Japanese Antarctic expedition

I was curious to discover a Japanese name on a figure in the Antarctic wing of our Canterbury Museum. It was Nobu Shirase. Nearby was a model of the Japanese ship Kainan Maru.

Shirase, an unknown army lieutenant, organised a Japanese Antarctic expedition at the time of Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen.

Little support in the expedition was demonstrated when the 31 metre-long expedition ship sailed from Tokyo on December 1, 1910. The event was witnessed by a handful of students.

Kainan Maru arrived at Wellington, New Zealand on February 7, 1911 and four days later departed for the Antarctic. Poor weather was experienced, their first encounter of icebergs coming on February 26. Clawing their way south through the drifting bergs, the coast of Victoria Land was sighted on March 6. Poor conditions rendered landing impossible. They sailed on through the Ross Sea towards Coulman Island only to find the weather worse than what they had left. Snow fell continuously, storms pounded them and soon they found themselves surrounded by a heavy ice pack. It was impossible to go further so Shirase ordered the depressed crew to turn the ship northward for Australia.

Their arrival in Sydney was not welcome. Wellington was also reported as unwelcoming to the Japanese. Racism was rampant in New Zealand and Australia.

Eventually sailing south once more the expedition spotted another ship in the Bay of Whales. Turned out to be the Norwegian Fram awaiting the return of Roald Amundsen. Japanese and Norwegians mixed well despite language difficulties. 

A Japanese dash attempt to reach the South Pole was unsuccessful but other expedition members made the first landfall at King Edward Vll land and part of the Ross Ice Shelf. They also were able to climb a 50-metre high ice slope and go on to reach the foot of the Alexandra Range, which until then had not been seen at close range. A large crevasse prevented them from reaching the summit of the mountains but a memorial board was erected to
commemorate the journey.

 After the men returned, Kainan Maru made her way back to the Bay of Whales. The wind was against her and it was not until February 2, 1912 that she could enter the bay.

Heading north the expedition called once more at Wellington and reached Yokohama on June 20. The expedition had sailed over 30,000 miles since leaving Japan and despite not reaching the Pole, they had achieved all their other goals after departing from Australia.

In contrast to their departure, their welcome home was to an enthusiastic reception. Nobu Shirase died in 1946.

As far as I know the model of Kainan Maru was made in Japan. I did hear that when it arrived in Christchurch it was sailed on Victoria Lake in Hagley Park.

When my Japanese photographer friend Tatsuro Okazaki, a keen photographer of sail boats, photographed the model Kainan Maru. He sent me his images. Being a deft hand at Photoshop he used his creative imagination and combined the model with an image of the ocean.