Finally headed home, 42-year-old Hosono opted to board the Titanic in Southampton, England, rather than make the trek across Russia. A second-class passenger, he was believed to be the only Japanese traveler to board the ship, the Japan Times reported.
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On the cold evening of April 14, 1912, the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic took a deadly turn when the ship crashed into an iceberg.
Hosono was prepared to die when an officer said there was space on a lifeboat
While preparing for his final moments, a chance appeared for him to survive when an officer loading a lifeboat said there were two available seats. One man jumped at the chance and stepped forward. Hosono initially hesitated.
"I myself was plunged into desolation at the thought of not being able to see my beloved wife and children again since there was no other solution for me than to share the same destiny as the Titanic," Hosono wrote in a letter to his wife in the days after the disaster. "But the example of the first man to jump pushed me to take this last chance."
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So, he jumped, ensuring his survival. He became one of the Titanic's 700 survivors, while 1,500 perished.
For decades, Japan wouldn't forgive him for surviving
He was met with harsh criticism from the Japanese press, which condemned men who lived as cowardly and praised the bravery of those who died. According to Metropolis Japan, he was shamed for not adhering to the "women and children first" principle and avoiding an honorable death. Thus, Hosono was subjected to what the Japanese refer to as "mura hachibu," or social ostracism.
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He lost his job in 1914, the Associated Press reported. Despite being rehired part-time, the stigma followed him for the rest of his life. Hosono lived in quiet shame as a recluse until his death from natural causes in 1939. Even upon his passing, mention of the Titanic had been forbidden in his home.
In 1997, Hosono's descendants published his writings of the Titanic's last hours, restoring his honor
In 1997, the AP reported that his writings contradicted other accounts at the time which mistook him for another Asian man on a different lifeboat, who was accused of acting ignobly. Instead, the writings suggested, Hosono actually helped row the lifeboat away from the sinking ship, saving fellow passengers.
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The discovery effectively "restores his honor and credibility," Matt Taylor, an American researcher and Titanic scholar who investigated Hosono's writings, told the AP. Sure enough, the revelations garnered much public sympathy for Hosono.
Written on Titanic stationery, Hosono's account to this day is considered one of the most detailed memorializations of what happened aboard the ill-fated ship in the midst of the panic.
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