Increasing of mutual understanding between the people of Russia and Japan is a goal which can be achieved in many different ways. One of them — tracing the historical events which brought the representatives of both peoples together in hard circumstances.
Today I would like to speak about the events which happened 90 years ago with the members of my own family.
I will begin with a very short overview of the situation in Russia at that time.
In 1918 the city of Petrograd (today’s Saint Petersburg) was experiencing real hardships caused by the First World War and revolution of 1917.
Famine, epidemics, economical and financial devastation, disorders in all spheres of everyday life were so severe, that the Russian Red Cross and local educational commissions managed to organize summer camps for the children in different parts of Russia , in safer and more economically stable regions.
At the end of May 1918 two groups, about 500 children each, went to the region of the Urals mountains where they were supposed to spend three months under the supervision of the teachers .
It happened so that my grandparents were at that time among those children who used to call themselves «THE COLONISTS» because such summer camps were at that time called Children’s Summer Nutritional Colonies. We will also refer to the participants of the story as COLONISTS.
At the beginning life in the Colony was not bad. They had much better food than they had had in Petrograd. They played sport games, danced, sang, organized interesting competitions. And be sure that they didn’t always behave perfectly and sometimes their supervisors were not very happy about them. But in general it was a good vacation.
Unfortunately, it was at that time that the cruel fratricidal civil war began. The colonists were stuck in the district of the military activities and could not return home by September as it had been planned.
They got into a very hard situation because of lack of money, provision, medicines , warm clothing, shelter and proper care. The teachers were in awful position. They were responsible for the kids, but they could do nothing for them. And it was very dangerous because the battles happened just under the windows of the rooms where the kids slept and sometimes the bullets got in the rooms.
Fortunately, the American Red Cross whose volunteers were working in Siberia at that time, learnt about the miserable condition in which the children were. They managed to transfer them to Vladivostok in three big military trains. The children were now under full protection and support of the ARC. They settled in the town of Vladivostok — 10 000 kilometers away from Petrograd and much closer to Japan than to their home city.
For a year they lived in Vladivostok , they went to school, they learned crafts, they entertained themselves. And every day they asked their new director — the head of the American Red Cross commission — Mr. Riley Allen — when they would go back home to their parents. And Mr. Allen who was a man of great loving heart promised them that it would happen as soon as possible.
In spring 1920 when the Japanese troops invaded Vladivostok the American Red Cross had to leave the territory of Russia. The Russian children were to be left without any support and care. But Riley Allen could not betray a thousand children who are aged from 3 to 18. The kids could not survive if he had left them alone.
Allen realized that due to the current political situation the only way to save the children was to take them to Europe across the ocean. He needed a big ship. But there was no spare ship. Nobody agreed to help — the situation was too difficult for everybody to think about a thousand of somebody else’s children — millions were in catastrophic position. Neither Americans, nor Russians were at that time ?in good terms with Japanese government. The memories of the Russian-Japanese war of 1905 were still very strong in the minds of the people.
But it turned out that the only country which cared about the kids was Japan. The Japanese ship was hired by the ARC from KATSUDA STEAMSHIP Company in Kobo. The Japanese took a risk to get involved in an unusual adventure. The thing is that the ship which was called «„Yomey Maru“» was not a regular passenger ship but a dry cargo ship. There were no cabins and no conveniences for a thousand passengers.
But Riley Allen was not at all disappointed. He immediately sent his engineer to Japan, and in shortest time the modest cargo ship was transformed into a more or less suitable sailing home for unusual passengers. There were built dining rooms, kitchens, showers, lavatories and laundry-rooms, classes for studies and activities, playgrounds on the decks, sick-bays for those who could have fallen ill during the long trip and many other necessary facilities, including ventilation systems...
Japanese engineers and workers took part in those urgent and unusual reconstruction.
The colonists in Vladivostok were waiting for the wonderful ship to come soon. They were told that they would make a very interesting trip on it. They were supposed to cross two oceans and to get to Europe. At that time kids could only dream about such an adventure.
And at last ,like in a fairy tale, the ship appeared! It seemed so beautiful to everybody, a My grandfather told me that he and his friends who were at that time already 17- 18 year old guys went by boat to meet the ship when it was coming to the port. They touched the side of the ship with tears in their eyes. What to speak about the girls, women and younger kids аnd its foreign name sounded so romantic, and it promised happiness!
