Hosono Masabumi (1870-1939) was the sole Japanese survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, known as perhaps the most infamous marine disaster in world history. A civil servant originally from Niigata, Hosono’s profession mostly lay in engineering work. He studied Russian and did a brief stint in Russia, where he studied their railway system. By that point, Hosono had become a railroad director.
The original plan after Hosono’s time in Russia was to return to Japan – interestingly enough, via the United Kingdom. It was from there that he would board the Titanic, where his life would take the most unfortunate turn.
Though Hosono did survive, the scrutiny he endured for the rest of his life would prove arduous. Accused of selfishness in the United States, and cowardice by his native Japan, it wouldn’t be until almost 60 years after his passing that Hosono and his entire family would be rid of their society-imposed shame.
Voyage
Hosono boarded the Titanic on April 10, 1912, as a second-class passenger. On the night of the 14th, the ship crashed into the infamous iceberg and began to sink. Though he was awakened by a steward, Hosono was initially forbidden from going to the boat deck, because the crew assumed he was a third-class passenger due to his Asian heritage. He obeyed their orders the first time, then asserted his second-class status on a second attempt; again, he was rebuffed, but eventually slipped past the crew once he and his fellow second-class passengers made their move.
He eventually made it to the deck to experience both the tragic sinking of the ship and the dispatch of lifeboats. As was common protocol, women and children were given priority boarding. Hosono watched as four boats filled up. He said he was “deep in desolate thought that [he] would no more be able to see [his] beloved wife and children”.
Fortunately for him, not only did Lifeboat 10 launch around 1:20 am; there were two more spaces left before its departure. After witnessing one man take a leap of faith, Hosono soon followed. He made it to the lifeboat safely and was rescued along with everyone else on the lifeboat by the RMS Carpathia on April 15 at 8 am.
“Stowaway and a Coward”
Needless to say, Hosono was overjoyed to have survived. He managed to find some sleeping space in the overcrowded Carpathia’s smoking room. However, his stay there was stressful, due to the seamen’s ridicule:
“Because they are a bunch of good-for-nothing seamen, anything I say falls on deaf ears. [On the last day] in the smoking room I talked a little bit about myself; I showed a bull-dog tenacity and finally gained a bit of respect.“
-Hosono Masabumi
The RMS Carpathia arrived in New York City. Once there, Hosono reconnected with some friends at the Mitsui Trading Company. He told them of his situation and they lent him some money for his journey back to Japan, via San Francisco.
Originally, the tale of his survival was received positively. A local newspaper dubbed him the “Lucky Japanese Boy”–despite him being 41 years old at the time.
Alas, this reception was short-lived. False accounts in America began to brew. Archibald Gracie IV, a historian and passenger of Lifeboat 10, claimed Hosono was a stowaway Others claimed that Hosono and the other man dressed as women before boarding the lifeboat.
These accusations did not reach Japanese society. But the public was angered by Hosono’s survival; many attributed it to cowardice. After his interview with the Yomiuri Shinbun, Hosono was met with great hostility from his fellow countrymen, who even recommended he commit suicide. He was fired by the Ministry of Transport, but then re-hired on a contract basis three months later, as his expertise was too valuable.
He worked there until his death in 1939.
Redemption
It would be nearly 60 years after Hosono Masabumi’s death before his name would be cleared. Until then, his immediate family and descendants had to reckon with the shame. While Masabumi’s son, Hideo, published a Sunday Mainichi article on September 14, 1980, titled, “My Father Who Escaped Was No Coward”, it was met with little fanfare, as immediate interest in the matter had died out.
in 1997, the movie Titanic was due for release, which reinvigorated global interest in the disaster and the multiple stories surrounding that fateful night. The Hosono family decided to republish Masabumi’s letter in the Yomiuri Press. This account was picked up by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer with the headline, “Titanic Survivor’s Writings Revealed, Japanese Exonerated By Account“.
Summary
One common misperception about the reasons behind Hosono’s ostracism is that it was based on the honorable Samurai Code. Not only is this an Orientalist take, but it is also ahistorical. Keep in mind that this was 1912, when the Meiji Era ended, and the Taisho Era would begin.
Westernization was the main tenet of the Meiji Era. The samurai-centered hierarchy was out of fashion. As a matter of fact, the Western gaze alone fueled the abandonment of many local practices, including tattoos. This was done in an effort to appeal to Western visitors.
This relates to Hosono Masabumi’s ostracism because also around that time, an influential book called Self-Help (with Illustrations of Character and Conduct) by Scottish journalist Samuel Smiles swept Japan. Translated to the title Saikoku rishi hen, or “A Collection of Success Stories from Western Countries”, the Japanese public saw it as the ideal primer on manners, social expectations, and virtue in the international/Western community.
Therefore, when Hosono made his successful return to Japan, allegedly without thinking of the women and children as a true Westerner would, the Japanese public was embarrassed and ashamed of his behavior.
The ironic part about this is that until he saw that small window of opportunity, Hosono did not want to blemish Japan’s image with his actions:
-Hosono Masabumi
I tried to prepare myself for the last moment with no agitation, making up my mind not to leave anything disgraceful as a Japanese subject. But still I found myself looking for and waiting for any possible chance for survival.
He did what any human being would want to do: survive. On top of that, there is no tenet in the Samurai Code that encourages chivalry towards women and children. That is a completely internalized Western concept and any other theory absolves America and Europe of their historical influence on Japan.
Overall, the Hosono family’s honor was eventually restored. Or, more accurately, the stigma against them faded with time. Masabumi’s story is a harrowing look at how race, class, and politics can become terrifyingly entangled with the human right to life and survival.
