photos by Eiji Nishiya

‘ kijimushiro ‘

Potentilla fragarioides is a member of the Rosaceae family that is native to China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia.  The stem is boiled for use as a hemostatic in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  D-Catechin has been isolated as the agent of action, being used to stem bleeding after childbirth.

‘ ezo-engosaku ‘  

Corydalis ambigua This plant is a perennial herb from the poppy family that grows in the deciduous broad-leaved forest. It blooms from April to May before other taller plants and trees start to bud. An array of colored flowers cover the forest floor in blue, purple, maroon and white. The flowers can be seen from the Maruyama Path leading towards Sapporo city mountain-climbing area, Asahikawa City, Niseko Town, Rishiri Town and many other places in Hokkaido. Chemicals present in Corydalis ambigua have been studied as potential ways to increase pain tolerance and for treating drug addiction.  It is one of the 50 traditional herbs used in Chinese medicine.

‘ hime-ichige ‘

Anemone debilis or Anemonoides debilis, sometimes called the European Thimbleweed, probably due to the shape of the seed cluster.  These flowers can be really small:

this is tiny!

This spring will mark the 100th anniversary of the chilly day in late March 1912 when two women in heavy coats dug into the earth along the north edge of the Tidal Basin to plant saplings. First lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda, the wife of the Japanese ambassador to the United States, were joined by just a few people as they helped cherry blossom trees from half a world away take root in the nation’s capital.

When William Howard Taft became president in 1909, neither the Jefferson Memorial nor the Lincoln Memorial had been constructed. Mrs. Taft was hoping to host outdoor concerts and felt that the Tidal Basin area needed some embellishments.

Eliza Scidmore had long awaited such an opportunity. Scidmore, a travel writer, had fallen in love with the cherry blossom trees she saw gracing river banks in Tokyo while she visited her brother, a U.S. diplomat, when he lived in Japan. She had been trying for two decades to persuade authorities to plant them in the District.

David Fairchild of the Agriculture Department shared her view. Before the first lady’s project arose, he had imported some seedlings from Japan and given them to D.C. schools. Scidmore and Fairchild thought that the first lady’s project was a golden opportunity and recommended planting Japanese cherry trees. Mrs. Taft, who was familiar with cherry blossoms from visits to Japan, liked the idea and immediately requested the trees be planted. Col. Spencer Cosby was given the task.

At that time, renowned Japanese chemist Jokichi Takamine, who lived in New York, was visiting Washington. He was an advocate of improving U.S.- Japanese relations and was concerned by the hardening atmosphere in the United States toward Japan. Believing that the cherry blossoms could be a bridge between two peoples, Takamine had been working for years to persuade New York authorities to plant cherry trees along the Hudson River.

Takamine heard from his friend Scidmore about the first lady’s idea, and he proposed to donate 2,000 trees from Japan to the project. The Japanese consul general in New York, Kokichi Mizuno, who was also visiting Washington and was at the meeting with Takamine and Scidmore, proposed making the trees an official gift from the mayor of Tokyo, Japan’s capital city. Takamine, as a leader of the Japanese community in New York, agreed, and he went so far as to suggest to other Japanese in New York that, if official funding was not possible, contributions should be made by the leaders themselves.

The first lady welcomed the Japanese initiative. While Mizuno was communicating this situation to headquarters, the Japanese ambassador to the United States, Kogoro Takahira, confirmed the plan with the U.S. Secretary of State and also recommended to Japan’s foreign minister that the trees be an official gift from Tokyo. The Foreign Ministry then formally contacted the city of Tokyo. Mayor Yukio Ozaki, who was thankful for the role the United States had taken preparing negotiations leading to the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War, seized this opportunity.

