[8][22] The two contemporaneous South Pole expeditions, led respectively by Scott and Amundsen, were by this time well established in their Antarctic bases. [14], Among the personnel selected were two Ainu people from the far northern Japanese islands, chosen for their skills with dogs and sledges. The 15 dogs had been left chained with several days' worth of food accessible.[1]. [8] Dogs would be the prime mode of transport in the Antarctic; Shirase's initial preference for Manchurian ponies was impractical, since the expedition's ship, acquired with the assistance of Okuna, was too small to carry horses. One key ingredient to its success was the remarkable 'Able', the name given to the Sno-Cat tractor, which hauled the expedition's supplies. They established Showa Station on East Ongul Island in January of that year, and sent a team of 11 researchers and 15 Sakhalin Husky dogs as a sled team. It read: On the completion of your hard and adventurous journey across Antarctica, my husband and I send our warmest congratulations to you and all members of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. [92] But this fame proved short-lived; six weeks after the triumphal return, the Emperor Meiji died, and public interest in the expedition withered. [8] Realistically, it was far too late in the season for this schedule to be viable, but this was not yet apparent to Shirase or his supporters. With the ending of IGY the threat arose that the moratorium too would end, letting the carefully worked out Antarctic structure collapse into its pre-IGY chaos. [76] Arriving at their base camp on 31January, they recovered from their exertions by sleeping for 36hours. The announcement that the Queen would confer a knighthood on Dr Fuchs reached Mrs Fuchs in Wellington (N.Z.) [61][62] Thick sea ice had formed in the inner part of the bay, so Kainan Maru could not approach the Barrier edge, and had to moor to the ice some distance away. [86] They erected a sign recording their presence,[82][83] and after some further exploration of the area and the collection of rock samples,[87] returned to the ship. In January, 1956, Admiral Byrd led another expedition to the Antarctic and there penetrated for 2,300 miles BEYOND the South Pole. Most famous for being the first man to ascend Mt Everest . Shirase was received by the imperial family, and widely feted. The phylogenetic relationships of H. longifissa to other heteronemerteans remain uncertain. [35][29], The initial reception in Sydney was cool, even hostile. Japan's slow emergence from isolation, following the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, kept it largely aloof from the growing international interest in polar exploration that escalated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hamuna Icefall (Photo: Iuko TSUWA, JARE51), Research Organization of Information and Systems / National Institute of Informatics / The Institute of Statistical Mathematics / National Institute of Genetics / Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research, Inter-university Research Institute Corporation Research Organization of Information and Systems The Antarctic Treaty. [28], During the few days spent in the port, the crew scoured the town for sources that might provide them with information about ice conditions further south. From 1958 to 1973, Dr Fuchs was Director of the British Antarctic Survey. [8] He added that his expedition would also advance the cause of science:[8] "The powers of the world ridicule the Empire of Japan, saying we Japanese are barbarians who are strong and brave in warfare, but cowardly when it comes to the realm of science. Kainan Maru arrived at Wellington on 23 March, where Shirase and a small party left the ship to take a faster steamer home, so they could prepare for the expedition's return. Led by Edmund Hillary, an international celebrity since his 1953 ascent of Mt Everest, this party would lay depots of food and fuel to support the second part of Fuchs journey, from the South Pole to the Ross Sea. Very pistols shot up coloured charges in noisy welcome and an American band from neighbouring Hut Point played as the long trek ended. This article was originally published on The Conversation. 1958, Page 35 Buy Reprints. . [74], By 28January, they calculated that they had covered 250 kilometres (160mi), and that their position was 805'S, 15637'W. Here, they buried a canister containing the names of the group, and raised the Japanese flag. [82], The two groups crossed the sea ice and climbed the ice wall which surrounded the coast. The Japanese party's sledges were described as "toy things", made of bamboo and wood. [63], On 17 January, two officers from Fram, Thorvald Nilsen and Kristian Prestrud, paid a brief visit to the Japanese ship. [64], On 19 January, sea ice conditions having shifted, Kainan Maru was brought up close to the Barrier edge and the process of landing the shore party began. Dr Fuchs, pulling on his beloved pipe, also gave a press conference. It left Japan in November 1910, and after its first season's failure was forced to spend the winter of 1911 in Australia. Antarctica and thereafter. In 2014, 56 years since Hillary's journey and 56 years since the birth of the Massey . After celebrating New Year's Day in the traditional Japanese manner,[51] on 4 January 1912 the expedition reached Coulman Island, the turning point of the previous season. He sold his house in Tokyo and moved to the Kuril Islands, where he raised money through the fox-fur business. From the Box: Official Observer Reports. This was an international collaborative scientific project that focused on gathering new observations on the oceans, weather systems, outer space and the poles. Taro was relocated to Sapporo and lived the remainder of his life at Hokkaido University. Then: "On 15 September, when the winter will have ended, the party will proceed to the Pole", before returning to their base in late February 1912. Fuchs tied the Trans-Antarctic Expedition to the scientific programme of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-1958. However a number of writers who lived in diffe. [46] Shirase now revised his expedition's goals; Scott and Amundsen of whom there was as yet no direct news were, he reckoned, too far ahead of him for his aim of conquering the South Pole to be tenable. A station Syowa was established in Droning Maud Land, Antarctica. [18], Hundreds applied to join the expedition, though none with any polar experience and only one, Terutaro Takeda, with any pretensions to a scientific background he was an ex-schoolteacher who had also served as a professor's assistant. Japanese expedition repts finding uranium on Prince Harald Coast. Members of the team attempting the first surface crossing of the Antarctic have joined up at the South Pole. