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Kenichi Horie

ほりえ けんいち

Horie Kenichi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-09-08 （Minato Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Resident of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan → Minoh (Minoo), Osaka Prefecture (evacuated there during WWII)

Career

Occupations
Maritime adventurer, Yachtsman, Sailor, Amateur radio operator, Author
Active Years
1954-
Affiliations
Kansai Yacht Club, Kansai University Yacht Club (alumnus)

Education

Kansai University First High School
Country: Japan
Joined the yacht club while in high school

Awards

Kikuchi Kan Prize
1963
Organization: Japan Literary Promotion Society
Result: 受賞
Naoki Uemura Adventure Award
2009
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Uemura Naoki Adventure Award Committee (Toyooka City)
Result: 受賞
Prime Minister's Award
2011
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受賞
Blue Water Medal
2023
Organization: Cruising Club of America
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Pacific Alone (Taiheiyo Hitoribocchi)

1962 Sailing memoir / Autobiography

Account and memoir of Horie's 1962 solo non-stop crossing of the Pacific in the small yacht MERMAID, describing preparation, departure, hardships, and arrival.

adventureoceansolitudechallenge
Adaptations
  • [Film] Pacific Alone (1963)

Mermaid III: Solo Non-stop Circumnavigation

1974 Voyage memoir

Record of the westward solo non-stop circumnavigation achieved with Mermaid III (1973–1974).

circumnavigationchallengeengineering and ingenuity

Mermaid: Complete Record of Glory and Setbacks

1974 Photo documentary / Voyage account

A photographic documentary compiling multiple voyages and the changes of the Mermaid boats, recording both triumphs and setbacks.

maritime historyrecordboats and people

Running on the Sun: Solar Boat Voyage

1986 Voyage account / Technical record

An account of a voyage powered by solar panels, documenting the technical experiment and the sailing experience.

renewable energytechnical challengevoyage

Bibliography

  • Pacific Alone
  • The Ocean in My Arms: My Yacht Lessons
  • Mermaid III: Solo Non-stop Circumnavigation
  • The Last Adventure with My Wife: A Vertical Circumnavigation
  • Running on the Sun: Solar Boat Voyage
  • Pacific Alone: Final Chapter
  • Solo Circumnavigation Voyage

Adaptations

  • Pacific Alone (film adaptation, 1963)
  • Pacific Crossing 11,000 km (PC-8801 simulation game, 1983)

Translations by Author

  • Ice Bird (by David Lewis) — Japanese translation by Kenichi Horie

Style & Themes

Literary Style
autobiographical and straightforward narrationpractical and technical descriptionsconcrete, experience-based depiction
Recurring Motifs
oceanadventuresolitudechallengeman and nature

Legacy

Kenichi Horie is known as one of the pioneers of solo non-stop small-boat ocean crossings. His 1962 solo Pacific crossing and subsequent challenges significantly influenced Japan's maritime adventure culture and earned recognition at home and abroad. His later-life achievements and technical experiments (solar boats, recycled-material yachts, wave-powered vessels) also drew attention.

Museums

  • San Francisco Maritime (Mermaid displayed in museum collection) San Francisco, California, USA
  • Suntory Museum (exhibits) Japan (site of exhibitions and displays)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan) — holdings and bibliographic records
  • VIAF / international bibliographic authority files

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of Pacific Alone (1963)
  • Inspired a PC-8801 simulation game 'Pacific Crossing 11,000 km' (1983)

Quotes

  • On this sea many predecessors have perished... Even the 3,500 Japanese servicemen who died here had families and mothers. How much they must have wanted to return to their families and mothers...
    Source: Pacific Alone (Taiheiyo Hitoribocchi) and statements during voyages (1962)
  • That I could sail the world's seas until age 78 is because Japan was at peace for over 70 postwar years. I believe this peace was maintained because the Self-Defense Forces were there.
    Source: Interview / public statement (2016)

Trivia

  • Amateur radio call sign: JR3JJE
  • In 1962 he crossed the Pacific solo and non-stop in the small yacht MERMAID (length 5.83 m)
  • In 1974 he completed a westward solo non-stop circumnavigation in a small yacht (one of the first Japanese to do so)
  • In 1989 he crossed the Pacific in the world's smallest ocean-going yacht (length 2.80 m)
  • In 2022 at age 83 he completed a solo non-stop Pacific crossing as the world's oldest person to do so; awarded the Blue Water Medal