science

Kainan Maru

Kainan Maru is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kainan Maru rather than just read about it. In short: Kainan Maru (開南丸) was a converted fishing boat that was used as the expedition vessel during the Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910 to 1912. Substantially smaller than other expedition ships of the era, and with seriously underpowered auxiliary engines, she nevertheless completed a journey of some 50,000 km (31,000 miles).

Key takeaways

Kainan Maru belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kainan Maru to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kainan Maru from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kainan Maru (開南丸) was a converted fishing boat that was used as the expedition vessel during the Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910 to 1912. Substantially smaller than other expedition ships of the era, and with seriously underpowered auxiliary engines, she nevertheless completed a journey of some 50,000 km (31,000 miles). After a false start in the southern summer of 1910–11, she entered the Ross Sea in January 1912 and landed a party on the Great Ice Barrier. While this party engaged in a southern march, Kainan Maru went to King Edward VII Land, where another party carried out survey and scientific work. The expedition returned to Japan with great acclaim in June 1912. However, it was quickly forgotten; Kainan Maru reverted to work as a fishing boat, and its subsequent career and fate remain unknown.

Construction The ship Kainan Maru, originally named Dainai Hokomaru (in some sources Hoko Maru), was built around 1909, designed as a fishing vessel for use in northern waters. Her double-layered hull was constructed with ice navigation in mind, with a keel of zelkova (hard Japanese elm) and pine, stanchions of pine, frames of zelkowa and cypress. The hull was sheathed with iron, with additional protection at the stem. She was rigged as a barquentine, measuring 30.48 m (100 ft) length and 7.85m (25¾ ft) beam, with a keel-to-deck depth of 3.96 m (13 ft). Gross register tonnage was 204.

Japanese Antarctic Expedition 1910–12

Organisation and preparation

In September 1910 the ship was acquired with funds provided by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the former Japanese prime minister, who registered the vessel in his own name, to act as the expedition vessel for the proposed Japanese Antarctic Expedition. Renamed Kainan Maru ("Southern Pioneer") at the suggestion of the naval hero Admiral Togo, the ship was overhauled in preparation for the expedition. Further iron protection plating was added, and she was given an 18-horsepower auxiliary engine. The interior was re-organised to provide a coal capacity of 55 tons. The expedition was the brainchild of an army reserve officer, Lieutenant Nobu Shirase, who believed that Japan should take its place alongside the Western powers in the exploration of Antarctica. Shirase's aim was a Japanese conquest of the South Pole; he was aware that a major expedition from Britain, Scott's Terra Nova Expedition was already in the field with the same objective – it would soon be joined by the Norwegian expedition under Roald Amundsen – so the Japanese venture would need to leave as early as possible to avoid being forestalled. However, Government support and that of the learned societies proved hard to come by. A start date for the expedition was fixed for late November, but realistically this was too late in the season for a successful Antarctic journey. Kainan Maru was by far the smallest of expedition vessels that had sailed to Antarctica at that time, at about half the size of Amundsen's Fram and one-third the size of Scott's Terra Nova. Its 18 hp motor was seriously underpowered for work in the ice; by way of comparison, the auxiliary engines of Fram and Terra Nova were 180 and 140 horsepower respectively.

First season

Kainan Maru finally left Tokyo on 29 November 1910, under its captain, Naokichi Namora, an experienced sailor. The plan was to reach Antarctica, land, establish a winter station and then, late in 1911, to make a dash for the South Pole. However, the late start meant that Kainan Maru did not reach Wellington, New Zealand, until 7 February 1911. On 11 February, Kainan Maru left Wellington, soon encountering poor weather and much ice; as the ship moved further south, the lateness of the season became apparent. By 12 March, at a latitude of 74°16′S and in sight of the Antarctic coast, the sea was beginning to freeze; Kainan Maru was in danger of becoming trapped and beset. Captain Nomura's skill avoided this fate, but a landing was impossible. The ship turned north, and retreated to Sydney Harbour in Australia, arriving on 1 May to spend the winter there. In Sydney, the expedition was received initially with a mixture of scorn and suspicion. It required the intervention of Edgeworth David, the distinguished geologist who had accompanied Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition in 1907–09, to convince the public that this was a serious expedition. The Japanese party was allowed to set up a temporary camp at Parsley Bay, overlooking the harbour, while Nomura returned to Japan to arrange finance for a second Antarctic voyage in the following summer. With this funding, the expedition was reprovisioned; Kainan Maru was overhauled in Sydney's Jubilee Dock, where it was re-rigged as a two-masted schooner. Shirase now recognised the impracticality of aiming for the South Pole, and shifted the expedition's aims to those of science and surveying. Kainan Maru left Sydney on 19 November, carrying two years' provisions.

Second season

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kainan Maru

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kainan Maru claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kainan Maru before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kainan Maru ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kainan Maru

In research: Kainan Maru appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kainan Maru in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kainan Maru is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1909 ships, 1911 in Antarctica, 1911 in science, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kainan Maru outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kainan Maru in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kainan Maru means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kainan Maru out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kainan Maru in simple terms?

Why does Kainan Maru matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kainan Maru?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kainan Maru.