Black Ships (Event) - Ships

List of ships available during Black Ships event in **2017** (Jun 13th - Jul 25th).

## Yamato

Yamato was a Japanese cargo ship built before 1891.

## Wasen Sengokubune

Wasen Sengokubune was a Japanese Edo period ship used for coastal cargo transport. Sengokubune refers to the ship's carrying capacity of 100 koku (1 koku is about 278 liters).

## Shōhei Maru

Shōhei Maru was a Japanese Western-style sailing frigate built between 1853-1854. Since 17th century Japan was pursuing the isolation policy which included the ban on building large ocean-going vessels. After the Perry expedition in 1843, Japan started to bolster the coastal defenses and the law was abolished. Shōhei Maru was one of the first warships constructed afterwards. She served for a short time in the Japanese Navy and was later used as a training vessel. After the Meiji Restoration, she was used as a transport vessel on the northern island of Hokkaido. Shōhei Maru ran aground and was wrecked in a storm in 1870.

## Kentoshi

Kentoshi-sen were Japanese ships used to transport Imperial Japanese envoys to China between 7th-9th century. Japanese officials, scholars, and merchants were sent to learn about Chinese culture, administration, and institutions.

## Hacchoro

Hacchoro was a wooden fishing boat from Edo Period Japan. She was propelled by sails and four pairs of oars.

## Asahi Maru

Asahi Maru was a western-style frigate launched in 1855. Since 17th century Japan was pursuing the isolation policy which included the ban on building large ocean-going vessels. After the Perry expedition in 1843, Japan started to bolster the coastal defenses and the law was abolished. Asahi Maru and Shōhei Maru were among the first warships constructed afterwards. Asahi Maru served as a troop transport by the Tokugawa Navy. After Meiji Restoration, she was sold to a private shipowner, and became a coastal transport.

## Sueyoshi

Sueyoshi was Japanese red seal ship belonging to the trading family Sueyoshi. Red seal ships were Japanese armed merchant ships in the 17th century. The ships were bound for Southeast Asia bearing the red-sealed letters patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate. The letters granted the chosen families the right to trade with foreign traders and gave them shogun's protection.

## USS Susquehanna

USS Susquehanna was a sidewheel steam frigate of the United States Navy, launched in 1850. She joined the East India Squadron under command of John Aulick. After he was forced to give up command Susquehanna joined the expedition of Matthew Perry and set off for Edo. Here in July 1853 Perry presented a letter from the US president to Japanese government and left. In the letter the president requested opening of trade between Japan and US. He returned with his warships in February 1854 which resulted in the signing of the Convention of Kanazawa. After Perry and his fleet returned to America, Susquehanna joined the Mediterranean Squadron where she served until 1861. During the American Civil War she fought with the Union forces. Following the war she served in the Atlantic Squadron. Susquehanna was decommissioned in 1868 and broken up in 1883.

## Atakebune

Atakebune were large Japanese warships used in the 16th and 17th century. They were armed with a few cannons and numerous large-caliber arquebuses. Atakebunes were propelled by oars and used only in coastal actions. The Japanese used them in the invasion of Korea between 1592-1598.

## USS Mississippi

USS Mississippi was a paddle steam frigate of the US Navy, launched in 1842. In 1845 she joined the West Indian Squadron under the command of Commodore Perry. Later she took part in various expeditions during the Mexican-American War. In 1853 she joined the expedition of Commodore Perry to Japan. Which resulted in the signing of Convention of Kanazawa in 1854 and ending the Japanese isolation. She served some time in the Far East before returning back to the US. She was scuttled to prevent capture by the Confederates during the Civil War in 1863.

## USS Saratoga

USS Saratoga was a sloop-of-war of the United States Navy, launched in 1842. She took part in the Ivory Coast Expedition under the command of Commodore Perry in 1843-1844. Later she participated in various operations in the Mexican-American War. Saratoga was assigned to the East India Squadron in 1850. Here she joined the expedition of Commodore Perry to Edo, which resulted in the opening of Japan. The signed Convention of Kanazawa, which established economic relations between Japan and US, was taken by Saratoga to Hawaii. Afterward, she helped end the Reform War and served as a patrol against slave trade near the west coast of Africa. For a time she was used as a training vessel for a marine school in Philadelphia. Saratoga was sold for scrapping in 1907.

## Kasuga

Kasuga was a Japanese wooden paddle steamer warship. Originally named Keangsoo she was built at Whites' shipyard at Cowes on the Isle of Wight as a dispatch vessel, built for the Imperial Chinese Navy in 1864. She was the flagship of the Lay-Osborne Flotilla, which had been arranged to be sent to China to help suppress the ongoing Taiping Rebellion. Keangsoo and two other dispatch vessels were procured as a new build to the Imperial Chinese Navy. In Nagasaki, Keangsoo was purchased by Matsukata Masayoshi, a leading samurai of the Satsuma Domain, in 1867. She was renamed Kasuga Maru and rebuilt as a warship. During the Boshin War, she fought for the Imperial side against the Tokugawa forces. After the Meiji Restoration, she joined the Imperial Japanese Navy and was renamed Kasuga. She served in the Navy until 1894 when she joined a mine-laying group on Tsushima Island. Kasuga was sold for scrap in 1902.

