著者

堀川 徹

出版者

京都外国語大学

雑誌

研究論叢 (ISSN:03899152)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.70, pp.71-83, 2007

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In the history of the relationship between Japan and Turkey, the disaster of the Ottoman Battleship Ertugrul is one of the most important incidents. It is no exaggeration to say that the friendly relationship between the two countries began with this tragedy. In the middle of the night of September 16, 1890, the Battleship Ertugrul sank off the coast of Oshima Island in Wakayama Prefecture. Many of the local village people struggled to rescue the surviving crew of the ship in distress and to collect the bodies of the lost sailors. It was known that the government of the Ottoman Empire awarded Mr. Makoto Oki, the head of Oshima village, a Letter of Gratitude (Jberat) for their kind rescue activities with a Medal after 69 survivors returned safely to Istanbul. In our presentation we will introduce another kind of Appreciation Letter sent to Mr. Inugusu Kawashima, a policeman of Oshima village of the Arabic type including a transcription of the Turkish letters and a translation in Japanese. We would also make it clear that the same Letters of Appreciation were sent to other people, for example, the doctors and the officials who participated in the rescue activities. The possibility of the existence of these other letters is given credence by the letter we will show which was sent to Mr. Ichiro Date, a doctor of the village.