The was a Bakumatsu period coastal artillery

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

erected by Tokushima Domain on the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

coast of what is now the Iwaya neighborhood of the city of Awaji,

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

in the Kansai region of Japan. The ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 2006, with the area under protection extended in 2011

Background

In the late Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate was increasing alarmed by incursions by foreign ships into Japanese territorial waters, fearing that these ''

kurofune The Black Ships (in ja, 黒船, translit=kurofune, Edo period term) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries. In 1543 Portuguese people, Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a tr ...

'' warships of the United States or other Western powers would attempt to end Japan's self-imposed national isolation policy by force, or would attempt an invasion of Japan by landing hostile military forces. Numerous feudal domains were ordered to establish fortifications along their coastlines with shore artillery located at strategic locations. The most critical locations were perceived to be at

Edo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

, where the shogunal capital was situated, and Osaka Bay, which controlled the seaward approaches to the imperial capital of Kyoto. The '' daimyō'' of Tokushima Domain, Hachisuka Narihiro was a strong proponent of western military modernization and coastal defenses, and was authorized by

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Iemochi in to construct fortifications in his domains in 1858. This included what became the

Yura Fortress 200px, ruins of Oishi Battery No.1 thumbnail, 200px, ruins of Miyama Battery was the name of a group of coastal fortifications built to guard the entrance to Osaka Bay and thus the city of Osaka from attack from the sea. These gun batteries a ...

controlling the Kii Channel and entrance to the

, as well as the Matsuho Battery, which controlled the Akashi Strait, between mainland Honshu and Awaji Island, which was then northern approach to Osaka. Construction was completed by 1861. A similar fortification, the was constructed on the coast of Honshu to control the Akashi Strait from the opposite side. The Matsuho Battery was never used in combat against the ''kurofune'', but in July 1863 it mistakenly opened fire on the Shogunate Navy

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

''Chōyō Maru'', damaging her rudder. The commander of the Matsuho Battery, Nagasawa Mitsutomo, was forced to commit ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' over the incident.

Design

The Matsuho battery was M-shaped, with two triangular protrusions on the seaside, and a rampart was in the form of a redan to the rear. It was equipped with 13 cannon and a garrison of around 70 samurai. Facilities such as a gunpowder magazine and training grounds were located inside the bastion. On the south side of the bastion was a small harbor in which was moored a small ship equipped with a ram, intended to intercept enemies at sea that the cannon at the Matsuho Battery could not reach. The harbor was in the form of a parallelogram with a northeastern side extending approximately 43 meters and a southeastern side extending 41.5 meters, and was about 4 meters deep, with a quay made of granite blocks.

References

External links

Hyogo Tourism
{{in lang, ja Bakumatsu History of Hyōgo Prefecture Awaji, Hyōgo Awaji Province Coastal artillery Historic Sites of Japan 19th-century fortifications in Japan

Background

Design

See also

References

External links