learn more about the WMFS and Manjiro Nakahama, including the Manjiro Trail with its eight sites in Fairhaven, visit https://whitfield-manjiro.org or https://fairhaventours.com/manjiro-nakahama/. The museum is located at 11 Cherry Street, Fairhaven, and is open by appointment. Call 508-858-5303 or 508-995-1219 for more info.
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- L-R: Terry Bedard and Debbie Almeida staff the raffle table during the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House Museum in Fairhaven on 5/5/24. Photo by Sam Simoes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.
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- Gerald Rooney (center), President and CEO of the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society is joined by Fairhaven town officials and Japanese Consul General, Kotaro Suzuki, during the opening of the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House Museum on 5/5/24. Photo by Sam Simoes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.
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- This model of Kanrin-Maru is on display at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House Museum in Fairhaven. It was the first Japanese ship able to cross the ocean based on the celestial navigation Manjiro had studied at Lewis Bartlett School in Fairhaven, MA. Manjiro was on the ship and was called on to steer it into San Francisco in 1860. Photo by Sam Simoes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.
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- Elliott Lussier leads a tour of the Museum during during the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House Museum in Fairhaven on 5/5/24. Photo by Sam Simoes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.
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- L-R: Japanese Consul General, Kotaro Suzuki, and President & CEO of the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society, Gerald P. Rooney, pause for a shot for the local free sheet during the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House Museum in Fairhaven on 5/5/24. Photo by Sam Simoes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.
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- L-R: Volunteers, Yuko Blaise and Miyuki Dawson, demonstrated origami and Japanese handwriting during the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House Museum in Fairhaven on 5/5/24. Photo by Sam Simoes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.
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