| This monument was presented to the residents of Ueno-son Village by German Emperor Wilhelm I in appreciation for their aid to the sailors of a German merchant ship which went aground on the island. In July of 1873 the German ship R.J. Robertson went aground off the southern coast of Miyako-jima Island and the sailors were rescued by the people of the Miyaguni hamlet of Ueno -son Village. About one month later the crew was able to set sail and return to Germany. German Emperor Wilhelm I dispatched the warship Cyklop to Miyako-jima to erect this monument on a hill overlooking Hirara Harbor. In 1956 the Prefecture designated it a Historical Site. Photograph: Hiroaki Oshiro |
