Residents of a city in southwest Japan continue to tell of how its people saved over 200 Russian soldiers from a sinking ship at the height of the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War, out of a desire to remember their ancestors' efforts to help those they were at war with.

On May 27, 1905, the Russian Baltic Fleet's transport vessel the Irtysh sustained damage from Japanese battleships in waters off Tsushima Island, located between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula.

Hisao Noda, who is involved in organizing the annual Russia festival commemorating civilian efforts to rescue Russian sailors from a sinking ship off Japan during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War, looks up at the cenotaph for the Russian dead in Gotsu, Shimane Prefecture, on March 24, 2022. (Kyodo)

The vessel drifted to waters about 2 kilometers off the coast of Gotsu in Japan's western prefecture of Shimane and became immobilized the following day.

When it started to sink, Gotsu residents watching on from the beach leapt into the sea to pull ashore boats carrying the crew.

Events commemorating what happened have been held in the city since 1906, and they are now known as the Russia festival.

The Waki neighborhood community center exhibits effects from the ship, and on its grounds stands a cenotaph to the Russians who died. Local school children have also had exchanges with Russian children.

Waki resident Tsutomu Wada, 93, recalls how his late father, Genichi Wada, was a child who witnessed the Irtysh sinking and residents' attempts to rescue its crew.

Tsutomu said he recalls his father being invited to give elementary school lectures.

"Many locals made efforts in telling the story. It's great that the story continues to be passed down today," Tsutomu said.

The festival is usually held every May, but was delayed in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and ultimately went ahead on a reduced scale. This year it has been postponed to the autumn out of consideration for "changes in the global situation," according to the festival organizers.

Hisao Noda, who is involved in the festival, said, "The residents' compulsion to save people even from an enemy nation has value in society today, too."

"I want children to learn about this and pass it on," the 70-year-old added.

The Russo-Japanese War was fought between the empires of Japan and Russia over their control of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria historical region in Northeast Asia. Japan's victory emerged after the Imperial Japanese Navy dealt a serious blow to the Russian Navy at the Battle of Tsushima, which took place off Tsushima Island.