was a western-style sail

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, constructed by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

Bakumatsu period were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunat ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in response to the

Perry Expedition ] The Perry Expedition (, , "Arrival of the Black Ships") was a diplomatic and military expedition in two separate voyages (1852–1853 and 1854–1855) to the Tokugawa shogunate () by warships of the United States Navy. The goals of this expedit ...

and increasing incursions of Black ships, foreign warships into Japanese territorial waters.

Background

Since the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Tokugawa shogunate ruling Japan pursued a policy of isolating the country from outside influences. Foreign trade was maintained only with the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and was conducted exclusively at

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

under a strict government monopoly. No foreigners were allowed to set foot in Japan, and no Japanese was permitted to travel abroad.W. G. Beasley, ''The Meiji Restoration'', p.74-77 In June 1635 a law was proclaimed prohibiting the construction of large, ocean-capable vessels. However, by the early nineteenth century, this policy of isolation was increasingly under challenge. In 1846, an official American expedition led by Commodore James Biddle on an official mission with two ships, including one warship armed with 72 cannons, asking for ports to be opened for trade, but his requests for a trade agreement were refused.W. G. Beasley, ''The Meiji Restoration'', p.78 Following this incident, a Western-style sloop, ''Soshun Maru'', was constructed at Uraga, partly based on observations of Biddle's ship by local shipwrights. Following the July 1853 visit of Commodore Perry, an intense debate erupted within the Japanese government on how to handle the unprecedented threat to the nation's capital, and the only universal consensus was that steps be taken immediately to bolster Japan's coastal defenses. The law forbidding construction of large vessels was repealed, and many of the feudal domains took immediate steps to construct or purchase warships. These included the '' Shōhei Maru'' constructed by

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

and the ''Asahi Maru'' constructed by

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Uraga bugyō'',

Nakajima Saburosuke is a Japanese name. It is also sometimes romanized as Nakashima and sometimes written as . It may refer to: Places * Nakashima District, Aichi, former district in Japan, now part of Inazawa, Aichi. * Nakajima, Ehime, former town in Japan * Nakaji ...

(中島三郎助), also received permission from senior ''

rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder (administrative title), Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a wh ...

Abe Masahiro was the chief senior councilor ('' rōjū'') in the Tokugawa shogunate of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world. Abe was instrumental in the eventual signi ...

to build a new vessel. The project was headed by Nakajima and the local ''

yoriki were members of the ''samurai'' class of feudal Japan. ''Yoriki'' literally means ''helper'' or ''assistant''. Description and history ''Yoriki'' assisted ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) or their designated commanders during military campaigns in the ...

'' and '' dōshin'', although the actual design work on the vessel was done by local shipwrights. The construction of the new vessel started on October 23, 1853, and was completed on June 6, 1854.

Design

''Hōō Maru'' was a three-masted

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

-rigged sailing vessel, with an overall length of 36.4 meters. Of wooden construction, her hull was painted with red lacquer, and she was sheathed in copper to the waterline. Her armament consisted of ten muzzle-loading cannon (4 large, 6 small). Her sails had black bands, which was characteristic of Tokugawa naval vessels.

Operational history

''Hōō Maru'' was already obsolete by the time of her completion, and although she handled well, she was no match as a warship for the steam-powered vessels of the western powers. She was used primarily as a troop transport by the Tokugawa Navy. During the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, she escaped

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

prior to its fall to forces of the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the southwestern feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satc ...

, and went to

Sendai Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of ...

, from which she joined

Enomoto Takeaki Viscount was a Japanese samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the ...

’s fleet and sailed for in December 1868. After the

Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay The was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of H ...

, and the fall of the

Goryōkaku is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo. History ''Goryōkaku'' was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō, ...

, she sailed on July 15, 1869, with 305 colonists for

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 76,385, with 43,494 households and a population density of . The ...

, where she was seized by the Japanese government. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the new

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 ...

assigned her to the

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) ( 600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Esto ...

and subsequently to the Ministry of the Treasury.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoo Maru 1854 ships Naval ships of Japan Ships of the Tokugawa Navy Three-masted ships Ships built by Uraga Dock Company