Türkiye’s TCG Kınalıada corvette on Saturday reached Kushimoto in southeastern Japan, a coastal town which has been the scene of a tragedy and a new beginning in Turkish-Japanese ties. The Turkish naval vessel on Monday will participate in a ceremony on the occasion of the centenary of ties between the two distant countries.
Japanese locals in Kushimoto and in nearby towns are already flocking to the town where an Ottoman frigate sank in 1890. Kınalıada set out from Türkiye on April 8, with its final destination as Japan, to commemorate diplomatic ties and the anniversary of Ertuğrul’s fateful journey. Along the way, it dropped by ports of countries Türkiye maintains close ties, from Djibouti to Bangladesh.
The 99-meter corvette will be welcomed officially on Monday and its crew will attend a ceremony at a memorial dedicated to the martyrs of Ertuğrul. Princess Akiko of Japan and bureaucrats from Türkiye and Japan are expected to attend the ceremony in memory of the hundreds of Ottoman sailors who perished.
The Ottoman Empire launched the Japan trip for Ertuğrul, which bears the name of the father of the empire's founder Osman, to Japan two years after Japan's Prince Komatsu paid his country's first official visit to Istanbul, which was the capital of the empire. The ship departed Istanbul in July 1889 with 609 crew members. After stopovers in Egypt, Yemen, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong and several Japanese cities, it arrived in Yokohama 11 months later. Osman Pasha, who led the Ottoman delegation, was received by Emperor Meiji and presented the emperor with a letter from Sultan Abdülhamid II and a medal. The frigate left Japan on Sept. 15, 1890, after the Ottoman delegation held talks with Japanese officials.
Adverse weather aggravated by a typhoon proved a challenge for the ship and it crashed on the rocks near Kushimoto on Sept. 16, 1890. Sixty-nine sailors aboard survived, but 550 others aboard died when the boat sank. The survivors were rescued by the locals of Kushimoto. Türkiye still remembers the hospitality and assistance of the Japanese public and the government after the incident. Survivors were sent home about one month later by the Japanese government aboard two Japanese warships that dropped them off at Çanakkale, southwest of Istanbul. The ships also stayed in Türkiye for a few months as guests of the Ottoman Empire before they returned to Japan. One year later, Japan erected a monument in memory of the perished Ottoman sailors in Kushimoto. Türkiye restored the monument in 1937, and to this day, remembrance events are held in memory of Ertuğrul.
Turkish Ambassador to Tokyo Korkut Güngen, who was among the hosts of Monday’s ceremony, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday that this tragic incident was a milestone in bilateral relations. He said they witnessed a high interest in the ceremony and the visiting ship on social media. “Despite bad weather, people are coming to Kushimoto just to see our corvette,” he said. Güngen said the ship would later travel to Tokyo and Hiroshima and would be open to visitors.
Aoki, who heads a local tourism association in Kushimoto, said they were excited to host the Turkish ship and a large number of Turkish visitors. “I hope they will be pleased with the atmosphere of this Turkish-friendly city,” he said. Hashino, a high school student, said he learned about Ertuğrul’s story from textbooks and wanted to participate in the ceremony. “Kushimoto’s friendship with Turks should be promoted more,” Hashino said.
