Page 202 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

Chapter 10
Searching for the San Francisco (1609),
a Manila Galleon Sunk off the Japanese
Coast

Jun Kimura

The shipwrecks of Manila galleons are focal points relating to seaports of Spanish
colonies in Asian-Paci!c regions and are an important part of the maritime land-
scape of the Manila-Acapulco trade. Study of the Manila-Acapulco trading net-
works is a subject of growing archaeological interest, pursued by scholars in the
Paci!c Rim countries (Robert 2016; Wu 2016). This applies especially to archae-
ological study of ceramic exports from Japan, as illustrated in the dissemination of
Arita porcelain to the Americas by galleon shipping (Nogami 2013). Japan has
historically been in a fringe position in the galleon trading network but geo-
graphically located along the eastbound sailing routes. Historical evidence suggests
that there was of!cial consideration of the possibility of Japan’s active involve-
ments in the galleon trade by establishing a seaport some where on the Japanese
coast for the return galleons. It was part of important diplomatic exchanges that
occurred between the rulers of the two countries—Ieyasu Tokugawa of Japan and
Felipe III of Spain—before the wrecking of the San Francisco. The San Francisco,
an Acapulco-bound galleon, is reported to have been sunk in 1609 near modern
Onjuku town, Chiba Prefecture (Fig. 10.1). Historical accounts associated with the
wrecking event have been translated and studied by scholars in Japan and Spain
(Gil 1991; Uchimany 1993; Murakami 1966). Even though quite a few historical
records are available about the loss of this ship, almost no archaeological material
from the wreck has been found. We have a hypothesis regarding survivors’ landing
place, but the searching for the galleon in shallow waters was not successful in
detecting physical remains of the shipwreck. Since 2016 a maritime archaeological
project has begun to clarify the detailed wrecking processes of the San Francisco
and identify the wreck’s position. This chapter describes the outline of the project,
the aim of which is to conduct an archaeological search with remote sensing survey

J. Kimura (&)
Department of Maritime Civilizations, School of Marine Science and Technology,
Tokai University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: junkimura@tsc.u-tokai.ac.jp
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 173
C. Wu et al. (eds.), Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaports and Early Maritime
Globalization, The Archaeology of Asia-Paci!c Navigation 2,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9248-2_10