＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
During the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), Japan and other countries were essentially in a state of “national isolation,” although some travel restrictions were gradually lifted.
Despite this difficult time when the whole world was busy responding to the coronavirus, or rather taking advantage of it, China continued to threaten Japan by having warships cruise around the Senkaku Islands every day, and unilaterally proceeded with the construction of military bases in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
In this article, we will look back at the preparations (maritime defense policy) made against foreign ships during the Edo period, when a policy of national isolation was in place.
1. What is “national isolation”?
“Sakoku” (national isolation) was a foreign policy adopted by the Edo Shogunate based on several series of prohibitions issued between 1633 and 1639.
This policy of isolation included banning Japanese people from traveling abroad, prohibiting Christianity, and prohibiting foreigners from traveling to Japan except for diplomatic relations with Korea and Ryukyu, and trade relations with the Chinese and Dutch.
This policy lasted for over 200 years, from 1639 (Kan’ei 16) until Perry’s arrival in 1853 (Kaei 6).
As an aside, the term “sakoku” only came into use in the 19th century, and was coined towards the end of the Edo period. It originally began in 1801, when Dutch interpreter Shizuki Tadao wrote a book titled “Sakoku Ron” (On National Isolation). This book is a translation of a chapter from “History of Japan” by Kaempfer, a German physician who came to Japan at the end of the 17th century.
Ii Naosuke, who led the opening of Japan to the world at the end of the Edo period, referred to “national isolation” as “the law of closing the country to the West.”
The Edo Shogunate, which did not pursue a policy of foreign aggression, was reluctant to “attack Manila in cooperation with the Dutch” even during the reign of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651, reigned 1623-1651), and even rejected a request for reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty in the mid-17th century, citing deficiencies in the document format. Ultimately, the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644.
2. Preparations against foreign ships during the period of national isolation
(1) Establishment of “Lookout Posts”
Until Perry’s arrival, the shogunate was not completely unaware of any preparations against foreign ships.
While a major objective of “national isolation” was the ban on Christianity, the policy’s completion was not with the expulsion of Portuguese ships in 1639, which was triggered by the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion of 1637-1638, but with the establishment of a coastal defense system following the expulsion of Portuguese ships.
This is clearly demonstrated by the “lookout posts” built in places overlooking the oceans of Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Chugoku region.
A lookout post was established at Nomozaki in Nagasaki in 1638, but it did not become fully operational until 1640, when 61 Portuguese from Macau who had come to plead for the resumption of trade were executed by beheading.
(2) Defenses Prepared for Retaliation by Portugal and Spain
At this time, the shogunate anticipated a retaliatory attack by Portugal and Spain, and ordered the relevant daimyo to establish “lookout posts” throughout their territories. They were also ordered to immediately report any Portuguese ships they spotted to Shimabara Domain’s lord, Takachika Tadafusa, the Nagasaki magistrate, and to report further to Osaka and neighboring provinces.
In response to this order, Kumamoto Domain’s lord, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, prepared dozens of fast boats and hired numerous sailors.
Fukuoka Domain’s lord, Kuroda Tadayuki, also established “lookout posts” in five locations within his domain, stationing samurai guards at each location and dispatching guard ships for daily inspections. This coastal defense system placed a heavy burden on the Kyushu daimyo.
However, this defense system proved effective against the infiltration of Christian missionaries. In 1642, a group led by Italian missionary Antonio Rubino was captured on Shimokoshikijima in Satsuma, and the following year, in 1643, a group led by Portuguese missionary and Japan Provincial Pedro Marques was captured on Chikuzen-Oshima when they attempted to infiltrate from Luzon.
Then, in 1647, when two warships carrying Portuguese ambassadors arrived, the feudal lords of Kyushu gathered in Nagasaki and implemented a defense system, including blockading the bay.
In the early 18th century, when smuggling by Chinese ships became popular, an “Order to Drive Away Chinese Ships” was issued, and Chinese ships were actually sunk.
(3) Hayashi Shihei’s “Kaikoku Heidan” (The Warring States of the Sea) was viewed as dangerous
The mid-Edo period economist Hayashi Shihei (1738-1793) was well-versed in overseas affairs. Between 1786 and 1791, he published the 16-volume “Kaikoku Heidan” (Military Stories of the Sea), in which he advocated the need for coastal defense, and in “Sankoku Tsuran Zusetsu” (Illustrated Guide to the Three Countries), in which he advocated the development of Ezo. However, the shogunate not only did not take away this warning book, but instead viewed it as dangerous.
In 1792, it was banned as a “dangerous book that misleads public opinion and destabilizes the system,” infringing on the shogunate’s taboo, its woodblocks were confiscated, and Hayashi was ordered to live in seclusion in his residence (Sendai). He was then sent to Edo and imprisoned.
(4) “Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships”
Following the incidents of the British warship invading Nagasaki Port in 1808 (the Phaeton Incident) and the Otsuhama and Takarajima Incidents in 1824, the Edo Shogunate as a whole began to lean toward “active maritime defense,” issuing the “Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships” in 1825.
The shogunate attempted to maintain its isolationist policy by strengthening maritime defenses, but the defeat of the Qing Dynasty by Britain in the “Opium Wars” of 1840-1842 and the threat posed by American warships (the “Black Ships”) led to a shift toward an “opening up” policy.