Japanese battleship Kaiyō Maru

"Kaiyō Maru" (Japanese: 開陽丸) was one of Japan's first modern warships, powered by both sails and steam. She was ordered in the Netherlands in 1863 by the Bakufu, the government of the Shogun.

She arrived in Japan on 26 March 1867 commanded by Enomoto Takeaki, a Japanese Navy student who had been sent to study Naval science in the Netherlands for five years, together with fifteen other students. Enomoto Takeaki was to become vice-admiral (副総裁) of the modernized Bakufu fleet upon his return to Japan, and "Kaiyō Maru" was to become his flagship.

The Boshin War erupted soon after, near the end of 1867, in which pro-Imperial forces fought the Bakufu forces between 1867 and 1869. In September 1868, Enomoto Takeaki decided to continue combat in northern Japan together with the Daimyos faithful to the Bakufu regime, and sailed out of Shinagawa in Tokyo towards the north, with "Kaiyō Maru" and seven other modern ships. The ship was also carrying on board a handful of French military advisors, and their leader Jules Brunet. The rebels ended up in Hokkaidō, where they established an independent and ephemeral Ezo Republic.

"Kaiyō Maru" eventually became the main ship of the fleet in Hokkaidō. Many hopes were put in her to achieve naval superiority against a weaker and nascent Imperial Japanese Navy, but she eventually was wrecked in Esashi, Hokkaidō, during a storm on 15 November 1868.

Her demise is said to have demoralized Enomoto Takeaki, who had brought her from the other side of the world, and clearly reduced the chances of the rebel forces to succeed.

"Kaiyō Maru" was discovered on the seafloor in 1975, and she was salvaged and reconstructed in 1990. She is now visible at the docks in Esashi and has become a tourist attraction.

External links

* [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/north/dreams/kaiyoumaru.htm The salvaged "Kaiyō Maru" in Esashi] jp icon