In 1909, he acquired the Tokyo City Council’s consent to donate 2,000 saplings. Transport across the Pacific was made available by Nippon Yusen Line, free of charge. Young trees about 10 feet tall arrived in Washington in January 1910. People were jubilant. The endeavor attracted media attention, including an article by Scidmore in Century magazine about the beauty of the trees. But just as it seemed everything had come together, U.S. Agriculture Department inspectors found that many of the trees were riddled with insects. The trees had to be burned. Ambassador Yasuya Uchida, who was then in Takahira’s post, wrote to Tokyo to defend the measures U.S. officials had taken and strongly recommended another attempt. The city of Tokyo decided, in April 1910, to donate as many as 3,000 specially grown germless saplings. This time the city took charge of the shipping as well. When the four-foot-tall saplings arrived in the District in March 1912, a thorough inspection was conducted. The trees were found to be in excellent condition, free from insects and plant diseases. It was decided that they should be planted at once. Only a few people, including Scidmore and Cosby, were present at the ceremony.

Ozaki visited Washington twice during the spring season. On both occasions, he composed traditional Japanese verses describing his strong attachment to those cherry trees Tokyo had given. His second visit came just five years after World War II, but he was honored in Congress for the gift. One of his poems reads:

“Viewing the cherry blossoms by the Potomac

Enchanted by the moon and appreciating the snow

There I will find the end of my life.”

Today, more than 3,000 trees surround the Tidal Basin, and approximately 100 of them are originals from 1912. When the Cherry Blossom Festival started in 1927, Mrs. Taft was the main guest, along with former first lady Edith Wilson. Just as the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, has become a symbol of New York, cherry blossoms from Japan have become a symbol of Washington. The trees and their story are a living testament to the friendship between our peoples.

Commemorative Cherry Tree Planting at the Portland Japanese Garden ~

Thursday, April 12 ~ 10 a.m.–noon
Free with admission

In conjunction with the Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Festival Centennial and in collaboration with the the Consulate-General of Japan in Portland, the Japanese Garden will present a commemorative cherry tree planting in front of the Heavenly Falls on April 12th, 2012.

The last day of December 2011 – the day before the New Year of 2012 – the north wind blew off the cloud-cover over Mt. Rishiri and her rugged, snow-covered peaks appeared.   The people of Rishiri turned toward our beloved mountain and gave thanks for another year of vigor and vitality.

辛卯・平成23年の大晦日. 利尻山にかかっていた雲を飛ばして秀麗の姿をあらわした。たくさんの元気をくれた利尻山に感謝.

“Farming” konbu in the middle of winter on Rishiri.

Konbu can grow 3-10 meters long in two years on the coasts of Rishiri Island; it is harvested and sun dried before being shipped. Only Konbu which has matured for two years is used for cooking [one-year-old konbu, called ‘water konbu’, does not contain the rich components needed for a good flavor].  Konbu has been a part of the Japanese diet since ancient times, and Rishiri konbu is considered by most Japanese people to be the “best”.

The winter winds blow from the northwest and bring snow to Rishiri.  The north wind is called “ai” and the northwestern wind is called “tama“.  When these winds blow, we on Rishiri Island exchange greetings:  “”Shibareru ne?” – “It’s cold, isn’t it?”  [A gross  understatement, I think. ~A]

The cold is quite severe and penetrates through clothing to chill the skin.  Still, it is necessary to remove the snow and ice from the boats, even on the coldest, most blustery days. There is never any rest for the fishermen of Rishiri.

北から北西の風が吹く利尻島． 北の風はアイ、北西の風はタマと言う。 この風が吹くと,「シバレルネ」が挨拶となる。 寒さが厳しく肌に凍みること。 吹雪いて船に積もった雪をとったり、時化で動かされる船を見たり,島人は真冬から船を守っている。

~ photos and comments by Eiji Nishiya

秋の森。

野の花たちや草が枯れる秋は森の中に入りやすくなる。

ツバメオモトの青い実をたくさんみつけた。

夕方、曇り空でもメヌショロ沼に利尻山が映った。

秋晴れの日。

利尻山頂がきれいに見えたこと。

岩場のウミウは陽射しで日向ぼっこしていた。

The forest in autumn …

It gets easier to walk into the forest when the flowers and the weeds have withered;

I found a lot of tsubame-omote there having blue fruit/seeds.

In the early evening, despite the cloudy sky, Mt. Rishiri reflected on Lake Nushoro.

