or was a steam warship of the former navy of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

during the Boshin War of 1868-1869. She was originally built in New York as , a

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...

steam

revenue cutter A cutter is a type of watercraft. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan) of a sailing vessel (but with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or bor ...

built for the United States Revenue Marine during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. She was later purchased by as a private warship by

Akita Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its hi ...

, one of the feudal domains of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, and named ''Takao Maru''. Following the collapse of the shogunate, she was transferred to the , a short-lived state established by Tokugawa loyalists, and renamed ''Kaiten No.2''. She was armed with four

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...

cannon on the side, and a powerful

Armstrong cannon A rifled breech loader (RBL) is an artillery piece which, unlike the smoothbore cannon and rifled muzzle loader (RML) which preceded it, has rifling in the barrel and is loaded from the breech at the rear of the gun. The spin imparted by the gun ...

with explosive shells, installed on a rotating base."Une aventure au Japon", Eugene Collache, p51 She participated in the Battle of Miyako Bay, when three Tokugawa Navy warships were dispatched for a surprise attack against Imperial forces. For the battle, Eugene Collache, a French navy officer, was put in command of the ''Kaiten No.2'', on which were sailing 40 seamen and 30

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

. The two other ships were the '' Kaiten No.1 (Kaiten Maru)'' and the . The ships encountered bad weather, in which the ''Kaiten No.2'' suffered engine trouble, and the ''Banryu'' was separated. The ''Banryu'' eventually returned to Hokkaido, without joining the battle. To create surprise, the ''Kaiten No.1'' planned to enter Miyako harbour under an American flag as a '' ruse de guerre''. Unable to achieve more than 3 knots due to engine trouble, the ''Kaiten No.2'' trailed behind, and the ''Kaiten No.1'' first joined battle. The ''Kaiten No.1'' approached the enemy ships and raised the Tokugawa banner seconds before boarding the French-built '' Kōtetsu'', of the opposing Imperial navy (the first Japanese ironclad). The ''Kōtetsu'' managed to repel the attack with a Gatling gun, with huge loss on the attacking side. The ''Kaiten No.1'', pursued by the Imperial fleet, steamed out of Miyako Bay just as the ''Kaiten No.2'' was entering it. The ''Kaiten No.1'' eventually escaped to Hokkaido, but the ''Kaiten No.2'' was unable to leave the pursuers and wrecked herself voluntarily. The ''Kaiten No.2'' was set on fire by her escaping crew and exploded. Collache was imprisoned by the Japanese, judged and condemned to death, but he was finally pardoned. At the end of the conflict, he was sent to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

where he rejoined

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as an artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, he refu ...

, and later left for France.

Notes

References

* Eugène Collache "Une aventure au Japon", in "Le Tour du Monde" No.77, 1874
USRC Ashuelot, 1863

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiten No.2, Japanese Steam Warship Ships of the Tokugawa Navy 1863 ships Ships built in New York (state)