Mr. Torao Tomita, Professor Emeritus of St. Paul’s University in Tokyo and Chairman of Friends of MacDonald Japan, passed away on June 11, 2016 at the age of 87.  Prof. Tomita came across Ranald MacDonald in 1969 when he attended the live play “Grassroots Warriors” performed by the Bunka-za Theater Group. Tomita-san was quite intrigued when one of the actors – portraying an American Indian named Ranald MacDonald – proclaimed that “in America, the People are more important than the President”.  Based on this single statement, Mr. Tomita began doing his own research into the man Ranald MacDonald, reading everything he could find, including the Narrative written by MacDonald and visiting as many of the places MacDonald had mentioned, both in Japan and in America.  In 1979 Tomita translated Ranald’s Narrative into Japanese, and published his own revision in 1981 and again in 2012. Eventually, as his research continued, Mr. Tomita revised his original portrayal of Ranald MacDonald from a youth who seemed a rather “reckless adventurer” into a rational, deliberate and thoughtful adventurer.

「マクドナルド上陸記念碑の建立を祝ってラナルド・マクドナルド利尻島上陸記念碑の建立に際し、私ども日本マクドナルド友の会から、心からお祝いを申し上げます。野塚岬の丘の上に立つと、はるか150年も昔、マクドナルドが草履をはき、二人のアイヌに手を引かれて、おぼつかない足どりで浜辺から上がってくる姿が眼に浮かびます。厳しい鎖国令下にある日本に潜入するため、慎重で大胆な冒険家マクドナルドが選んだ戦略は偽装漂流と、島の人びとの温情にすがることでありました。それは美事に成功し、野塚の番小屋では、タンガロと誤記された番人多治郎との暖かい友情まで生まれました。同じ平地に立って一対一で対等に向き合えば、いつの時代でも、どこででも、暖かい人間同士の交流が成立するのだ、という事をマクドナルドは身をもって示してくれたのです。10年ばかり前に、アメリカ側にフレンズ・オブ・マクドナルドが結成され、アストリアの丘の中腹にある生誕地に、マクドナルド顕彰碑が建立されました。ここ野塚の上陸記念碑とアストリアの顕彰碑は、太平洋を挟んではるかに向き合い、初めは言葉も分からない人間同士が、相互に相手を信頼し合えば、深い友情の絆で結ばれうるという事を、訪れる人びとに語り続ける事でありましょう。ひと言つけ加えたいと思います。それは、この記念碑の建立を誰にもまして悦んで下さるはずの二人の方を、最近相ついで失ってしまった事です。一人はフレンズ・オブ・マクドナルドの会長冨田正勝氏であり、もう一人は日本マクドナルド友の会の発展に尽くされた高橋正樹氏であります。お二人の御冥福を祈りたいと思います。1996年10月23日　日本マクドナルド友の会　富田虎男」

今から20年前の1996年10月23日、利尻島野塚岬に建立されたマクドナルド顕彰碑・吉村昭文学碑除幕式の立教大学名誉教授富田虎男先生の祝文である。

マクドナルドの利尻島上陸に手を引いた二人のアイヌ人、上陸してから芽生えた番人多治郎との暖かい友情。マクドナルドの生誕地米国オレゴン州アストリアの丘の中腹と日本国利尻島野塚とに太平洋を挟んで向き合う二つの記念碑。富田虎男先生の祝文を今一度読み直した私は、マクドナルドと島人たちの出会いを過去、現代において建てられた記念碑は物として使うのではなく、人は心と心、物は物語として膨らませて現代に繋げ、未来の交流を創って行く事の大切さ強く感じた。このことから、アストリアに建つ顕彰碑の上の五角形はマクドナルドが生まれたアストリア、捕鯨船から離れて上陸した焼尻島、初めて人と出会った利尻島、オランダ通詞たちに英語を教えた長崎、墓のあるトロダの五ヶ所を表していることになると思った。

