Miike Maru Historical Monument - Seattle, WA
N 47° 36.403 W 122° 20.485
10T E 549499 N 5272800
This maritime historical point of interest is located at the Seattle Waterfront Park in downtown Seattle, WA.
Waymark Code: WMG1RA
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 01/02/2013
Views: 8
Visitors to the Seattle Waterfront Park might see a few anchors strategically placed near the piers within this park. This particular anchor has a metal plaque with an inscription that says the following:
HISTORICAL POINT OF INTEREST
AT THIS SITE ON AUGUST 31, 1896, THE NIPPON
YUSEN KAISHA STEAMER "MIIKE MARU" ARRIVED
WITH HER CARGO OF TEA. THIS WAS THE FIRST
REGULARLY SCHEDULED STEAMER SERVICE BETWEEN
THE ORIENT AND SEATTLE, AND MARKED THE
BIRTH OF SEATTLE AS AN INTERNATIONAL PORT.
ERECTED NATIONAL MARITIME DAY - 1968
PRESENTED BY
YUKON CLUB & PROPELLER CLUB - PORT OF SEATTLE
There are numerous websites that discuss the history and the events behind the Miike Maru. One particular article has this to say:
Later, the Miike Maru became the first Japanese steamer to inaugurate a regular commercial service between the US and Japan. When the ship came into Seattle on August 31, 1896, she brought along 488 tons of freight, 8 passengers and 253 Japanese immigrants. Since Seattle was the first port in the mainland US to establish regular contact with Japan, it soon became America's commercial gateway to Japan and Northwest Asia.
For Japan, this shipping line became the major means of transporting goods back and forth between Japan and the outside world. The Miike-Maru transported lumber, coal, wheat and metals from Washington to Japan, while it brought soybean oil, silk, tea, ginger and straw matting to Seattle. Trade between Japan and Washington has grown remarkably over the years, largely as a result of the two countries geographical proximity. By ship from Japanese ports to Washington ports it takes 13 days, about 30 hours closer than to the ports of South California and 16 days closer than to the US East Coast, while by air Seattle is only 10 hours from Tokyo.
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There are other online articles here and here that discuss the history of the Miike Maru and I also found an article that mentions the ship being sunk during WWII by a US submarine while transporting Chinese POWs back to Japan. And finally, I found an online Historial Marker Database that lists many historical markers within the Seattle area along with this one.