Namamugi Incident
Encyclopedia
The was a samurai
assault on foreign nationals in Japan
on September 14, 1862, which resulted in the August 1863 bombardment of Kagoshima
, during the Late Tokugawa shogunate
. In Japanese the bombardment is described as a war between the United Kingdom
and Satsuma domain, the Anglo-Satsuma War.
Four British subjects (a Shanghai
merchant named Charles Lennox Richardson
, two other Yokohama-based merchants, Woodthorpe Charles Clark and William Marshall, and Mrs. Margaret Watson Borradaile) were travelling for a jaunt on the Tōkaidō
road through the village of Namamugi (now part of Tsurumi ward
, Yokohama
) en route to Kawasaki Daishi
temple in present-day Kawasaki
. The party had departed the treaty port of Yokohama at 2:30 pm by boat, crossing Yokohama harbour to Kanagawa village, to meet up with their horses, which had been sent ahead.
As they passed north through Namamugi village, they encountered the large armed retinue of Shimazu Hisamitsu
, the regent and father of Shimazu Tadayoshi, the daimyo
of Satsuma, heading in the other direction. The party continued to ride along the side of the road without dismounting until they reached the main body of the procession, which occupied the entire width of the road. In Japan, samurai had a legal right to strike anyone who showed disrespect (See Kirisute gomen
). However, British nationals were protected by Extraterritoriality under the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty and were exempt. Richardson, leading the Britons, rode too close to the procession and was slashed at by one of the Satsuma bodyguards. The two other men were seriously wounded (Mrs Borrodaile was not physically harmed), and they rode away as fast as they could, Richardson eventually falling from his horse, mortally wounded. Hisamitsu gave the order for todome - the coup de grâce
- to be given. Richardson's grave is in Yokohama in a private plot near the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery, between the later graves of Marshall and Clarke.
The case of Eugene Van Reed, who had dismounted and bowed before a daimyo's train, was instanced by Shimazu's supporters who later said that the insolent attitude of the Britons (who did not dismount) caused the incident. Van Reed's conduct appalled the Western community, who believed that westerners should hold themselves with dignity before the Japanese, being at least the equal of any Japanese person. There is no evidence to support later suggestions that Richardson whipped Chinese while horseback riding in China, though according to the Japan Herald "Extra" of Tuesday 16 September 1862, he had been heard to say just prior to the incident, "I know how to deal with these people".
ensued. This claimed five lives among the people of Satsuma (which had largely been evacuated prior to the unheralded attack on the British squadron), and 11 lives among the British (including, with a single cannon shot, both the Captain and Commander of the British flagship HMS Euryalus
). Material losses were substantial, with around 500 houses burnt in Kagoshima, and three Satsuma steamships sunk. The conflict caused much controversy in the British House of Commons, but Acting Vice Admiral Augustus Leopold Kuper
's conduct was eventually commended by the House. Kuper was promoted Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
in 1864 "for his services at Kagoshima".
Satsuma admired the superiority of the Royal Navy
and sought a trading relationship with Britain as a result. Later that year, they paid the £25,000 (GB£
16,000,000 in 2011 pounds) compensation demanded by the British Government, borrowing (and never repaying) the money from the bakufu - the shogun
's government that had only five years to run before being replaced by the restored government of Emperor Meiji
.
The incident was the basis of James Clavell
's novel Gai-Jin
.
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
assault on foreign nationals in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on September 14, 1862, which resulted in the August 1863 bombardment of Kagoshima
Bombardment of Kagoshima
The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , took place on 15–17 August 1863 during the Late Tokugawa shogunate. The British Royal Navy was fired on from the coastal batteries near town of Kagoshima and in retaliation bombarded the town...
, during the Late Tokugawa shogunate
Late Tokugawa shogunate
, literally "end of the curtain", are the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end. It is characterized by major events occurring between 1853 and 1867 during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as sakoku and transitioned from a feudal shogunate...
. In Japanese the bombardment is described as a war between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Satsuma domain, the Anglo-Satsuma War.
Course of events
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
merchant named Charles Lennox Richardson
Charles Lennox Richardson
Charles Lennox Richardson was an English merchant based in Shanghai who was killed in Japan during the Namamugi Incident. His name is properly spelled as “Charles Lenox Richardson” according to the census and family documents.-Merchant:Richardson was born in London in 1834. He relocated to...
, two other Yokohama-based merchants, Woodthorpe Charles Clark and William Marshall, and Mrs. Margaret Watson Borradaile) were travelling for a jaunt on the Tōkaidō
Tokaido (road)
The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....
road through the village of Namamugi (now part of Tsurumi ward
Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 270,433 and a density of 8,140 persons per km²...
, Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
) en route to Kawasaki Daishi
Kawasaki Daishi
is the informal name of in Kawasaki, Japan. Founded in 1128, it is the headquarters of the Chizan sect of Shingon Buddhism. Kawasaki Daishi is a popular temple for hatsumōde . In 2006, 2.72 million people engaged in hatsumōde here, the third largest figure in Japan and the largest in Kanagawa...
temple in present-day Kawasaki
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
. The party had departed the treaty port of Yokohama at 2:30 pm by boat, crossing Yokohama harbour to Kanagawa village, to meet up with their horses, which had been sent ahead.
