The only Japanese survivor of the Titanic ostracized for not going down with the ship

The most famous ship in history, the Titanic, keeps its memory alive thanks to books, films and exhibitions over the years. One such interesting story is that of Masafumi Hosono, the only Japanese who boarded the largest ocean liner in history as a second-class passenger in 1912.

Hosono was 42 years old and worked for the Ministry of Transportation. In 1910 he was sent to Imperial Russia to investigate the Russian railway system. Before returning to Japan, Hosono stopped in London and finally boarded the Titanic on April 10 of the same year.

Hosono's story of surviving a sunken ship has been published in Japanese in his own handwriting. In it, he describes how terrible the conditions were when he arrived on the ship's deck after the collision. With most of the lifeboats in the water, distress signals burst into the black sky. At that moment, Hosono thought, "I will never see my beloved wife and children again."

As a Japanese, Hosono knew that his family would suffer if he returned alive on a ship reserved for women and children. Still, "I found myself searching and waiting for every opportunity for survival." Two seats remained empty in the lifeboat, but Hosono occupied one of them and was rescued.