英国公使館通弁伝吉暗殺一件

This article concerns the murder of a Japanese castaway named Denkichi (伝吉) who was born in Shiotsumura in the county of Kamo, Kish? province (紀州加茂郡塩津村), (the present-day Shiotsu, Shiotsu town, Wakayama prefecture).His background is obscure, but it seems to me he suffered many vicissitudes during his life.About 7 months after returning home, he was killed by the two samurais in Edo.He was then working for the British Legation in Edo as an interpreter.He was formerly one of the crew of the Eirikimaru (英力丸), a ship owned by Hachisaburo Matsuya (松屋八三郎), a resident of ?ishimura in Setsunokuni (摂津国大石村). In the early winter of 1850, the ship was on its way home from Edo, carrying a cargo of soybeans, wheat, walnuts and sardines pickled in sake lees.On the night of 2nd of December, however, she was overtaken by a storm and began to drift at the mercy of the waves.Seventeen men on board the ship prayed for divine protection, cutting their own topknots and sawing down the mast.Thereafter the dis masted ship continued drifting on and on to the southeast.Since the ship was carrying enough provisions, there was no fear of starvation.The drifting continued for about 53 days during which the Enrikimaru encountered great storms 9 times.Three of these storms were beyond description. However, the Enrikimaru was lucky enough to encounter and rescued by an American sailing vessel, the Auckland.On the 5th of march, 1851, after voyaging for 43 days, the ship finally pulled into the port of San Francisco.Soon after, the Auckland began unloading goods from Kwangtung (広東).The seventeen Japanese were, thereater, ordered to board the Polk (600t.), a steel-bound ship used by the U.S. custom house and they lived on the ship for about a year. On the 11th March, 1852, all Japanese castaways were ordered to board the St.Mary, a U.S. warship, and to start on their journey home.The U.S. Government had intended the rescued Japanese to accompany Commodore Perry's Japan expedition.The St. Mary arrived in HongKong on the 20th of May, 1852, dropping off en route at Hillo in Hawaii island where Manzo, a boatman, died of sickness and was buried there.Four or five days after their arrival in HongKong, the sixteen Japanese were ordered to embark on the Susquehanna (2450t.), the flagship of the U.S. East India Sqauadron.It was in the Susquehanna that the castaways met by accident another Japanese, Rikimatsu (力松), who had been shipwrecked in the autuｍn of 1834, and was then a resident in HongKong.The Japanese cantaways lodged in the Susquehanna towards the end of June during which she stopped at Hoang-pou (黄埔), in Kwangtung and Amoy (厦門), before returning to HongKong. As time went by, however, as the Japanese had no chance to return home, they decided to divide themselves into two parties.Seven men made up their minds to stay on the Susquehanna and the rest resolved to leave for Shanghai (上海) by land via Kwangtung, Nanjing (南京).Nine men (including Denkichi), who disembarked from the Susquehanna left HongKong for Kwangtung, were waylaid by footpads on a mountain path in Kieou-long (九龍) and robbed of everything they had.Consequently they had to retrace their steps to HongKong and they returned to the Susquehanna. In Septemher, 1852, the Susquehanna left HongKong for Kinxing-chuan (金星川) in Kwangtung, staying there until October.Thereafter three Japanese (i.e. Jisaku, Kamezo and Hikotaro alias Hikozo) left for America.In December of the same year, the Susquehanna left for Amoy and then headed for Manila in Luzon island, returning back to HongKong again. In the middle of January, 1853, the thirteen Japanese left HongKong for Shanghai on board the Susquehanna, arriving in Shanghai about one week afterwards.One day after arriving there a Japanese named Otokichi (乙吉) alias Ottosan had an interview with the Japanese on the Sasquehanna.He was also a castaway, who had been shipwrecked by a storm in November, 1830, then working for Dent and Co., (宝順洋行) as a clerk.Otokichi had bee