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 160,300 academics and researchers from 4,571 institutions. It was an expedition that at the time was considered to be one of the greatest achievements of the 20th . Japanese Antarctic Expedition, 1958 - 1959 Stefansson Mss-212: United States Antarctic Projects Office-Official Observer reports Folder: 11, Box: 1 Citation Information How to Request. Right from the get-go, the idea of staying with a bunch of strangers who didn't speak English at . Queen Mother . In Fuchs words: A trans-continental journey made wholly within territory claimed by the British Commonwealth [] would gain prestige and at the same time contribute to the solidarity of Commonwealth interests.. Finding Shackleton's ship: why our fascination with Antarctica endures. Three years after Fuchs and Hillarys official account of the expedition was published, Hillary published his own tell-all version which played up the masculinity and daring of the New Zealand party in opposition to the British. At the same time that Amundsen and Scott were busy huffing and puffing their way south, a little-known Japanese expedition, led by polar-enthusiast Nobu Shirase, was quietly making achievements of its own accord. The first JARE expedition was launched in 1957 to coordinate with the International Geophysical Year. 1958] (229) General Report on the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition II, -1957-58. [89] After taking on fresh coal and provisions, Kainan Maru left Wellington on 2 April, and arrived in Yokohama on 19 June. You have made a notable contribution to scientific knowledge and succeeded in a great enterprise. Even the American expedition to the Weddell Sea in 1947-48 did not acknowledge British sovereignty. Descriptions compiled by N. Boneham, Assistant Archivist with assistance from R. Stancombe and reference to Robert Keith Headland Antarctic Chronology, unpublished corrected revision of Chronological list of Antarctic expeditions and related historical events, (1 December 2001) Cambridge University Press (1989) ISBN 0521309034. July 1957-Dec. 1958. They were the first non-European team to explore in the Antarctic;[8] they made the first landing from the sea on King Edward VII Land, where both Scott (1902) and Shackleton (1908) had failed. In a combined effort not long after World War II, the U.S. Navy employed ships, airplanes and helicopters to explore and map Antarctica's frozen reaches. Telephone +81-42-512-0647 / Facsimile +81-42-528-3174. Antarctic Echoes. Anyone wishing to consult material should ensure they note the entire MS reference and the name of the originator. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974 and was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1982 to 1984. READ MORE: * Obituary: Vern Gerard, a scientist prepared to put a question mark on Hillary * Replica of Shackleton's boat donated to Akaroa * Go to Antarctica without leaving NZ * Antarctic Heritage Trust tractors cross the finish line for Sir Ed's hut. This article was inspired by the excellent article "Science, the South Pole, and the Japanese expedition of 1910-1912" by William R. Stevenson III in Endevour Vol. . Subverted in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, when Capt. Japanese Antarctic Expedition Filchner - Deutschland - 1911-13 Second German National . [8] By 17 February, in calmer weather, the crew captured its first penguin, an item of great curiosity: "It walked upright, looking for all the world like a gentleman in an overcoat". [92] Kainan Maru left the bay on 4 February. Outside Japan, the expedition was generally dismissed, or ignored altogether. [45] A member of the expedition described the camp in idyllic terms: "surrounded by dense overgrown old trees guava, bottlebrush, evergreen oak and pineStanding on the rising ground behind the encampment you can gaze up at the hillside or turn to look at the sea belowlike a landscape painting come alive". For the sake of bushido (honour) we must correct this regrettable situation". [95], On its return, the expedition was given a hero's parade through Tokyo. [20] The scientific data brought back by the expedition included important information on the geology of King Edward VII Land, and on ice and weather conditions in the Bay of Whales. Data are focused on features of Antarctica and the Antarctic Ocean. In such cases the archivist will advise about any requirements imposed by the owner. The expedition was led by British explorer Sir Vivian . Nonetheless, the New Zealand government still had to heavily subsidise the enterprise. Since then, Japan has performed various observations at Syowa Station and the surrounding areas, and resulted in outstanding scientific outcome such as findings of ozone hole and Antarctic meteorites, recovery of climate change in the past through analyses of ice core, understanding of aurora generation mechanism, unexpected finding of puzzling ecosystems in Antarctic lakes, and findings of evidence of Gondwana, etc. Is this my last expedition? he repeated to one questioner. Takesi Nagata led the summer operations for 1956-1957. The 58th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition had a rare opportunity to conduct ship-based observations near the tip of East Antarctic Shirase Glacier when large areas of heavy sea ice broke up . Marine Biological Data of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (1955-1958) He died in 1970 and was also placed on display at a university museum. This giant snow cruiser carried five men and a Navy BI-plane and sufficient equipment for an exploring trip to last a year and it is missing. With Burton Island's assistance, a helicopter was able to rescue the team at Showa, but the plans to deploy the second year team were abandoned, and the helicopter rescue only included the humans at Showa. [41], After a successful plea for further funding, Nomura and Tada returned to Sydney in October with money, provisions and a fresh supply of dogs. An emergency evacuation resulted in the abandonment of 15 sled dogs. [44] Nevertheless, life during the long winter months was generally frugal and monotonous,[43] "almost a beggar's life", Shirase later wrote. Hillarys dash to the Pole was far more memorable than the actual crossing. The expedition was now characterised as a race to the Pole by two national parties headed by the adventurer Hillary and the scientist Fuchs. [44] On 22 June, the camp was decorated with flags to mark the coronation of King George V, and visitors were entertained with exhibitions of traditional martial arts. Mss-212, Box: 1, Folder: 11 (Mixed Materials) Dr Fuchs said he would return to his Cambridge home and geological work in London after a holiday in New Zealand. The project is also designed to meet social demands and international research trends with respect to global environmental issues. 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