Under the autumn sky the top of Mt. Rishiri could be clearly seen as the Sea- cormorants basked in the last rays of sun on the rocky shores.

tsubame-omoto [ ‘blue-fruit-plant’ ] –  Japanese Wood Lily – Clintonia Udensis

photos by Eiji Nishiya

紫陽花とコエゾゼミ

二十日盆のあと、お寺の境内でみられる紫陽花。

島人はいつもは秋が来るというが、

最近は残暑を感じさせるコエゾゼミの鳴きが響くようになってきた。

Ajisai [ hydrangea aspera ] [and ko-ezo semi [ terpnosia nigricosta ]

After the 20^th day of O-bon we often see hydrangeas in the temple yard [compound].  Islanders say that autumn is coming.  Lately, however, the sound of ko-ezo semi [cicada] makes us think that it is Indian Summer.

Photos by Eiji Nishiya, August 2011

ハシブトガラス

めったに撮ることの出来ないハシブトガラス。

動きに敏感で、出来るだけ近づこうとしても、直ぐに飛んでしまう。

今回は珍しく、じっと動かないでいてくれた。

一羽でヤマグワの実などを食べていたので、私が離れるのを待っていたのだろうか。

愛嬌のある顔であると感じたが、敏感で人を襲うカラスとは思えなかった。

It is very unusual to see the HASHIBUTO GARASU [Corvus macrorhynchos]; she is very sensitive and cautious and flies away if you try to get close.  This time, however, she stood still for my photo – which is a rare occurrence.  Alone, she was eating the fruit of the YAMAGUWA tree, and paused, as if she were waiting for me to leave so she could continue with her feast.  Her expression was so innocent and charming – it’s difficult to imagine that she will attack humans.

photo by Eiji Nishiya

The YAMAGUWA [Morus bombycis] or wild mountain mulberry has a prehistoric connection to humans.  The use of mulberries has a long history in Japan, traceable to Jomon times. The fruit can be eaten or made into wine.  The tree flowers in April to June with leaves; false fruits ripen from red to black in June to July.  This mulberry is one of the most-common trees in Japan and is cultivated for feeding silkworms. The wood, hard and heavy, is used for furniture, cabinet work, inlaid works, and sculptures.

