From the land of the rising sun to the nation of the crescent moon: a visit to Turkey by a Japanese training fleet

Abstract

In this study, we analyse a visit by two Japanese cruisers (the Izumo and Yakumo), commanded by Admiral Yamamoto, to Turkey in 1926. Although the visit's aim was overstated at the time, its contribution to Turkish-Japanese relations cannot be disregarded. Ambassador Obata and Admiral Yamamoto's emphasis on and discourse in relation to Turkish-Japanese friendship demonstrate that the Japanese imposed different meanings on the trip, the most important part of which was to Istanbul, where visits to official departments, programmes for naval students and familiarizing Istanbulites with Japan were important activities. The Istanbul press published news about the Japanese guests and their daily activities. After Istanbul, the delegation went to Ankara for official visits. However, these visits were little reported in Turkish news columns or the press of the period. In fact, the visit is reflected in just one or two sentences in the pages of history.