Wakayama/Tragedy led to Japan-Turkey ties

The TV crew of the Istanbul-based company Ilta were on location at the site of the wreck until March 2, shooting the 54-minute documentary, tentatively titled "Sun, Moon and Star." Residents of the town also were filmed for the documentary, which is scheduled to be broadcast in Turkey on the national TV station this autumn.
The tragedy caused the death of about 590 members of the 660-strong crew. About 200 local people tried to help the survivors by providing bedding, clothes and food. Three local doctors also gave the injured medical treatment.
Those involved in the disaster relief include Shotaro Noda (1868-1905), a journalist who went to great lengths to repatriate the survivors, and Torajiro Yamada (1866-1957), who raised a relief fund. Both men later went to Turkey and taught the Japanese language there at the then Ottoman emperor’s request. Consequently, they are considered to have contributed to establishing a friendship between the two countries.
The documentary was planned three years ago as an attempt to film the history of the friendship and to make sure the men’s achievements were remembered. It is scheduled for completion in June after a year of production.
Four of the production company’s staff members, including Sehbal Senyurt, 41, a producer and Kyoko Yokoma, 38, an assistant director, stayed in the town six days during shooting.
The documentary will include interviews with the descendants of the warship’s crew members in Ankara and with Akikazu Hamano, a ferryman who was involved in a centennial celebration of the Japan-Turkey friendship in 1990.
"Despite our different nationalities, we seafaring men are all brothers," Hamano, 75, said, "It grieves me to think of those who lost their lives in the tragedy."
At a nearby primary school, all 65 students sang a dirge for the victims. Some of the students also talked about their images of Turkey in the documentary.
Senyurt said, "It’s important to carry this friendship, which dates back more than 100 years, into the future.
Yokoma said, "We’d like to let people in Turkey know about the friendly relationship developed through people-to-people ties."
Kushimotocho established sister-city relationships with Yakakent in 1964 and Mersin in 1975. A Turkish museum and a memorial monument were erected in the town as a token of the Japan-Turkey friendship.