Normanton incident
Uproar in Japan obliged the British Consular Court to revisit its initial exoneration of the captain and to accept there had been criminal misconduct.
In Japan, the incident was widely interpreted as a further illustration of the humiliations visited upon the country since her forced opening to the West in the 1850s, and it led to new and persistent calls for the revision of the "unequal treaties".
On the evening of October 24, 1886, the British cargo ship Normanton, registered to the Madamson & Bell Steamship Company, left Yokohama Harbor[2]: 247 laden with both goods and 25 Japanese passengers for the port of Kobe.
Several newspapers covered nothing but stories about the incident for days on end, supported by mournful editorials and articles calling for the removal of the officials in question.
The North China Herald in Shanghai called the decision of the Board of Enquiry a "farce", a "miscarriage of justice" and a "complete whitewash".
Foreign Minister Inoue had been a staunch supporter of the country's Europeanization by hosting elaborate balls at the Rokumeikan, however he could do nothing to silence the storm of domestic controversy rising across the land.
[citation needed] On November 13, he ordered the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture Utsumi Tadakatsu to prevent Captain Drake and crew from leaving Kobe's port, and brought charges of murder against the Captain and his men under the governor's name in the British Court for Japan in Yokohama (upper consular court).
On December 8, Judge Hannen of the British Court for Japan in Yokohama found Drake guilty of criminal negligence, and sentenced him to three months imprisonment.
[3][5][10] In sentencing Drake, Judge Hannen told him: "We have been accustomed to expect from the merchant service of England heroism and devotion to the interests of the crew and passengers that I am afraid in this case were wanting.
[3] At the same time, a book entitled "A Complete Guide to the Trial of the Events Surrounding the Sinking of the British Ship 'Normanton'" was published immediately after the incident occurred.
[5] Immediately following the incident a song entitled "The Normanton Sinks Beneath the Waves" (Normanton-go chimbotsu no uta) was written anonymously and quickly caught on with people across the country.
The song begins with an opening: The roar of the waves pounding against the shore Awoken from a dream by a storm in the dead of night Staring out at the great blue expanse Wondering where the hell my fellow countrymen are Try to call out, try to shout, but I have no voice I seek and search but find not even a shadow If the rumors are true, the passing moon and twenty-five of our dearest brethren set sail Godspeed your journey as the crow flies We know a little bit about foreign ships And we know those built by Brits Are famed for their nautical prowess Like lambs, we were led aboard the vessel we passed all too quickly the 300 kilometers of distant wake and water to old Totomi only to reach Kumano Inlet in Kishuu and then in the middle takes a surprising turn:[5] O, the inhumanity of this foreign ship The cruel and merciless captain Whose very name reeks of cowardice Watched their sorrowful plight from afar Forgetting all of his responsibility Hey made fast for a cowardly retreat Dragging his men along with him They jumped aboard the lifeboats They see each others shadows off Tears of regret cutting quick and deep They wipe them down and fight them off You're a hateful bastard, Drake No matter how different your race may be No matter how little you know of mercy You just stood by and watched You left us there to die, you coward The above passage contains the opening of the song; the song itself goes on to elate on the legal aspect of the case.
