Tokei Maru is an animated short based on another extraordinary human in history. He was the captain of the Japanese cargo ship Tokei or Tokai Maru and he was a man who risked to save more than 800 people during the devastating fie that destroyed the Greek city of Smyrna, present Izmir on the coast of Asia Minor. The story sounds like an urban legend. A Japanese captain defies all and saves the lives of refugees trying to board his ship. The Turkish army who controls just for a couple of days the burned down city tries to stop him. But he continues to save lives and becomes a legend.
Who was that remarkable human?
Almost 100 years have passed and still thee is mystery to his existence.
Tokei Maru tries to fill the void.
As the ship enters the Gulf of Smyrna (present Gulf of Izmir), the Turkish army enters the city. This strikes a memory for the captain.
We meet the young boy who will become the legendary captain in Kagoshima, Japan circa 1873, ten yeas after the Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the Anglo-Satsuma War, where he lost his father from the British warships.
As the ship tries to enter the Port of Smyrna, the British warships warn against it. The city is under siege and black smoke is visible in the horizon.
But the city is doomed and people try to flee from death by fire and the atrocities of the hostile army.
What happens then?...
The animated short is based on the decade long research of professor Nanako Murata-Sawayanagi published by the Mediterranean Studies Group at the University of Hitotsubashi at Tokyo in 2017.
Tokei Maru is just the beginning. Apart from the animated short, a documentary is in pre production.
Who was that remarkable human?
Almost 100 years have passed and still thee is mystery to his existence.
Tokei Maru tries to fill the void.
As the ship enters the Gulf of Smyrna (present Gulf of Izmir), the Turkish army enters the city. This strikes a memory for the captain.
We meet the young boy who will become the legendary captain in Kagoshima, Japan circa 1873, ten yeas after the Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the Anglo-Satsuma War, where he lost his father from the British warships.
As the ship tries to enter the Port of Smyrna, the British warships warn against it. The city is under siege and black smoke is visible in the horizon.
But the city is doomed and people try to flee from death by fire and the atrocities of the hostile army.
What happens then?...
The animated short is based on the decade long research of professor Nanako Murata-Sawayanagi published by the Mediterranean Studies Group at the University of Hitotsubashi at Tokyo in 2017.
Tokei Maru is just the beginning. Apart from the animated short, a documentary is in pre production.
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