Name Kaiyomaru Laid down August 1863 Construction started August 1863 Length 72 m | Ordered 1863 Decommissioned 1869 Launched 3 November 1865 Commissioned 10 September 1866 | |
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Fate Wrecked 15 November 1868Salvaged 1990 Similar Ubagami Daijingū, Matsumae Castle, Goryōkaku, Esashi Station, Cape Shirakami | ||
Kaiyō Maru (開陽丸) was one of Japan's first modern warships, powered by both sails and steam.
Contents
Construction
She was ordered in the Netherlands in 1863 by the Bakufu, the government of the Shogun, the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij acting as agents. The ship was built at the yard of Cornelis Gips and Sons in Dordrecht, the Netherlands for the sum of 831,200 guilders. At the time of launch, she was the largest wooden warship ever built by a Dutch shipyard.
The construction was overseen by a Japanese military mission under Uchida Masao and Akamatsu Noriyoshi.
Transportation
She sailed on her maiden voyage to Japan under the command of capt. J.A.E. Dinaux, a Dutch naval officer, seconded for the mission. She arrived in Japan on 26 March 1867.
On board was 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.
Career
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 daimyōs 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 sailed in her from the other side of the world, and clearly reduced the chances of the rebel forces to succeed.
Salvage
The guns and ship chandlery of the Kaiyō Maru were discovered on the seafloor on August 14, 1968 by the submarine Yomiurigo. Further remains were discovered but project financing prevented the salvage at that time however several items were recovered in 1969. Dives were conducted in August 1974 that confirmed a need for excavation of the extensive remains. Full scale excavation of the wreck from a depth of 15 meters began in June 1975.
The salvage of portions of the wreck located in the open sea were completed in seven years. The inland portions of the wreck were slowed by poor visibility. Costs for the salvage totaled over 3 million yen by 1985. Desalinization of the recovered artifacts began upon recovery.
A replica of the Kaiyō Maru was constructed in 1990. She is now on display at the docks in Esashi and has become a tourist attraction showing the salvaged remains of the original ship.