Thursday marked the 70th anniversary of a tragic event that occurred off the coast of Hokkaido in 1954. Five ferries capsized due to an approaching typhoon, resulting in the loss of over 1,400 lives. Among those who perished was Dean Leeper, an American missionary who selflessly gave his life jacket to a Japanese child amidst the chaos on board.
Leeper’s son, Steven, expressed pride in his father’s actions during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. He commended his father for refusing to succumb to fear and instead helping those around him.
The disaster unfolded on September 26, 1954 when several vessels sought refuge in Hakodate Bay to evade an oncoming typhoon. Gale force winds and tidal waves caused five ferries connecting Hakodate and Aomori to capsize, resulting in Japan’s worst maritime tragedy with a death toll of 1,430 people.
Out of the catastrophe came plans for the Seikan Tunnel—a subsea passage linking Honshu and Hokkaido—as a means of preventing similar incidents from occurring again.
At the time of the incident, Dean Leeper was working as part of efforts by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Japan. He had boarded the Toya Maru ferry en route to Sendai after completing his activities in Hokkaido.
Steven Leeper is now 76 years old and resides in Atlanta. He was just six years old when he learned about his father’s demise aboard the ill-fated vessel. Initially unable to accept this reality due to his belief that his father—an excellent swimmer—would have survived, Steven experienced profound grief and loneliness as he witnessed classmates enjoying moments with their fathers at school events.
However, learning about Dean Leeper’s final moments brought comfort to Steven’s heart. As chaos ensued on board with passengers screaming and children crying, Leeper used magic tricks—his area of expertise—to soothe those around him. Just before sinking into oblivion along with Toya Maru ferry itself, he selflessly placed his life jacket onto a Japanese child.
Leeper’s acts of kindness and bravery were witnessed by other survivors who were later rescued as well as documented by writer Junichiro Uemae in “Toya Maru wa naze shizundaka” (Why Toya Maru sank). These accounts have been passed down through generations.
In 1984, Steven Leeper arrived in Japan where he became involved with organizing exhibitions at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum while also translating testimonies from atomic bomb survivors known as hibakusha. In 2007, he made history by becoming the first American chairperson appointed for Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation—the organization responsible for operating Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum—thus following in his father’s footsteps as a bridge between Japan and America.
Steven emphasizes that fewer people are aware today about the Toya Maru disaster due to its fading presence over time—a phenomenon also observed regarding memories related to war atrocities or atomic bombings.