病気療養中の富田虎男先生は2016年6月11日の未明、87歳で永眠された。家族葬にて6月16日午後6時から通夜、翌17日午前11時半から告別式が埼玉県所沢市の所沢市斎場で行われた。葬儀会場で富田虎男先生の遺影写真を見ながら様々に思いが蘇ってきた。

富田虎男先生がマクドナルドに出会ったのは1969年の劇団文化座「草の根の志士たち」だったという。公演で「長崎にはアメリカのインディアンがいて、アメリカでは一番偉いのは人民、その次が大統領」という台詞から、マクドナルドの事を知った富田虎男先生は、マクドナルドに縁のある米国・日本各地を訪れ、マクドナルドの日本回想記に書かれている事柄を確認しながらマクドナルドを追い続けた。その成果を1979年に富田虎男訳訂『マクドナルド「日本回想記」－インディアンの見た幕末の日本』として発刊した。その後、1981年に補訂版、2012年に再訂版を出している。発刊後に得た新しい資料等を基にして書き換えてきた。再訂版には「鎖国の日本に潜入した命知らずの大胆不敵な冒険家というラナルドのイメージは消え失せ、大胆ではあるが用意周到な冒険家というイメージが私の中に浮かんできた」と書いている。

富田虎男先生のマクドナルド研究の視点から「日米民間交流の先駆者ラナルド・マクドナルド－鯨が開いた鎖国の扉－」として、マクドナルドの調査研究とまとめを引き継ぎたい。~ Eiji Nishiya, Rishiri Isl., FOM Japan

The First Ranald Macdonald Prize to be awarded on October 11, 2016

Long ago, in 1993, I took a trip to Indonesia, and ever since then I have searched for some thread I could follow that connects Holland westward – not eastward – to the Far East. Fifteen years later I found this thread in Frederik Schodt’s biography of Ranald MacDonald. In 2008, my best friend Josje-Marie Vrolijk and I traveled westward around the world in the footsteps of Archibald McDonald and Ranald MacDonald. That was when we met you, the Friends of MacDonald. The trip was so inspiring that I became a very good friend of both Ranald and his modern friends.

My father died in 1999, and when my mother passed away in 2011 I decided to use the inheritance, earned by them in the private sector, for something useful in the public sector. That is how the idea for the Ranald MacDonald Award was conceived. But it needed some time to gestate. The name of the foundation, The Friends of MacDonald • The Dutch Connection, was inspired by a nickname Bruce Berney kindly gave Josje and me during our 2008 trip, and the foundation itself was formally established on November 12, 2015. It would not have been possible without a little help from my friends, actually without much help, from many friends, including you. And I am very grateful to all. 

Frederik Schodt suggested having the award ceremony on October 11 of every year, in commemoration of that Wednesday in 1848, when Ranald MacDonald arrived in the bay of Nagasaki on the Tenjinmaru and was met by the Japanese government’s interpreter, Einosuke Moriyama, and the Dutch trading factor, Joseph H. Levyssohn. I was very happy with this idea, because this small meeting beautifully symbolizes the meeting of ‘the West’ coming from “the East”; the “East” in this case being on the spot in Nagasaki and ‘the West’ coming from the true west—a directional meeting that I have long been intrigued by, and which shall always be central in the works we are henceforth going to commemorate. So, in the official papers of FOM NL, as we have abbreviated the name, October 11 is now the official date for the award ceremony.

For details about the prize, please visit the website of the foundation and/or its Facebook page (see below). For a short explanation, the text on our business cards should suffice:  “Friends of MacDonald • The Dutch Connection – a Cultural Public Benefit Organization which tries to advance insight in relations between Asia, Europe and North America. Its major activity is to grant the ‘Ranald MacDonald Prize’ to a young writer or artist whose work sheds new light on those relations. The prize amounts to 5000 Euros and will be announced every October 11.”

I suspect there is one thing readers of this description might consider odd: the award is Pan-Asian, Pan-European and Pan-North-American, which might seem to be too much to put on the shoulders of one individual like Ranald. But on the other hand, Ranald MacDonald was very much like you and me, operating in a highly unbalanced world. And it seems to me that we are all living again in a highly unbalanced world. Just as Ranald MacDonald cannot be understood without understanding the world he lived in, so, too, are we unable to understand ourselves without understanding the world that surrounds us. FOM NL therefore seeks to recognize and encourage the work of people who can help us understand what is happening. I like to think that Ranald MacDonald would be very happy with our goal, and I hope you agree.