## Suminokura

Suminokura was a Japanese red seal ship belonging to the trading family Suminokura. Red seal ships were Japanese armed merchant ships in the 17th century. The ships were bound for Southeast Asia bearing the red-sealed letters patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate.

## Banryū

Banryū was a ship of the Tokugawa Navy. She was built in England as an iron paddle schooner named Emperor in 1856. She was given to the Japanese government as a present to commemorate the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce. In the Boshin War she fought with the Tokugawa forces. During the Battle of Hakodate Bay she was badly damaged and beached. She was salvaged by an Englishman, repaired and renamed SS Emperor. She then returned to Japan in 1873 as Raiden Maru for use in transporting colonists and supplies to Hokkaido. She was purchased by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1877 and served as a training vessel until 1888 when she was decommissioned. Raiden was scrapped in 1897.

## Kankō Maru

It was the first steam-powered warship in Japan. The ship was presented to Tokugawa shogunate as a gift from King William lll of the Netherlands in year 1855. The gift was meant to establish formal diplomatic relations and the opening of Japanese ports to Dutch merchants vessels. Overall length was 66.8 metres. Her armament consisted of six muzzle-loading cannon. Ship was decommissioned and scrapped in 1879.

## Chiyoda

She was a 3rd class wooden gunboat of the Tokugawa Navy, and first home-built steam warship in Japan. Finished in 1866, she participated in the Boshin War. In years 1888-1911 she was used for hunting whales and was scrapped afterwards.

## Kaiten

Kaiten was a paddle steam frigate constructed in Prussia as SMS Danzig and launched in 1853. She was the first steam warship in the Prussian Navy. She fought in the Battle of Tres Forcas. She was sold to the English company Dorset and Blythe in 1864. The English sold her the same year to the Japanese Tokugawa Shogunate. Danzig was renamed Kaiten. She took part in the Battle of Miyako Bay and was the flagship of the rebel force in the Battle of Hakodate Bay. Later in the war, in May 1869, Kaiten was burned by her crew to prevent capture.

## Kanrin Maru

Kanrin Maru was Japan's first sail and screw-driven steam corvette. She was ordered in 1853 from the Netherlands and delivered with the name Japan in 1857. The ship was used at the newly established Naval School of Nagasaki. In 1860 Kanrin Maru was sent to the United States on a diplomatic mission with the goal of establishing first Japanese embassy to the US, and to ratify the new treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between the two countries. During the Boshin War, she was captured by the Imperial forces. After the war, she was used for the development of the northern island of Hokkaido. Kanrin Maru was lost in a typhoon in 1871.

## Mikaho

Mikaho was a small steam transportation warship belonging to the Navy of the Japanese Tokugawa Shogunate. She took part in the Boshin war fighting among the Tokugawa forces. She was lost in a typhoon in 1868.

## Shinsoku

Shinsoku was an early Japanese steam transport warship, built in the United States with the name Meteo. In 1869 she took part in the Battle of Hakodate among the forces of the Shogunate. Shinsoku sunk while trying to save the survivors of the Kaiyō Maru, which sunk in a storm.

## Chōyō Maru

Chōyō Maru was a steam corvette of the Tokugawa Navy built in Netherlands. After the Perry expedition, the Japanese government realized the need for boosting coastal defenses and ordered two steam warships to be built by the Dutch. The first vessel was Japan, later renamed Kanrin-Maru and the second vessel was Yedo, later renamed Chōyō Maru. Yedo was launched in Netherlands in 1856 and arrived in Nagasaki in 1858 where she was renamed Chōyō Maru. The length of the ship was 49 meters and it had 12 cannons. Chōyō Maru served as a training vessel and later fought in the Boshin War as a part of the imperial fleet. She exploded and sunk during the Battle of Hakodate Bay in 1869.

## Nisshin

Nisshin was built in Netherlands in 1867. The ship was 62m long, had a coal-fired steam engine and displacement of 1468 tons. Nisshin arrived in Japan in 1870 and became a part of the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It took part in the Taiwan expedition in 1874 and helped suppress the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. She was patrolling the coast of Korea to demonstrate the strength of Japan in response to the burning of the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 1882. From 1885 she served as a training vessel. Nisshin was decommissioned in 1892 and scrapped in 1893.

## Chōgei Maru

Chōgei Maru was a Japanese steam warship, originally built in England. She took part in the Boshin War fighting among the Tokugawa forces. After the war, she was used to transfer wounded soldiers to Tokyo.

## Ryūjō

Ryūjō was a steam ironclad warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, built in Scotland in 1868. She was delivered to Japan in 1870 and became the flagship and strongest warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She participated in quenching the Saga Rebellion, in the Seinan War and the first Taiwan Expedition of 1874. In 1877, Ryūjō ran aground off Kagoshima. She was successfully refloated the following year and repaired. In 1893 Ryūjō was decommissioned and used as a training ship. She was sold and broken up in 1908.