On the 13-th of July 1920 «Yomey Maru» left Vladivostok carrying the most unusual goods in its sailing practice. The colonists immediately wrote a funny song in which it was said : " The ship is Japanese, the flag is American and the cargo is Russian«.
And really there was the American flag on the mast together with Japanese one and that of the International Red Cross. Also a sign of the Red Cross of enormous size was painted on one of the chimneys. Everybody on the rout had to know that it was a peaceful, not a military ship protected by the most humane organization of the world.
The adventure began.
In a couple of days when the children and the adults got a little used to the new conditions of living and to being from time to time sea sick, «Yomey Maru» reached the shores of Japan.
By that time the kids got acquainted with the captain of the ship Mr. Kayahara and his crew which mostly consisted of very young Japanese men. But they could only exchange the smiles, because the Russians didn’t know Japanese language and the Japanese spoke only some English.
«Yomey Maru» had to make a stop in Japan, in Port Muroran (Hokkaido) ?to make some repairing works and to take the cargo .
In spite of the fact that neither children, nor adults had any special documents or visas they were allowed by the local authorities to spend the whole day in the town.
Everything was organized perfectly. They showed the guests around and took them to one of the local school. There the students were already waiting for their new friends from far away Petrograd. They were welcomed warmly, without any prejudices connected with the recent war between the two countries and current political situation. The concert prepared by the students was nice. The Russian girls in their turn sang several lyrical Russian songs and delivered short speeches. In the evening the happy colonists returned on board the ship. Together with the warmest hospitality they received an enormous amount of souvenirs.
The long and a bit monotonous trip across the ocean began. They headed America and were dreaming about this continent which they only knew from adventure books.
Kids on board the ship is not the thing about which a captain can dream. Kids are very curious about everything and often curiosity makes them forget about safety. That is why the supervisors from time to time organized alarm drills and made all the children put on the safety belts and practice getting to the safety boats in the shortest time.
Safety boats by the way attracted the boys very much. They learned that there was something inside those boats which they could not help thinking off. Those were big heavy cans with chocolate kept there as emergency ration.
Very soon some of those cans disappeared from the boats. That made the captain demand that the Head of the colony Riley Allen investigate the case and find the thieves
Soon some open cans with half consumed chocolate were found under the cots of the boys. The boys said that they only tried some and all the rest they wanted to take home to give to their parents. The excuse touched the soul of Allen but he ordered to come close to the boats only in case of alarm drills.
Of course that was not the only case when Russian kids became the target of criticism on the part of the Captain.
The Americans provided the colonists with musical instruments , and a real orchestra was organized from the boys who had a good ear for music. They were allowed to dance on board the ship in the evening on Saturdays. But Captain Kayahara was not very happy about that. The music was too loud, and he could not fall asleep after a hard working day. The conflict was followed by considerable tension between the boys and the crew. There was a fight and the Russian boy won. The Japanese could not bear being defeated. He took the Japanese knife and showed it to his rival. The Russian boy decided that he was going to use the knife and called his friends. Fortunately the Russian teacher noticed that something was going wrong and managed to stop the conflict with the help of the Captain...
It was only one case of confrontation among a series of the sort.
Once the senior girls complained about the Japanese sailors passing by their cots at night and touching some girls on the hands. The scared half asleep girls screamed, some of them cried. Others could not fall asleep any more. Captain Kayahara had to speak to his men and make them stop such escapades which frightened and offended the girls.
Both — the colonists and the crew were very young and hot-tempered. We must also take in consideration the language problems.
Meanwhile the ship was going its way across the Pacific Ocean. The boys and the girls enjoyed watching real alive sharks and dolphins following the vessel. And once they were given the opportunity to swim in the ocean! A huge net was dropped into the water, and the sailors controlled it while the bravest boys jumped from board the ship into the water. It was a unique experience — to swim in the middle of the great ocean! All the boys remembered that day for the whole life.
And then came the day when everybody forgot all the conflicts and offences. They were approaching the United States.
San Francisco — the beautiful city in California gave an enthusiastic welcome to the young travelers. A week of stay in San Francisco was an unforgettable experience. The local citizens, most of whom were of Russian origin provided the children with all sorts of entertainment and care. There were people who tried to convince the kids to stay in America, suggesting that they adopt them and would love them as their own children. But, of course, everybody wanted to go home as soon as possible in spite of the warmest hospitality of the citizens and organizations.
