Bombardment of Shimonoseki
The bombardment of Shimonoseki ( Japanese. 下 関 戦 争 , Shimonoseki sensō , Eng. "Shimonoseki War") occurred in 1864 at Shimonoseki during the late Edo period ( Bakumatsu ).
Events
In retaliation for attacks by the Mōri clan and irregular troops ( Kiheitai ) on foreign ships passing the Kammon Straits between Honshū and Kyūshū , naval forces from four countries ( Great Britain (eight ships), Netherlands (four ships), France (three Ships) and the USA (one ship)) as part of a punitive expedition to fortifications of the Chōshū fief in Nagato province . The Mōri clan followed an imperial edict of 1863 to expel the foreign “barbarians” from the country from which the Sonnō jōi ( Respect the Emperor, drive out the barbarians ) movement resulted.
The aim of the attack by the four allies was to ensure free passage for foreign ships through the road, as it was the fastest sea route from Nagasaki to Osaka and Edo . The Allies also landed Marines to complete the demolition of the fortifications. Chōshū quickly sought peace.
A full account of this event is contained in Sir Ernest Satow's A Diplomat in Japan . Satow was present as a young translator for the British admiral Sir Augustus Kuper on the British flagship HMS Euryalus . It was also the occasion for which Duncan Gordon Boyes received his Victoria Cross at the age of 17 . Even Thomas Pride and William Henry Harrison Seeley received the Victoria Cross for action at the first Americans.
After the hostilities ended, the foreign powers demanded compensation for their expenses.
Several replicas of the cannons used by Chōshū are now placed at the location of the coastal battery . They were erected here in 2004 by the city of Shimonoseki to commemorate the significance of the event for Japanese history. They are made of sheet steel and emit sound effects and smoke from the barrel when a coin is inserted.
See also
- Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895)
literature
- Morinosuke Kajima: History of Japanese Foreign Relations. Volume 1: From the opening of the country to the Meiji restoration. Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-515-02554-5 .
- Ernest Satow: A Diplomat in Japan. Stone Bridge Press, 2007, ISBN 1-933330-16-3 .
