children. In 1918, his eldest son, Dr. Nakahama Toichirō, donated a valuable sword to Fairhaven in token of his father's rescue and the kindness of the town. It continued to be displayed in the town library even during World War II when anti-Japanese sentiment was very high. After the sword was stolen in 1977, a replacement was gifted in 1982 and is still on display at the library. Among his accomplishments, Manjirō was probably the first Japanese person to take a train, ride in a steamship, officer an American vessel, and command a trans-Pacific voyage. There is a statue of Nakahama Manjirō at Cape Ashizuri, on Shikoku. However, his grave, formerly at the Zōshigaya Cemetery in Tokyo, was destroyed by American air raids in World War II. In Fairhaven, the Manjirō Historic Friendship Society renovated William Whitfield's home to include a museum dealing with the Manjirō legacy. Minor planet 4841 Manjiro is named after him. Many books have been published about Manjiro's life and journey such as Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, Born in the Year of Courage by Emily Crofford, and Shipwrecked! The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy by Rhoda Blumberg. A Manjiro Festival, sponsored by the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society, is held in Fairhaven in early October of odd numbered years. See also Hasekura Tsunenaga, one of the first recorded Japanese to reach the Americas, in 1614 Tanaka Shōsuke, one of the first recorded Japanese to reach the Americas, in 1610 Christopher and Cosmas, one of the first recorded Japanese to reach the Americas, as early as 1587 Otokichi, a famous Japanese castaway to the British and American controlled Oregon Territory in 1834 Moriyama Einosuke, another translator in the negotiation with Perry Ranald MacDonald, the first teacher of English in Japan (Moriyama Einosuke was one of MacDonald's students in Nagasaki in 1848) Shimazu Nariakira Joseph Heco, the first Japanese person to be naturalized as a United States citizen, in 1858 Pacific Overtures, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's unconventional musical about the arrival of the black ships in Japan. Manjiro is a major character in it, although his story is highly dramatized. References Further reading Donald R. Bernard, "The Life and Times of John Manjiro" "Heart of a Samurai" A novel closely based on the true story of Manjiro Nakahama. 1827 births 1898 deaths 19th-century Japanese translators 19th-century sailors Castaways Hatamoto Japanese translators Japanese sailors Meiji Restoration