While the children were having wonderful time onshore, the captain and the crew were busy preparing for further trip aboard. The ship was being cleaned, facilities were being repaired, the supplies of coal were loaded.
Soon «Yomey Maru» left San-Francisco and moved to the Atlantic Ocean along the Panama canal.
The next port visited by the colonists was New York.
There was another week of wonderful sightseeing tours, concerts and meetings. And again — good treatment, hospitality, souvenirs and presents some of which are still kept in the families.
But in spite of the wonderful time and new experience all the children without any exceptions thought about the soonest possible return to their home city — Petrograd where their families were waiting for them.
The parents really were in a great worry. For a very long time they had no information about their kids because of the military activities which made regular work of the postal services impossible. Many mothers and fathers were in despair and imagined all sorts of horrible things that could happen to their beloved sons and daughters.
But all is well that ends well.
The mutual efforts of the American Red Cross, international charity organizations and Japanese professionals on board «Yomey Maru» made it possible that one day the ship reached the shores of Europe in Baltic Sea.
If you look at the map, you will see that the nearest country to the western part of Russia, where Petersburg is situated, is Finland. Before 1918 it was a part of a huge Russian Empire. But in 1920 it was already an independent state which had no diplomatic relations with the Soviet Russia. That is why the children had to spend in Finland more than two months before they could be sent home.
In September 1920, there came the day when the children had to leave the board of «Yomey Maru» for ever. They were going to say goodbye to the Japanese crew — to all those young men with whom they were fighting and arguing from time to time. They were going to say goodbye to the strict captain — Mr. Kayahara, who now seemed to them not so strict but on the contrary — very nice and kind.
All the members of the crew were ordered to stand in line on the deck. The children stood in lines in front of them. Many girls and even boys had tears in their eyes. Captain Kayahara pronounced his final speech in which he wished his unusual and sometimes naughty passengers happiness in their future lives. He promised he and his crew would never forget this trip and their passengers.
«Yomey Maru» gave a long signal when all the passengers left its board. It was a farewell of the captain and the crew...
Two months later the last group of colonists crossed the border between Finland and Russia.
During the two and a half years of their wondering the Petrograd children managed to make a real round-the-world trip, having covered more than 36 000 kilometers.
Time passed. Many of those who participated in this Odyssey kept being friends. Some of them made families. This was the case with my grandparents. They got married several years after their return home and soon my mother was born.
I learned about this story from my grandmother who told it to me as a fairy tale. But from my very early days I remembered the mysterious and beautiful name: Youmey Maru.
Much later I learned the name of Captain Kayahara and saw his photograph. And only about ten years ago I began a really serious and deep research of the story.
I would like to say that I have two main goals in my speech today. The first one is to explain that political and national borders are not so important as the «border» between good and evil.
Never mind religions, national and political differences. People of good will can always understand each other and help each other in difficult situations.
My second goal is to make you feel that you are inseparable part of history.?Every family has some little story which is remembered by generations. And each story is somehow connected with the history of your place, your country and the whole world.
Ask your parents and especially grandparents if they remember something really important in their lives and this story will be somehow connected with the historical background.
Keep memories of your ancestors, make your own research and you will contribute to the full picture of the world. And you will learn how to love your country through your love to your own family.

Today I have an honor to speak in front of you because I was kindly invited to participate in celebrations held by your school. And I would like to express my deepest appreciation and thankfulness to everybody who contributed to my visit .
I am grateful to the following people ( in order of their joining the project):

Director of the children’s Library in Petersburg,

Mrs . Mira Vasyukova;

Professor of Japanese in Petersburg , awarded the Order of the Rising Sun with Golden and Silver rays, Mrs. Valentina Kalinina ;

Professor of The Institute of Foreign Languages in Osaka,

Mrs. Yasuko Tanaka;

Japanese artist Mrs. Kitamuro Nan-en

Secretariat of the society of «Yomey Maru», the Ship of Humanity,

Mr. Yasuji Ishizuka

Consul General of Japan in Petersburg, Mr. Ichira Kawabata

Young journalist of Sankey Simbun Mr. Takao Sato;

Teacher of Nanzan school Mr. Shigeya Kumagawa ;

The students of Nanzan school Keisuke Yoshimura Haruya Tanaka Masayuki Sasa
My most sincere thanks to everybody for your kind attention and eagerness to learn the story which connects my country and my family with your beautiful country and its hospitable people.
26/10/2011