島に咲く花たち

いろんな花たちが咲き始めている。

島をまわる道路際には、シャク、エゾカンゾウ、チシマフウロがなど見られる。

のびてきている緑色の草の中に、群生している花たちを見つけて歩くことが楽しい。

海岸草原にはオレンジ色の花、エゾカンゾウが群生しています。

自然の花園の彩りは、いつも心を癒してくれます。

Pure white Wild Carrot (torilis japonicus) and bright orange Ezo-kanzou [Day Lily] grow in colonies  in the meadows along the coast.  The natural colors of the flowers  always warm our hearts.

~~~ photos by Eiji Nishiya ~~~

FROM STICKS TO STONE:    Monuments Tell MacDonald Story

He doth raise his country’s fame
with his own
And in the mouths of nations yet
unborn
His praises shall be sung; Death
comes to all
But great achievements raise a
monument
Which shall endure until the sun
grows cold….
~Georgius Fabricius (1516-1571)

1894 Ranald MacDonald, 70, suffering from some “pains in the joints”, had gone up the Kettle River to Toroda.  His newly-widowed niece, Jennie Nelson, wanted his company.  He died there, August 5, 1894, whispering the Japanese word for Farewell:  “Sayonara, my dear, sayonara …”

He was buried in a desolate old Indian cemetery near Toroda, his grave unmarked and soon almost forgotten.  However, a 1917 photograph shows a wooden cross, apparently the first of three markers mounted over the old traveler’s final resting place.

1938 FOM MEMBER Richard M. (Dick) Slagle of Republic, WA, was in the party which placed a cast concrete marker on the grave in 1938.  He took photos of the ceremony with his “little $1 box camera”.

“I was a recent high school graduate,” he writes, “and in June of that year was approached by our local scoutmaster …  He had been asked to have the Boy Scout troop participate in a ceremony at a grave and to make a marker.  Not having any other information and only several days’ time, we set about the task of making a cement cross.  When the cement was poured we scratched in the name as neatly as we could:  Ranald MacDonald.

“On the day of the ceremony we loaded the cross into a school bus and rode to the Kettle River location, about 30 miles north of Republic.  It was a warm summer day and about a dozen or so people assembled in the little Indian cemetery on the edge of a bench.  It overlooks the Kettle River, the mouth of Toroda Creek and the ranch where Ranald MacDonald was visiting at the time of his death.

“Among the people gathered were Judge William C. Brown of Okanogan, a man with a lifelong interest in regional history and especially the history of the native people.  Judge Brown had organized the vent and as he spoke I first heard the story of Ranald MacDonald.

“However, the high point of the program was to hear Mrs. Jennie Lynch (the former Jennie Nelson).  At that time she was probably in her 70’s, an active Indian lady and a favorite of her uncle Ranald.  As our group stood on this spot and looked over the scenic Kettle River valley she told the story of her memories of her uncle and his fondness to visit their ranch and of his last trip and final illness … ”

1951 The British Columbia Historical Quarterly reported on an event on October 27, 1951: The Committee on Historical Sites of the State Parks and Recreation of Washington held ” … a dedication service at the Indian Cemetery at Toroda, on the Kettle River, to mark the grave and honor the memory of Ranald MacDonald, one of the most colorful figures of the early fur-trade days, whose varied experiences took him as far afield as Japan.”  Fifty-seven years after his death, the stone, which is still in place, told the story:

MacDonald’s grave with rocks from Rishiri Island.   Photo by Frederik L. Schodt

Another 30 years passed.  Then, as the Oregon-Japan connection gained strength, the story of Ranald MacDonald was rediscovered.  In Japan, Prof. Torao Tomita published a translation of MacDonald’s memoir.  The story was featured in a novel, “Ocean Festival“, by Akira Yoshimura.  Other publications followed in Japan.

1987 On July 2, 1848, Ranald MacDonald made his official landing in Japan at Notsuka Cape on Rishiri island, just off the Hokkaido coast.  Some 143 years later, on July 4, 1987, the Rishiri Rotary Club unveiled an historical monument erected on the rocky, black lava cape.  The memorial was made from a rough log of Ezo-matsu (spruce) native to the small island.  It was 3 meters (almost 10 feet) high and 35 centimeters (about 14 inches) in diameter.  Vertical Japanese writing described Ranald MacDonald’s landing on this island.  Next to the log was a large explanatory sign:

“The memorial stands facing the Pacific Ocean, looking out toward Oregon in North America,” says Masaki Takahashi.  As a member of Rishiri Rotary, he first urged construction of the monument and four years later saw it unveiled.  Funds were provided by Rotary and supervision by Prof. Jukichi Suzuki, a Rishiri native who strongly supported the concept of a commemorative marker for “the first spontaneous cultural exchange between Japan and North America.”

