Design

The Kaisei Maru was a Japanese fishing vessel that made its way to Sitka due to a series of unfortunate events. It sank in Sealing Cove in 1909. Valuables were later gathered and repatriated. Only the anchor remains on site today at the mouth of Sealing Cove on Japonski Island. A stone marker was erected to honor the memory of the Kaisei Maru and her crew demonstrating good will between those involved in both Japan and in Sitka.

Anchored-themed leggings are popular, but only 57 Peaks features an anchor that was forged more than a century ago, an anchor that symbolically continues to forge a stronger relationship between the USA and Japan. The Kanji next to the anchor is Japanese for the ship's name: Kaisei Maru. I photographed these characters and placed them vertically next to the anchor on the leggings. For more information regarding the Kaisei Maru and subsequent related events, listen to a brief news story from Sitka's public radio station KCAW or read a 15 page history on the Japonski Island Lagoon posted by the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society.