1872
Roald Amundsen born July 16
Book containing japanese newspapers
Objectnumber: RA 0328
Length: 54.0 cm
Width: 40.3 cm
Height: 3.3 cm
Materials: paper, newspaper
Book containing Japanese newspapers lying on the table in Roald Amundsen’s office.
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In the summer of 1926, Amundsen received an invitation from the Japanese newspaper Hochi-Simbun inviting him to give a lecture tour on his expedition with the airship Norge.
It was agreed that the tour should take place in summer 1927. Amundsen left Norway via Vancouver, Canada and on 9 June 1927, he boarded the ship the Empress of Asia heading for Yokohama.
After 11 days, Amundsen arrived in Tokyo. A large welcome party greeted him. Later, he was invited to tea with the newly appointed Emperor Hirohito and his family, whom he also visited at the end of his tour.
The tour went on to visit the cities of Hamamatsu, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Sapporo, Aomori and Sendai before returning to Tokyo.
During his journey, Amundsen also visited the radio station JOAK, from where he spoke to the Japanese people.
Thousands arrived to hear Amundsen speak at many of his scheduled lectures. In several cities, the lecture was preceded by songs from local girls’ choirs. During this journey, Amundsen was overwhelmed with gifts, including a three-hundred-year-old armour, a saber, much porcelain, Japanese dolls and specially designed kimonos with patterns related to Amundsen’s life.
After a successful journey through the country, on 15 July Amundsen left Japan for Vladivostok. From there, he took the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia and arrived in Norway in August.