“Large numbers of tour buses stop every day,” says Dr. Takahashi.  Tourists ” … admire and are excited by the brave deeds of MacDonald of Oregon, who was dedicated to mutual understanding between Japan and North America in a time long gone, and who took his life in his hands to achieve it, 140 years ago.”  (The writer notes that, at the time Ranald MacDonald entered Japan, “it was a closed country, and entry by an outsider was usually punished by death …”

1988 A two-sided monument, Japanese text on one side , English on the other, was erected on the site of Fort Astoria, Ranald MacDonald’s birthplace.  It was dedicated to his memory in sunlit ceremonies at Astoria, Oregon on May 21, 1988. [See Vol. 1 No. 1 of this newsletter for details.]

The monument is gray granite.  A pentagonal bar across the top suggests the gate to a Japanese shrine.  The text tells MacDonald’s story and also incorporates the names of organizations and individuals in Oregon and Japan whose gifts made the monument possible.  The monument reflects a suggestion made almost 80 years ago by Eva Emery Dye, an early Northwest author who corresponded with MacDonald and published a book based on his life:

“Of all Oregonians,” she wrote, “Ranald MacDonald deserves a statue pointing to Japan.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

REPORT FROM ASTORIA – by Bruce Berney

From our perspective, many people have been involved in the promotion of knowledge about Ranald MacDonald.  Probably the most valuable contribution has been the “living history” project at Ft. Astoria.  Sponsored by the Clatsop County Historical Society with a grant from the Committee to Promote Astoria (which distributes income from motel tax), two young men, Brian Johnson and Troy Baker, dressed in the garb of fur traders of 1822, were on duty seven days a week to talk with visitors about important events at Ft. Astoria.  Although the main topic is the founding of Ft. Astoria in 1811 as the first American business enterprise on the Pacific Coast, the presence of the Ranald MacDonald birthplace  monument makes MacDonald’s life story an inescapable subject for discussion.  It is estimated that 2,000 people heard the “trappers” during the past summer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mt Rishiri photograph by Eiji Nishiya

WHY ON RISHIRI? MacDonald’s Landing Place in Japan

(Some interesting points to ponder in connection with Ranald MacDonald’s initial landing in Japan are raised in the following material, provided by Masaki Takahashi and Yuji Ushiro of the Friends of MacDonald in Rishiri.)

RANALD MacDONALD BOARDED the whaler Plymouth for Japan in December 1845.  About five miles southwest of Teuri and Yagashiri islands (off the west coast of Hokkaido) in June of 1848, Ranald left the Plymouth in a small boat.  His efforts to land on Teuri were unsuccessful and he landed instead on the southwest beach of Yagishiri, where he spent two days.  Early on July 1st he headed for Rishiri Island.

Why did he choose Rishiri Island after leaving Yagishiri?  These may be the reasons:

1 – It’s likely that Ranald assumed Yagashiri was an inhabited island.  To attain his purpose, he had to meet Japanese people.  When he realized that Yagishiri was, in fact, uninhabited, he knew he had to find another place to land, hopefully a place with people.  Ranald may have surmised that the mainland – Hokkaido – was too large to permit locating inhabitants easily.  An island, on the other hand, would be small enough to find people.  Rishiri has a high, snow-capped mountain peak and it is clearly visible on a clear day.  Ranald may have assumed that, with such a large mountain, the people who lived there would have been forced to live along the beaches and thus be easier for him to find.

2 – Japan’s cruel treatment of foreigners was notorious.  Ranald wanted to avoid danger.  He may have reasoned that casting away on an island – rather than on the mainland – would afford him the best possible chance of meeting commoners rather than government officials (who would likely immediately capture him).  He may have also thought that if there were fewer people, “commoners” rather than officials, they might be more sympathetic to his plight as a castaway and would be kind to him.

3 – If there were still no inhabitants (on Rishiri) he could move on to the mainland; to leave the mainland for one of the islands would have been more difficult.