As they passed north through Namamugi village, they encountered the large armed retinue of Shimazu Hisamitsu
Shimazu Hisamitsu
Prince , also known as ', was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. The younger brother of Shimazu Nariakira, Hisamitsu served as regent for his underage son Tadayoshi , who became the 12th and last lord. Hisamitsu was instrumental in the efforts of the southern Satsuma, Chōshū, and Tosa clans...
, the regent and father of Shimazu Tadayoshi, the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of Satsuma, heading in the other direction. The party continued to ride along the side of the road without dismounting until they reached the main body of the procession, which occupied the entire width of the road. In Japan, samurai had a legal right to strike anyone who showed disrespect (See Kirisute gomen
Kirisute Gomen
"Kirisute Gomen" is a song by metalcore band, Trivium, released as the first single from their fourth album, Shogun. It was made available as a free digital download through the Roadrunner Records website for 24 hours on ....
). However, British nationals were protected by Extraterritoriality under the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty and were exempt. Richardson, leading the Britons, rode too close to the procession and was slashed at by one of the Satsuma bodyguards. The two other men were seriously wounded (Mrs Borrodaile was not physically harmed), and they rode away as fast as they could, Richardson eventually falling from his horse, mortally wounded. Hisamitsu gave the order for todome - the coup de grâce
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
- to be given. Richardson's grave is in Yokohama in a private plot near the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery, between the later graves of Marshall and Clarke.
The case of Eugene Van Reed, who had dismounted and bowed before a daimyo's train, was instanced by Shimazu's supporters who later said that the insolent attitude of the Britons (who did not dismount) caused the incident. Van Reed's conduct appalled the Western community, who believed that westerners should hold themselves with dignity before the Japanese, being at least the equal of any Japanese person. There is no evidence to support later suggestions that Richardson whipped Chinese while horseback riding in China, though according to the Japan Herald "Extra" of Tuesday 16 September 1862, he had been heard to say just prior to the incident, "I know how to deal with these people".
Consequences of the Namamugi Incident
The incident sparked a scare in Japan's foreign community, which was based in the Kannai district of Yokohama. Many traders appealed to their governments to take punitive action against Japan. Britain demanded reparations from the Government (£100,000, eventually paid) and from the Daimyo of Satsuma (together with the arrest, trial and execution of the perpetrators, which never took place). Satsuma prevaricated and Britain eventually engaged Satsuma a year later in what subsequently became known to the Japanese as the Anglo-Satsuma War. A squadron went to Kagoshima, capital of the Satsuma domain to demand reparation for the Namamugi Incident. Meeting further prevarication, they seized several Satsuma vessels as hostage against payment, and were unexpectedly fired on by Satsuma forts. The squadron retaliated, and the naval bombardment of KagoshimaBombardment of Kagoshima
The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , took place on 15–17 August 1863 during the Late Tokugawa shogunate. The British Royal Navy was fired on from the coastal batteries near town of Kagoshima and in retaliation bombarded the town...
ensued. This claimed five lives among the people of Satsuma (which had largely been evacuated prior to the unheralded attack on the British squadron), and 11 lives among the British (including, with a single cannon shot, both the Captain and Commander of the British flagship HMS Euryalus
HMS Euryalus (1853)
HMS Euryalus was a fourth-rate wooden-hulled screw frigate of the Royal Navy, with a 400HP steam engine that could make over 12 knots. She was launched at Chatham in 1853, was 212 feet long, displaced 3125 tons and had a complement of 515...
). Material losses were substantial, with around 500 houses burnt in Kagoshima, and three Satsuma steamships sunk. The conflict caused much controversy in the British House of Commons, but Acting Vice Admiral Augustus Leopold Kuper
Augustus Leopold Kuper
Admiral Sir Augustus Leopold Kuper GCB was a Royal Navy officer known for his commands in the far east.-Naval career:...
's conduct was eventually commended by the House. Kuper was promoted Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1864 "for his services at Kagoshima".
Satsuma admired the superiority of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and sought a trading relationship with Britain as a result. Later that year, they paid the £25,000 (GB£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
16,000,000 in 2011 pounds) compensation demanded by the British Government, borrowing (and never repaying) the money from the bakufu - the shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
's government that had only five years to run before being replaced by the restored government of Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
.
The incident was the basis of James Clavell
James Clavell
James Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
's novel Gai-Jin
Gai-Jin (novel)
Gai-Jin is a 1993 novel by James Clavell, chronologically the third book in his Asian Saga, although it was the last to be published. Taking place about 20 years after the events of Tai-Pan, it chronicles the adventures of Malcolm Struan, the son of Culum and Tess Struan, in Japan...
.
Further reading
- Satow, Ernest. A Diplomat in Japan, Tuttle (1921). ISBN 4-925080-28-8
- Rennie, David. The British Arms in North China and Japan. Adamant Media Corporation. (2001) ISBN 1-4021-8184-1
- Denney, John. Respect and Consideration: Britain in Japan 1853 - 1868 and beyond. Radiance Press (2011). ISBN 978-0-9568798-0-6