As I write this, it is August 17, or “Hari Proklamasi” or Independence Day, in Indonesia, where I was born. At FOM NL we are now judging some fifty  works of writers and artists from all over the Northern Hemisphere, and we are trying very hard to select just one. This is not easy, because, frankly, the applicants all really deserve the award. But in the process of deciding, the name of Ranald MacDonald will become better known in the Netherlands – and every year one modern individual will be very surprised to receive an award named after him. Is not that amazing?

Fred Dijs, Secretary,  FOM • The Dutch Connection  

小濱正美医（マクドナルド友の会長崎代表）からのご報告によると、２０１５年１２月１０日に愛知県美浜町より４１名の音吉顕彰会（齋藤宏一会長）の方々が訪長、マクドナルド友の会長崎及び長崎南ロータリークラブの方々と和やかに交流、友好・親睦の輪が出来上がったとの事でした。

According to Dr. Masami Obama of FOM Nagasaki, 41 members of Friends of Otokichi – led by its President Koichi Saito – came to Nagasaki and had a friendly exchange with FOM Nagasaki and Nagasaki-Minami Rotary Club members.  Together, they visited Ranald MacDonald’s and Moriyama Einosuke’s monuments, both of which were erected by Nagasaki-Minami Rotary Club in 1995 and 2015 respectively. 

For the past 20 years, there stood a lonely monument of Japan’s very first “Native-Speaking English Teacher”, Ranald MacDonald, along Matsunomori Street of Kaminishiyama-cho in Nagasaki-City.  It was erected in 1994 by the Nagasaki-Minami Rotary Club as part of their 30^th Anniversary Project under then-President, Dr. Masami Obama.

Ranald MacDonald was captured as an illegal intruder on the shores of Rishiri Island in 1848; however, because of his good attitude and respectful behavior toward the Japanese people and its culture and traditions – unlike other foreign sailors who were washed ashore – he was “merely” placed under house arrest at Daihian.

At that time, the Tokugawa Shogunate was feeling the need for trained interpreters who could be effective in the English language rather than the traditional Dutch-oriented interpreters.  The arrival of MacDonald, who had received a good education because of his Scottish father, Archibald MacDonald, was quite timely, and the Shogunate immediately arranged to use him as a temporary teacher of English, primarily for “conversation and pronunciation”.

The Dutch interpreters, 14 of them, commuted to Daihian for the next 7 months for Ranald’s English lessons till Ranald was forced to return to go back home. The leader and best student among the 14 was Einosuke Moriyama.

Several years later, when Commodore M. Perry of the US East Indies Squadron came to Japan to demand the Shogunate to open its door to America, Moriyama acted as a chief interpreter on behalf of the Shogunate. Subsequently, Moriyama worked hard to interpret and negotiate with the British, French, Russians, etc. Much praise of Moriyama’s language and negotiation skills were written in the records of foreign governments.

A monument dedicated to Einosuke Moriyama was (finally) dedicated on September 12, 2014 – it can be found along Matsunomori Street of Kaminishiyama-cho in Nagasaki-City, right next to the MacDonald Monument – and it is quite appropriate that the two monuments of MacDonald and Moriyama were erected side by side. Be quiet and listen! You might hear the exchange of laughter and conversation between the two.  I am confident Ranald is no longer lonely there.   ~ Mas Yatabe

過去２０年間に及び長崎市上西山町松の森通り沿いに「日本で最初の英語教師」として今日崇められているラナルド・マクドナルドの顕彰碑がひっそりと佇んでいた。それは長崎南ロータリークラブ（当時、小濱正美医会長）が１９９４年に同クラブ創立３０周年記念事業として建立したものであった。