4 – Douglas Williams – a reporter for Hokkaido Broadcasting Co., and a member of the film crew which visited Astoria for the monument dedication – thought that, because there is a high mountain in Oregon (Mt. Hood, which is quite visible from the Ft. Vancouver area where Ranald grew up) MacDonald may have unconsciously (or unconsciously?) have been drawn to Mt. Rishiri.

5 – From mid-June to July the shores of the Sea of Japan along the northern part of Hokkaido are often blanketed with thick fog.  Mt. Rishiri may have been the only visible landmark.  About 50 miles separate Yagishiri from Cape Notsuka, Rishiri; it is impossible to row all of the way from one island to the other. According to MacDonald’s own story, he sometimes hoisted a sail or simply allowed his small boat to be carried by the ocean currents.  (Presumably the time he had spent in the Sea of Japan on the whaler Plymouth would have given him some knowledge of the currents thereabouts.)  An experienced sea captain familiar with the area explains that tidal action alone could have carried MacDonald from Yagishiri to Rishiri.

Why Cape Notsuka?  Wind.  It likely carried Ranald’s small boat to Cape Notsuka on northern Rishiri rather than to Minamihama or another sandy beach on the southern coast.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We Are Organized!

“Friends of MacDonald” has been organized as a Clatsop County Historical Society chartered committee.  It honors Ranald MacDonald, a native Astorian who, in 1848, risked his life on a mission of friendship to forbidden Japanese shores.

The Charter was presented May 20 by Heather Reynolds, president of the Historical Society.

The organization will seek to find and preserve MacDonald memorabilia, to promote publication of newsletters, books, articles and other materials about MacDonald, to hold seminars and other educational programs, and to encourage museum exhibits and visits.

WEST OF THE SUN ~ A Tokyo Branch of Friends of MacDonald has been organized with Hiromichi Shibata as Manager.  Extensive press coverage in Japanese language publications includes Oregon Trail Magazine, The North American Post, Kaigai Chuzai, Japan Economic Journal and others.

Charter members of Friends of MacDonald include Hugh Ackroyd, Aihara Agency Inc., Yuji Aisaka, Clifford B. Alterman, Wayne Atteberry, Mr. & Mrs. George Azumano, Frank Bauman, Borden Beck, Jr., Floyd Bennett, Bruce Berney, J.E. “Bud” Clark, Joan Choi, Marilyn Cochrane Davis, Brian Doherty, Epson America Inc., Ted & Carrie Etzel, Nancie Fadeley, Bill Feuchtwanger, Michael Foster, Vera Gault; Evelyn Hankel, Edith Henningsgaard, Gene Hogan, Itogumi USA Corp., Japan-American Society of Oregon, Toshiyuki Kasai, Eizo Kaneyasu, Shigeru Kimura, Isamu Kobayashi, Stephen Kohl, Kiyoshi Komatsu, Hiroyuki Kurumizawa, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Betty Leu, Allan Mann, Stephen McConnel, Randal & Ross McEvers, Jerry McMurry, Barbara Minard, Shirley Minard, Hope Moberg, Jim Mockford, Dr. & Mrs. R.P. Moore, Kenneth Munford, Eiji Nishiya, Hiroaki Nishitani, Ryuji Noda, Mamoru Ofuku, Pacific Power & Light Co., Peat Marwick Mann & Co., Barbara C. Peeples, Phyllis Reuter, Yasuo Skaniwa, Shoichi Sakanushi;  Herbert & Barbara Schwab, Arnold Seeborg, Hiroaki Sekizawa, Katsuhiko Shimodaira, Shokookai of Portland, Standard Insurance Co., Richard & Helen Slagle, Donald Sterling, Hisao Sugi, Sam & Kitzie Stern, Yuji Takahashi abd the Rishiri Rotary Club, Isaac Tevet, Mr. & Mrs. Dick Thompson, Masakatsu Tomita, Frank Tomori, Morio Toyoshima, Paul Van der Veldt, Susanna Von Reibold, Ronald L. Walquist, Akira Watanabe, Betty Williams, William Winn, Katsu Yamazaki, Ichiro Yokoyama.

OFFICERS ELECTED – Mas Tomita, president of Epson Portland, Inc., chairman; Bruce Berney, City of Astoria librarian; and Stephen Kohl, PhD. of the University of Oregon, both vice chairmen; and Barbara Peeples, Portland public relations counselor, secretary; Hiromichi Shibata, Tokyo Branch Manager.

* * * * *

Monument Dedicated to Honor Astorian Ranald MacDonald,

Japan’s First Teacher of English

ASTORIA, May 21 ~~ A monument of American granite was dedicated this day on the site of the old Fort Astoria [Ft. George] in honor of Ranald MacDonald, born here in 1824 to a father descended from Highland Scots and his wife, a Chinook princess.

The jubilant cry of bagpipes recalled the Scottish heritage as dignitaries representing four nations joined 200 other guests for an outdoor ceremony beneath clear, blue skies and a hot sun.  Ranald MacDonald, dead for almost a century, was being honored by his hometown.

