was an iron-ribbed, wooden-hulled sail-and-steam

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

of the early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, serving with the fledgling

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. She was a two-masted

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

with an auxiliary coal-fired

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

driving a single screw.

Background

'' Un'yō '' was ordered in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

by the

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was base ...

in 1868. She was built by A. Hall & Co.,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and was turned over to the Domain in February 1870 as the ''Un'yō Maru''. On July 25, 1871, she was transferred to the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

and assigned to the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy, as the ''Un'yō ''.

Imperial Japanese Navy

''Un'yō '' was one of the ships dispatched to

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

in 1874 during the

Saga Rebellion The was an 1874 uprising in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Saga no ran" in . It was led by Etō Shinpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen. Background Following the 1868 ...

. In May 1875, she carried diplomats to

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in an attempt by the Japanese government to open

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

with the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

dynasty government. After they were rebuffed in these negotiations, the Japanese government again dispatched ''Un'yō'' in September 1875 under the command of

Inoue Yoshika Marshal Admiral Viscount was a career naval officer and admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during Meiji-period Japan. Biography Born in what is now part of Kagoshima city, as the son of a ''samurai'' retainer of the Satsuma Domain, Inoue ...

to provoke a military response, in what was later termed the

Ganghwa Island incident The Ganghwa Island incident or the Japanese Battle of Ganghwa ( ko, 운요호 사건 ��揚號事件} ''Unyo-ho sageon'' meaning "'' Un'yō'' incident"; ja, 江華島 ''Kōka-tō jiken''), was an armed clash between the Joseon dynasty of Kore ...

. This eventually led to the

Treaty of Ganghwa A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

, which opened the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

to Japanese trade.Nahm, Andrew C. (1993). ''Introduction to Korean History and Culture'', page 146–147. Seoul: Hollym Corporation. In 1876, ''Un'yō '' was assigned to assist in the suppression of the

Hagi Rebellion The was an uprising against the Meiji government of Japan that occurred in Hagi from 28 October 1876 to 5 November 1876. Maebara Issei, a disillusioned hero of the Meiji Restoration and former ''samurai'' of the Chōshū Domain, planned an att ...

, another uprising of disaffected former

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 ...

. ''Un'yō '' was severely damaged when she ran aground at Atawa-Mura, on the coast of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are amongst ...

, with the loss of 23 of her crew. She was scrapped the following year.

Notes

References

*Jane, Frederick Thomas. ''The Imperial Japanese Navy''.

Nabu Press BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston C ...

(2010 POD reprint of 1923 edition) * *

External links

The Unyo Maru Incident
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unyo Gunboats of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1868 ships Ships built in Aberdeen Maritime incidents in 1876