The was a

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

battery erected by

Tosa Domain The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by t ...

on the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

in the Susaki neighborhood of the city of Susaki, Kochi in the island of Shikoku, Japan. The ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1944.

Background

In the late

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, 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 ...

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 powerful ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of

Yamauchi Yōdō Yamauchi Toyoshige , also known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' in the Shikoku region in the late Edo period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Yamauchi Toyoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 1045. He was usually referred to as “Lord Yōdō” ...

had three batteries erected to protect the entrance of Susaki Bay, the domain's main port, from July to August 1863. Although the Tosa Domain Battery was never used in combat, tensions were high after the

Icarus affair The was an incident involving the murder of two Royal Navy sailors in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1867, leading to increased diplomatic tensions between the United Kingdom and the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa shogunate. On 5 August Robert Ford and John Hutc ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

in 1867. Two British sailors were murdered by an unknown swordsman, and the British suspected the '' Kaientai'' led by Sakamoto Ryōma was behind the incident.

Sir Harry Parkes Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

, head of the British Legation, sailed to Kōchi on a gunboat to demand reparations and anchored off shore the Tosa Domain Battery. After several days it was evident that the British lacked sufficient evidence, and charges against the domain were eventually dropped. In 1908, the site of the western fortification, the Nishidaiba, was sold to the town of Susaki, and became Nishihama Park. The earthworks and stone walls of the battery remain are still in good condition, and the entrance to the ammunition room was blocked off with masonry in later years.

Archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s were conducted in 2007.

Design

The Tosa Domain Western Battery was a bow-shaped earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

with a length of 116 meters, in the form of a redan with an open back, faced with stone on its inner and side surfaces. It contained seven gun ports, with a gunpowder magazine set up inside the stone wall. The Eastern Battery was of similar design, and Middle Battery was straight-shaped. All three batteries were on the western shore of the entrance to Susaki Bay. No traces of either the Eastern nor the Middle Battery have survived. The site is located about a seven-minute walk from Tosa-Shinjō Station on the JR Shikoku Dosan Line.

References

External links

Susaki Tourist Information

{{in lang, ja Bakumatsu History of Kōchi Prefecture Susaki, Kōchi Tosa Province Coastal artillery Historic Sites of Japan 19th-century fortifications in Japan

Background

Design

See also

References

External links