The ceremony recognized MacDonald’s 1848 visit to Japan, during the period in which Japan shut its doors to foreigners and threatened Christian intruders with death.  MacDonald, carrying a bible and armed only with native ingenuity and goodwill, made a plan which landed him on Japan’s Rishiri island and permitted him, even though imprisoned, to learn Japanese and to become Japan’s first teacher of English.

Today, MacDonald is widely known in Japan as a pioneer ambassador of international friendship.  A monument on Rishiri tells of his arrival; books and magazine articles have been published, including a Japanese translation of his own story.  Guests at the dedication included a crew from Hokkaido Broadcasting Film Company, which has produced a documentary about his life.  Speakers during the monument dedication included Akira Watanabe, Consul-General of Japan; Andrew Hay, British Consul; State Senator Joan Dukes; Oregon Clan Donald Commissioner Marilyn Davis; Astoria Mayor Edith Henningsgaard; descendants of Chinook Chief Com’Comly, MacDonald’s maternal grandfather, and of Archibald McDonald, his father.

Bruce Berney, who is vice president of the Clatsop County Historical Society, was master of ceremonies.  Dr. Stephen Kohl presented an historical vignette; John Cooper, CCHS executive director, unveiled the monument and Kenichi Tomita, 10, son of Mas Tomita, chairman of Friends of MacDonald, read the Japanese text.

Moriyama and Tokojiro, two of MacDonald’s students,became chief interpreters to Commodore Perry

* * * * *

GREETINGS FROM ABROAD TO OREGON FRIENDS

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN ” …  We are deeply impressed that the starting point of relations [between Oregonians and Hokkaido-ans to further mutual friendships] was marked before the Civil War or the opening of Japan’s ports with the visit of an American named Ranald MacDonald.  Mr. MacDonald knocked on Japan’s stubbornly closed doors and taught his native tongue to the Samurai.  Indeed, his visit of some 140 years ago was an historic scheme of grandeur … We hope that the dedication of the MacDonald Monument will serve to remind us of this brave man who cut a road of friendship based upon trust and understanding … ”  ~ Takahiro Yokomichi, Governor of Hokkaido

” … MR. EINOSUKE MORIYAMA, who was taught by Mr. MacDonald, had contributed to the civilization and enlightenment of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture.  I sincerely expect that Friends of MacDonald will also carry out brilliant achievements for friendly relations between the United States and Japan …” ~ Kazuji Nagasu, Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture

” … HE IS UNDOUBTEDLY of special interest to us because of his presence in Lahaina at the height of the whaling period and his unique tie to Japan … We look forward to being a member of the Friends of MacDonald.” ~ Lynn McCrory, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

” … I REGRET THAT I cannot come to Astoria to take part in the ceremony.  On the same day I have a prior commitment to give a lecture about Ranald MacDonald to a group of high school English teachers in Toyohashi City.  Ranald MacDonald deserves special recognition as a memorable contributor to Japanese history.” ~ Akira Yoshimura, author of Festival of the Sea, a book about MacDonald and E. Moriyama

” … HE GREATLY IMPRESSED the Japanese with his intelligence, politeness and integrity and succeeded in communicating friendship and trust … Such a wonderful story should be handed down to Japanese generations to come.  I believe that this monument will … promote the friendship that he began between Japan and the United States.” ~ Masaki Takahashi, of the Rishiri island Rotary Club, which last year erected a monument at the place where Ranald landed in 1848.

” … EVEN AFTER 140 YEARS MacDonald’s great courage and action have left a deep impression to not only Rishiri Citizens but also to all of the Japanese … Although Rishiri, Nagasaki and Astoria are a great distance apart, they share the same spirit of friendship which crosses the Pacific Ocean.” ~ Toshi Adachi, Town Mayor of Higashi Rishiri

* * * * *

RANALD’S NAMESAKE ATTENDS FESTIVITIES

Ranald MacDonald, a descendant of Ranald MacDonald’s father (Archibald McDonald) was a guest at the first MacDonald seminar May 20.  Young Ranald is a student at Montana State University in Bozeman, where he is studying political science and public administration.  He and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ranald McDonald* of Niarada, MT, made the long trip here to participate.

