The Japanese man who survived the Titanic

Do you know the story of the Japanese man who survived the Titanic? Did you know he was criticized for surviving? In today's article we are going to talk about Masabumi Hosono and its long history.

Masabumi Hosono was the only Japanese aboard the Titanic in the year 1912. He was 41 years old and worked as a civil servant in Japan. He was on assignment in Russia and London, and was traveling on the Titanic as a second-class passenger.

In the midst of despair, knowing that he had only one spot on the lifeboat, he ran and saved himself, thinking about the possibility of meeting his family.

He was saved in boat number 13 and was considered a lucky Japanese by the media. In the beginning he was interviewed, appeared in many magazines and books, but this sparked a critical thought in the minds of many Japanese: Why didn't he sacrifice himself to save others?

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Masabumi Hosono

People started saying that Masabumi Hosono should have done like Benjamin Guggenheim, having sacrificed himself to give his place to a woman or child. So began a lot of social media pressure, people started calling him a coward, fearful, dishonest, immoral and others even said he should have died.

This negative image ended up causing Masabumi Hosono to lose his job, receive many hateful messages, in addition to causing his family to suffer shame and embarrassment for decades.

Fortunately, he got a job on Japan's rail network, and died naturally in 1939. In 1997, at the release of the Titanic movie, the Japanese government granted Masabumi Hosono an official pardon, bringing relief to the entire family.

Currently, the story of Masabumi Hosono brings embarrassment to Japan itself, for having cruelly treated a man who just wanted to see his wife and six children again.

The Japanese man who survived the Titanic

Why did this happen?

At that time, the virtues of the samurai were very evident, in addition to nationalism and patriotism. Society expected him to act with honor, courage, selflessness and sacrifice. For the Japanese, the only thing he did was survive at the expense of thousands of people who weren't lucky.

The Japanese didn't think about what their case would be if they were there. Even though they speak of honor and sacrifice, even though during the history of Japan thousands of samurai sacrificed themselves through the seppuku, or the kamizake during World War II. If it were you on the Titanic, would you sacrifice yourself for someone else's life? Isn't it up to everyone to make that decision?

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