Japanese battleship Kaiyo Maru

{{Italic title prefixed|19}} {| |} '''''Kaiyō Maru''''' (Japanese: 開陽丸) was one of [[Japan]]'s first modern [[warship]]s, powered by both sails and steam. ==Construction== [[File:Launch of Kayo Maru in Dordrech 1865.jpg|thumb|left|Launch of Kayō Maru in [[Dordrecht]], 1865]] She was ordered in the [[Netherlands]] in [[1863]] by the [[Bakufu]], the government of the [[Shogun]], the [[Netherlands Trading Society|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== [[File:EnomotoTakeaki.jpg|thumb|left|[[Enomoto Takeaki]]]] 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== [[Image:EnomotoFleet.jpg|thumb|left|Part of the fleet of [[Enomoto Takeaki]] off [[Shinagawa]] in 1868. ''Kaiyō Maru'' is second from right.]] 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 [[Daimyo]]s 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]]. [[File:Kayo Maru.jpg|thumb|Photograph of ''Kaiyō Maru'']] [[File:Kaiyo Maru restored.jpg|thumb|''Kaiyō Maru'' restored in [[Esashi, Hokkaidō (Hiyama)|Esashi]]]] ''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, Hokkaido (Hiyama)|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. ''Kaiyō Maru'' was discovered on the seafloor in 1975, and she was salvaged and reconstructed in 1990. She is now on display at the docks in Esashi and has become a tourist attraction. ==External links== *[http://www.ne.jp/asahi/north/dreams/kaiyoumaru.htm The salvaged ''Kaiyō Maru'' in Esashi] {{jp icon}} {{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiyo Maru}}