Other special guests at the ceremony included descendants of Chief Com’Comly and the Stanton families, who are descendants of Jenny Lynch, MacDonald’s niece.  It was at Mrs. Lynch’s home that Ranald MacDonald died in 1894 whispering the Japanese words of farewell:  “Sayonara, sayonara.”

[* Ranald MacDonald, who restored the “a” in MacDonald that his father and some other relatives abandoned, never married.  There are many collateral descendants, related through his step-brothers and sister, Com’Comly’s cousins and his parents’ siblings.]

* * * * *

PROGRAMS, PUBLICATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

MACDONALD SEMINAR – Prof. Torao Tomita of Rikkyo University, Tokyo, a leading Japanese authority on American Indians and also the Japanese translator of Ranald MacDonald’s memoir, was a key speaker on May 20 when Friends of MacDonald sponsored a seminar about MacDonald in Astoria.  More than 100 guests attended.

Dr. Tomita suggested two reasons for MacDonald’s decision to visit Japan:  one, he said, was the prejudice he faced because of his Indian heritage; the other, his theory about the ancestral kinship of the Indian and Japanese people.

Prof. Stephen Kohl of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Oregon, and long a student of MacDonald, spoke of the peril MacDonald risked by visiting Japan.  Kohl credited MacDonald’s “enduring belief in human nature – if you act like a human being, people will treat you like one” – for his success.

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MACDONALD BOOKLET AVAILABLE

A concise story of Ranald MacDonald’s adventure, taken from the book Five Foreigners in Japan by Herbert H, Gowen, has been re-printed by Friends of MacDonald.  Publication was made possible through a grant from Epson Portland Inc. and with the permission of Fleming H. Revell Co.  The booklet includes photos of MacDonald, members of his family and  Japanese students and a map of his voyage from Rishiri to Matsumae.  It is available for $2.50 plus 50 cents postage from the Clatsop County Historical Society.

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THANK YOU, CLAN DONALD:  Marilyn David, Oregon commissioner of Scottish Clan Donald, to which Ranald MacDonald belonged, presented a clan memento to Bruce Berney of the Friends of MacDonald during her talk at monument dedication ceremonies.  MacDonald was proud of his Scottish ancestors, who came from Glencoe in the Scottish highlands.  Oregon members of Clan Donald have themselves dedicated a monument, at the Old Scotch Church in North Plains, Oregon, in memory of the Massacre of Glencoe.

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MACDONALD EXHIBIT ON DISPLAY AT CCHS:  A Ranald MacDonald exhibit is now on display as the Heritage Museum of the Clatsop County historical Society, located at 1618 Exchange St., just a block east of the MacDonald monument.  Visitors will find maps, books and photographs about Ranald MacDonald and his voyage across what he called “this placid sea”.

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LIBRARIAN WITH A CAUSE REALIZES A DREAM:  Ranald MacDonald’s rebirth in Astoria, Oregon can be traced back to 1972.  Bruce Berney, director of the Astoria Public Library, was culling seldom-read books from library shelves.  One of those books was Ranald MacDonald’s story of his visit to Japan in 1848 and his experience as Japan’s first teacher of English.  Berney’s interest was piqued; the librarian had been an English teacher in Japan in 1961-63.  Berney set the book aside for his own reading and this met Ranald.

On February 3, 1974, the 150th anniversary of MacDonald’s birth (also Berney’s birthday, coincidentally) Astoria Friends of the Library celebrated.  Slowly, interest in the incredible story grew.  Dr. Torao Tomita came to Astoria to learn more about MacDonald, and eventually translated his book into Japanese.

Berney wanted a MacDonald monument erected.  He felt it would interest Japanese seamen visiting Astoria and other tourists, but money was needed.  The State’s growing Japanese business community was approached.  A talk to the Board of Shokookai of Portland stimulated the interest of Board Member Mas Tomita, president of Epson Portland, inc., who had read the MacDonald story in a Japanese magazine but had not realized that “Fort George” was better known as Fort Astoria.

Steve Kohl of the University of Oregon and other became involved.  The result:  our international organization, FRIENDS of MACDONALD, is in existence because Bruce Berney found a book no one had read for five years.

Berney told guests at the dedication ceremony:  “My dream has been realized.”

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