マクドナルドは１８４８年に“密入国者”として囚われの身になったが、他の外国人遭難船員等の違法入国者と異なり、日本人、日本文化に対する誠意ある尊敬の念と良好なる態度が長崎奉行により認められ松の森通り沿いに在った大悲庵と称する座敷牢に幽閉されたのであった。

時を同じくして幕府は当時従来のオランダ語中心の外国語通詞から、英語に長けた通詞養成の必要性を感じていた。そこにたまたま父親、アーチボルド・マクドナルドによりしっかりとした教育を身に付け、態度良好で英語を母国語としていたラナルド・マクドナルドの出現は、臨時英語教師として打って付けであった。よって出島のオランダ語通詞たち１４人はマクドナルドから英語、主として英会話の指導を受けるため大悲庵に通い始めたのであった。マクドナルドを師とする英語のレッスンは、マクドナルドが強制送還されるまでの７ヶ月間続けられ、その１４人の通詞たちのリーダーであり、最も優れた生徒が森山栄之助であった。

マクドナルドが去った数年後に徳川幕府に「開国」を迫ってやって来たペリー提督率いる米国東インド艦隊との交渉の際、幕府側の主席通訳として森山は大活躍した。その後、次々にやってきた英国、フランスやロシアとの通商条約締結の交渉に森山は徳川幕府にとり不可欠な存在となり、その事は特に外国の文献に森山の優れた語学力と交渉能力を称える記録が残っている。

今回、師弟関係にあったラナルド・マクドナルドと森山栄之助の顕彰碑が並列して建立された事は、実に喜ばしい！　耳を澄ますと、二つの碑の間で往時を偲ぶ会話と笑い声が交わされているのが聞こえてくるようにさえ感じられる。　察するに、今ではラナルドも寂しさから開放されたに違いない。- 谷田部　勝

(from L to R) Dr. Masami Obama, Mas Yatabe, Kazukuni Yamazaki（Sculptor）, Michi Goto, Yuji Aisaka  小濱正美医、谷田部　勝氏、山崎和國氏（彫刻家）、後藤　道女史、逢坂祐二氏

It was a gathering of FOM members from Hokkaido, Tokyo, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagasaki and even Holland and the U.S.A.  “It was fun and enjoyable – just like a class reunion,” per Ms. Yumiko Kawamoto.  記念撮影：　森山栄之助顕彰碑除幕記念晩餐会出席者一同 出席者は北海道、東京、愛知、京都、大阪、長崎、更に海外のオランダ、アメリカ・・・と「和やか、且つ楽しく同窓会みたい！」とは河元由美子女史の弁。

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“Haku-san Chidori”, the Alpine Swamp Orchid ~ dactylorhiza aristata .  There are many alpine plants which have “Hakusan” in their name because they were first discovered and named along the older hiking trails leading to Hakusan Shrine in Gifu Prefecture; however, the same plants can be found on many mountains throughout Japan – including Rishiri-Fuji.  ~ photo by Eiji Nishiya

Sendai Hagi – Japanese ‘Bush Clover’ (also known as Russian False Yellow Lupine) ~ Thermopsis lupinoides. In China the aerial parts and seeds are used as a crude drug as anti-inflammatory, expectorant, and emetic (a medicine or potion that makes you vomit; the Chinese name for medicinal use is ye jue ming). ~ photo by Eiji Nishiya

Japanese teens learn about famous resident’s birthplace ~ By Edward Stratton, The DAILY ASTORIAN,  Oct. 9, 2013

Ranald MacDonald, an Astoria native born at Fort George, landed on the Japanese island of Rishiri 165 years ago, and became the first English teacher in Japan.  During October 2013, two students from Rishiri Public High School visited Astoria to improve their English skills and understanding of MacDonald’s birthplace. They departed for other locations in Washington before heading back to Japan.

Tatsuya Koujiya and Yuuki Komatsu, both 17, arrived in Astoria Oct. 6 with their principal, Hiroyuki Tsukamoto.

“The purpose of it is to encourage the students to learn English and nurture international-minded youth,” said Masaru Yatabe, chairman of the 25-year-old Friends of MacDonald and host and interpreter for the students during their visit to the U.S.

