KIEMON
-the man who salvaged a Dutch sunken ship-

During that time, Murai-ya^※3 Kiemon lived in Kouyagi. He came from Kushigahama, Boshu (presently Shunan-shi, Yamaguchi) in Kouyagi, he employed local fishermen and was engaged in fishery.

He went to the scene where the ship sank and investigated the situation. Then he thought as follows: "All right. I can raise this ship on my own. It's no expense to me. I will try to haul it up at my own expense with feeling that I can repay the people who live in Nagasaki for their kindness." And he made an offer of assistance to the office.

But the office didn't permit him to salvage the ship because they wanted to do it with the local people.

Shosuke Tanaka and Hyoe Yamashita, who were resourceful people, were chosen immediately. They tried to raise it in various ways.

However, the winter sea was cold. Moreover, when the ship sank, the naphthalene dissolved in the water. Divers suffered serious health problems from swimming in the polluted water. So they couldn't salvage the ship.

The Dutch had seen the circumstances offered to help raising the ship. They tried a variety of approaches, but their attempts also ended up in failure.

※Note 3: "Murai-ya" is not a surname, but a name of firm.