Shima Maru

The Shima Maru was a sekibune of the Japanese Group of the Vasterlands Fleet. Carrying 85 Japanese hailing mostly from Shikoku and Kyushu, it was the genesis of the town of Shakoshima on the eponymous island.
== History ==
The Shima Maru followed the Halcyonian Flotilla until it reached Tairghol, at which point it split and followed the rest of the Vasterlands Fleet, heading west along the coast of the Vasterlands. Along with the rest of the Japanese Group, it sailed south around the edge of the continent. The captain was a proponent of sailing up the Blue River past the Chinese contingent and settling upstream, but was bullied into following the rest of the Japanese Group further south.
Along with the Mori Maru, Iyo Maru, Wakasa Maru, and Tanba Maru - other proponents of the Blue River plan, the Shima Maru split off from the rest of the Japanese Group shortly afterwards, island-hopping to the southwest instead of hugging the coast of the mainland.
The Mori Maru and Iyo Maru settled on Daishima, with the other three ships heading further south. The Shima Maru settled on Shakoshima when its captain was taken by illness, with the Wakasa Maru founding the town of Aridakami on the neighbouring island of Aridashima. The Tanba Maru carried on even further, founding Kumashihoro on what they believed to be an island. This turned out to be part of the mainland, however.
The Shima Maru settled on the northwestern coast of Shakoshima, naming the island after the Japanese characters 舎故島, translating roughly to 'Island of the House of the Dead'. This is in reference to the story of the settlement of the island. When the captain of the Shima Maru died, the crew went ashore and housed his body in a mausoleum, on a hill overlooking the natural harbour that would later become the town of Shakoshima. While constructing this 'house of the dead', they saw what a rich land this was, and settled on the coast below the hill.
The Shima Maru itself was used to trade with Aridakami and the settlements on Daishima for nearly sixty years after the settlement was founded, at which point it was retired and cannibalised as newer ships took over its duties.
Category:Ships