Kyodo via JapanToday: Remains of itinerant Edo-era sailor Otokichi to return
Japan Times: Otokichi: a life lost and foundThe remains of Otokichi, a Japanese man who defied feudal Edo tradition in early 19th century Japan by traveling across the globe, have been found in Singapore and will be flown home later this week, the Japanese Association said Monday. The group, which had been involved in efforts to look for his remains for many years, said the remains will be flown to Japan on Sunday by a large entourage of some 120 citizens from Mihama, Aichi Prefecture, led by Mihama Mayor Koichi Saito, who has spent the last 10 years researching his life.
At some point, Otokichi married an Englishwoman, though where this occurred is not known. However, after losing her through illness, he married a Malay woman and they had a son and three daughters. Meanwhile, he became a naturalized British subject, taking the name John Matthew Ottoson...In March, meanwhile, a Singaporean official who had become interested in Otokichi finally located his grave site -- something that had been a mystery since 1993, when [Mayor] Saito's efforts yielded the burial registry entry for John M. Ottoson in Singapore...Among those who have particularly enjoyed this historical quest is Junji Yamamoto, 73, a descendant of Otokichi's younger sister who is one of only two known living relatives of any of the Hojunmaru's 14 crew still living in Mihama
