Magotaro: An eighteenth century Japanese sailor’s record of insular Southeast Asia
Although called Magoshichi, the eighteenth century Japanese adventurer, Mogataro, born probably in 1747, was referred to as Magotaro, based on the transcript of his interview at the Nagasaki Magistrate Office. The same name is used in another record, Oyakugashira Kaisen Mokuroku, a business recor...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2009
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1153/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1153/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1153/1/sari27%281%29-2009%5B04%5D.pdf |
| Summary: | Although called Magoshichi, the eighteenth century Japanese adventurer,
Mogataro, born probably in 1747, was referred to as Magotaro, based on the
transcript of his interview at the Nagasaki Magistrate Office. The same name is
used in another record, Oyakugashira Kaisen Mokuroku, a business record of
the Tsugami family, a shipping agent in Magotaro’s home village. In this paper,
I attempt to trace his experiences in a number of documents and records. Some
are reliable, while the others not. The most important and accessible source is
An Account of a Journey to the South Seas. It contains an account from an
interview with him in his old age. Another important official document about
him is Ikoku Hyoryu Tsukamatsurisoro Chikuzen no Kuni Karadomari Magotaro
Kuchigaki, which is the transcript of the Nagasaki Magistrate Office’s
interrogation of Magotaro when he arrived in Nagasaki in 1771. There is also Oranda Fusetsugaki Shusei submitted to Natsume Izumizunokami Nobumasa,
the Nagasaki Magistrate, by Arend Willem Feith, the captain of the Dutch ship
aboard which Magotaro was repatriated. The other sources, including
manuscripts, have a more or less literary flavor but are not reliable |
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