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The 'Bombardment of Kagoshima', also known as the , took place on 15-17 August 1863 during the Late Tokugawa shogunate. The British Royal Navy bombarded the town of Kagoshima in retribution after the Namamugi Incident of 1862, in which British nationals were attacked (1 killed, 2 wounded) by a local official for not, contrary to the local law, showing proper respect for a daimyo.

Contents

Background

Combat

Final negotiations and convergence

See also

References

Background

Following the Namamugi incident on September 14, 1862, the Bakufu, eager to avoid trouble with Western powers, negotiated with France and Great Britain on July 2nd, 1863, on board the French warship ''Sémiramis'', apologized and paid a fine of 10,000 pounds to the British authorities. Participated in the settlement were the main French and British political and navy representatives of the time: Duchesne de Bellecourt, France Minister in Japan, Colonel Neale, Great Britain representative, Admiral Jaurès and Admiral Kuper.
Satsuma Province however refused to apologize, to pay a fine of 25,000 pounds requested by the British, and to remit the two Japanese samurai responsible for the murder, arguing that disrespect to the Daimyō was normally sanctioned by execution. Legally, the claim was not valid though, as foreigners in Japan benefited from extraterritoriality due to Japan's forced acceptation of Unequal treaties with the West. Politically, Satsuma also could hardly be seen as submitting to Western demands in the very anti-foreign context at that time in Japan.

Great Britain however wished to make a point against anti-foreign crimes in Japan. Other anti-foreign troubles were occurring throughout the country at the same time, reinforced by Emperor Kōmei's 1863 "Order to expel barbarians". The western powers chose to react militarily to such exactions: the Bombardment of Shimonoseki had already involved the month before the United States, with the U.S. frigate USS ''Wyoming'' under Captain McDougal, and France, with the two warships ''Tancrède'' and the ''Dupleix'' under Captain Benjamin Jaurès.
The British fleet, composed of the flagship HMS ''Euryalus'', HMS ''Pearl'', HMS ''Perseus'', HMS ''Argus'', HMS ''Coquette'', HMS ''Racehorse'' and the gunboat HMS ''Havoc'', anchored in Kagoshima Bay. Envoys were sent, with the British commander pressing for a resolution within 24 hours. The Satsuma clan sent an answer back, refusing to comply for various reasons.

Combat

Deciding to put further pressure on Satsuma, the British Navy commander seized three foreign-built steam warships belonging to Satsuma which were at anchor in Kagoshima bay (''Sir George Grey'', ''Contest'', ''England'', with an aggregate value of about $300,000/ 200,000 pounds), in order to use them as a bargaining tool. The Satsuma forces on shore responded in anger by firing their round shot cannons at the British ships. Surprised, the British fleet responded by first pillaging and then setting on fire the three captured steamships. Then, two hours later, a line of battle was formed, which sailed along the coast of Kagoshima as it fired its cannons using explosive shells. One of the British warships, the gunboat ''Havoc'', set five Loochooan trading junks on fire.
The naval bombardment claimed five lives among the people of Satsuma (the city had been evacuated in anticipation of the conflict), and 11 lives among the British (including Captain Josling, head of the British flagship ''Euryalus'', and his second-in-command Commander Wilmot, both beheaded by the same cannonball). Material losses were important, with around 500 houses burnt in Kagoshima (about 5% of Kagoshima's urban area), and three Satsuma steamships destroyed. The encounter was face-saving for Satsuma, and was even claimed as a victory by the Japanese side, coming at a high cost to the British Navy. The British ships were not able to land troops or to seize cannons, and had to leave the scene as the Japanese battery kept firing at them.

Final negotiations and convergence

Satsuma however later negotiated and paid 25,000 pounds, but did not remit Richardson's killers, and in exchange obtained an agreement by Great Britain to supply steam warships to Satsuma.
The conflict actually became the starting point of a close relationship between Satsuma and Great Britain, which became major allies in the ensuing Boshin War. From the start, the Satsuma Province had generally been in favour of the opening and modernization of Japan. Although the Namamugi Incident was unfortunate, it was not characteristic of Satsuma's policy, and was rather abusively branded as an example of anti-foreign sonnō jōi sentiment, as a justification to a strong Western show of force.
An interesting historical footnote to this incident was that a young Heihachiro Togo was manning one of the cannons used to defend the port, and is reported to have attributed his future career as head and 'father' of the Imperial Japanese Navy to this humiliating moment.

See also

★ Anglo-Japanese relations

★ Bombardment of Shimonoseki

References

★ See 'The Bombardment of Kagoshima', Chapter VIII, ''A Diplomat in Japan'' by Sir Ernest Satow