The Japanese newspaper Daily Souya reported Dec. 11 that the communities on Rishiri Island, namely Rishiri and Rishirifuji, established the MacDonald’s Encouragement Study Fund, encouraging students to learn English. One or two top students will be chosen each year from their English-language class and travel to Oregon and Washington to experience American life and encourage their English-language skills.

Tatsuya and Yuuki are the first recipients of the fund. They passed a standardized English test, wrote theses in Japanese about what their goals were during the visit and were interviewed by their principal, vice principal and English teacher.

Tatsuya, a senior at Rishiri, said he was hurt and unable to play for his school’s badminton team. So he looked into the study abroad fund and thought it would contribute to his future. Yuuki, who had never left Japan before, works part time at a restaurant and wants to improve his language skills for when he helps foreign customers.

Yuuki and Tatsuya moved in with the families of 15-year-old sophomores Clay Williams and Ben Williams, respectively (they are not related). They’ve been shadowing their hosts in class, visiting local tourist attractions and the MacDonald monument near Fort George. They also attended a 15-6 AHS junior varsity football victory in Tillamook.

Rishiri’s high school has 96 students compared with AHS’ more than 600. Yuuki said at first it was overwhelming, but that over time Ben and Clay have introduced him and Tatsuya to other students, and that they’ve been enjoying the last couple of days despite the language barrier.

“Anyone going to a new place would feel kind of … nervous and quiet,” said Ben Williams, who along with Clay Williams said their Japanese peers are particularly polite. “The language sometimes is a little bit of a problem.”

The relative freedom and individuality of AHS was something new to Tatsuya and Yuuki, who said their high school environment in Rishiri is much more controlled with a focus on group action.

“Sometimes we feel like we lack the structure, so it’s the meeting of the minds,” said AHS Principal Lynn Jackson about the differences.

The two students and their principal left for Spokane, Wash., this morning, bound ultimately for Republic, Wash., where MacDonald died in 1894. Yatabe said they’ll shadow more students at Curlew High School in northeastern Washington, pay respects at MacDonald’s graveside and visit Mukogawa Women’s University in Spokane, Wash.  Then they will spend two days getting back to Rishiri, traveling through Spokane, Seattle, Tokyo, Sapporo, Japan, and finally home.

***

A new book entitled “Ranald・MacDonald” has been written by FOM International member and English teacher, Ms. Yuko Imanishi, who lives in the suburb of Nagoya, Japan.  The book is being published by “Bungeisha Co., Inc.” with a release date of June 15, 2013 [the price is ￥1,400 plus tax].

The book is written in Japanese and 218 pages long and is described as the story of an American who entered Japan when the nation was closed to the outsiders and ended up being the first “native English-speaking” English teacher in Japan [5 years prior to Commodore Perry’s first visit to Japan in 1853.]

Ms. Imanishi came across the story of Ranald MacDonald in 2009 during a visit to her friend in Astoria, Oregon while on vacation in May of that year.  Imanishi first saw the Ft. Astoria birthplace monument of MacDonald while taking a walk in this small town off the Pacific Ocean.  It was quite an awakening for her when she read the inscribed words “the first English teacher in Japan”.  An English teacher herself, Ms. Imanishi became intrigued; she studied and read many books about MacDonald, leading to a fascination with this remarkable American.  MacDonald’s adventurous, fearless and forward-looking attitude – which was based on his belief that all people are basically the same – stimulated Imanishi’s imagination and her ‘need’ to write about him.  MacDonald’s positive attitude and belief in people and his subsequent fearless endeavor in Japan was quite unusual – even unthinkable – under the iron fist of the Shogunate at that time.  How incredible was MacDonald’s “story” and yet how little-known it remained!  This realization fueled Imanishi’s desire to write a book that would enlighten more people in Japan about the extraordinary individual named Ranald MacDonald.

