Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Spirit of Majapahit expedition ship arrived in Naha harbor, Okinawa, Japan, on Sunday, after setting sail from Jakarta on May 11.
Upon arrival, the expedition team was greeted by Deputy Coordinating
Minister for Maritime Affairs Safri Burhanuddin, caretakers of the
Majapahit Lovers Foundation, and staff of the Indonesian embassy in
Japan, the ministry noted in a press statement.
"I cannot say much, but saying Alhamdulillah and Thank God. Their
success in reaching Japan is amazing. This voyage demonstrates the
bravery of our sailors," Burhanuddin, who is in charge of human resource
coordination, affirmed.
The wooden ship, measuring 20 meters long and 4.5 meters wide, is a
replica of a vessel belonging to the Majapahit kingdom, which was based
in eastern Java, and ruled vast areas in Southeast Asia from 1293 to
some 1500.
Departing from Jakarta, the ship first stopped in Pontianak (West
Kalimantan) and then sailed to Brunei Darussalam, Manila (the
Philippines), and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The 70-year-old captain Muhammad Amin Azis said the route from Kaohsiung to Okinawa was the toughest one during the journey.
"We were hit by five-meter-height waves, while the ship had several leaks," he revealed.
Chairman of the Majapahit Lovers Foundation, Sumarwoto Sentono,
remarked that Okinawa was the first stopover in Japan and Tokyo will be
the last destination where the ship will be displayed in a museum.
Traces of Majapahit sailors had been found in Okinawa in the past.
The findings of a Majapahit dagger in Okinawa and a 13th-century
Imori ceramic in Trowulan, East Java, suggest possible links between the
Majapahit Kingdom and the Japanese Empire.
Several Japanese archeologists and academicians believed that
Japan and Majapahit had established relations during the glorious era of
the largest kingdom in Indonesia.
The Spirit of Majapahit expedition is initiated by the office of
the coordinating minister for maritime affairs to trace back and promote
the nation's maritime culture. (WDY)
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