【Designated by the City：Historic Site】Monument of a Wrecked German Commercial Ship

In 1873, a German merchant ship, the Robertson left Fuzhou for Australia. The ship, however, was stranded on a giant tidal land off Miyaguni in a typhoon, and wrecked. The people in Miyaguni, despite the danger in raging waves, rescued the crew and sent them back home after treating them warmly and kindly for 34 days. The German government was impressed by the rescue efforts and Kaiser Wilheim I sent a naval ship in 1876 to erect a monument to express his gratitude in Oyakoshi, Hirara.

The story was titled “Philanthropy,” and appeared in “Elementary School Morals Textbook Vol. 4” published by the Ministry of Education of Japan in 1937, and used as teaching material throughout Japan. The year 1936 marked the 60th anniversary since 1876, and the Education Division of Miyako District, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, erected a new monument at the shipwreck site and held a grand ceremony with Mr. Genshin Shimoji in Osaka City serving as the chairman of the Planning Committee. Inscribed on the monument, created by a mason in Osaka City, is “The Site of a German Merchant Ship Distress,” written by Prince Fumimaro Konoe.