名古屋市郊外在住の英語教師でマクドナルド友の会国際会員でもある今西佑子女史は、この度 ラナルド・マクドナルドと題する本を書き上げ、来る６月１５日に株式会社文芸社より初版第一刷発行の運びとなった。【価格（本体）１,４００円＋税】

日本語で書かれた２１８ページに及ぶこの本は、“鎖国下の日本に密入国し、日本で最初の（ネイティブ）英語教師となったアメリカ人の物語”と、解説されている。　更に、帯表紙には、「ペリー来航の五年前、単身日本にやって来たアメリカ人がいた！」とある。

今西女史は２００９年５月の連休に友人を訪ね初めてオレゴン州アストリアを訪れた際、ラナルド・マクドナルドの物語に出会った。　太平洋に面した田舎町アストリアを散策中、史跡フォート・アストリアで“マクドナルド生誕の地”と書かれた記念碑に出くわし、更に「日本で最初の英語教師」と日本語で刻まれて居る文字を読み驚きを覚えた。　彼女自身英語教師でもあった事から興味をそそがれ、マクドナルドに関する本を読み、研究するに従い、この偉大なるアメリカ人の虜になった。　マクドナルドの冒険心と恐れを知らない、基本的に人間は皆同じ・・・との信念に基ずく前向きな態度に心を打たれた今西女史は想像力を掻き立てられ、彼に関して本を書く必要性に迫られた。マクドナルドの前向きな姿勢と人間への信条、恐れを知らない日本での行動は異常・・・と言うか、当時の鉄拳将軍の時代には到底考えられない事であった。　しかし、このマクドナルドの信じ難い“物語”はごく限られた人にしか知られて居ないのも現実である！この事に業を煮やした今西女史は、より多くの日本人にラナルド・マクドナルドなる偉大なる人物をもっと知り理解してもらいたいとの啓発心から、本書執筆に踏み切ったのであった。

The “Daily Souya” newspaper, dated Dec. 11, 2012, reports that a scholarship fund named “MacDonald’s Encouragement  Study Fund” has been established on Rishiri Island.  A committee to support and manage the Fund has also been formed with Mr. Kyoji Furukawa as its first President.  Since the beginning of 2012 the leaders of Rishiri Island held a series of meetings intended to get the ground work done for devising a scholarship fund which would benefit the students of the only public high school on the island and in particular to encourage them to study English.  One or two top students will be chosen from the  English-language class and will be sent to America – to Oregon and/or Washington – to experience American life and to further encourage their English language skills.  The program hopes to nurture the type of “internationally-minded person” who will become a human asset to Rishiri Island and will help to sustain the prosperous and happy life-style of Rishiri Island.  Committee members hope that this program will encourage more students to attend Rishiri Public High School [whose student body is in decline].  We at Friends of MacDonald happily and enthusiastically go “on record” in fully supporting the “MacDonald’s Encouragement Study Fund” and it’s exchange program.

For those of you who are interested in assisting this fledgling program by either donating funds or hosting a student from Rishiri – or both – please contact Friends of MacDonald at amm@friendsofmacdonald.com .

“Nanakorobi Yaoki” is translated to mean “seven times down, eight times up” —  another way to say “never give up hope”.

The Daruma is a traditional Japanese doll modeled after Bodhi Dharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism.  Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. These ‘dolls’ are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement.  They are usually made of papier-mâché, have a round shape, are hollow, and weighted at the bottom in a way that each doll will always return to an upright position when tipped over. This characteristic has come to symbolize the ability to have success, overcome adversity, and recover from misfortune.  Due to this, Daruma is often illustrated alongside the phrase “Nanakorobi Yaoki”, translated to mean “seven times down, eight times up”, another way to say “never give up hope”. The eyes of Daruma are often blank when sold. The recipient of the doll fills in one eye upon setting the goal, then the other upon fulfilling it. In this way, every time they see the one-eyed Daruma, they recall the goal.

Knowing what we do about Ranald and his seemingly boundless desire and energy to explore and participate in his world, I can easily imagine that he would have been delighted to have had a Daruma – with all of the projects he managed to document, it’s likely he would have used up several of them in his lifetime.  If there is anyone we can think of that epitomized the notion of “try, try again” it definitely was our friend Ranald MacDonald.