Ōshima Takatō
Encyclopedia
Ōshima Takatō was a Japanese engineer who created the first reverberation blast furnace
and first Western-style gun in Japan.
Ōshima was born of samurai
status in Morioka City, Nanbu Domain which is now Iwate Prefecture
in 1826.
Around this time the feudal clans of Japan were competing to develop superior Western-style armaments. The government of Mito Domain
hired Ōshima to make Western-style guns. In 1855 the first of two reverberation blast furnaces that he built in Mito was completed. This furnace was used to make four mortar
s over the next year. These mortars, however, failed due to the inferior quality of iron used.
Ōshima returned to Nanbu-han where he built a new Western-style blast furnace at Kamaishi to produce a higher quality pig iron
from the local magnetite
mined there. For this work he was assisted by an engineer on loan from the Satsuma feudal domain. They used a design from a Dutch book Het Gietvezen in s'Rijks Ijzer-Geschutgieterij'te Luik by Huguenin. Their efforts were rewarded with success on December 1, 1857 when they fired the new furnace for the first time.
Returning to Mito the next year Ōshima successfully produced three mortars and one cannon. In April a large shipment of pig iron arrived from Kamaishi and he produced three more large cannons. After 1868 he helped in the development of Japan's mining operations.
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
and first Western-style gun in Japan.
Ōshima was born of samurai
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...
status in Morioka City, Nanbu Domain which is now Iwate Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
in 1826.
Around this time the feudal clans of Japan were competing to develop superior Western-style armaments. The government of Mito Domain
Mito Domain
was a prominent feudal domain in Japan during the Edo period. Its capital was the city of Mito, and it covered much of present-day Ibaraki Prefecture. Beginning with the appointment of Tokugawa Yorifusa by his father, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, in 1608, the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan...
hired Ōshima to make Western-style guns. In 1855 the first of two reverberation blast furnaces that he built in Mito was completed. This furnace was used to make four mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s over the next year. These mortars, however, failed due to the inferior quality of iron used.
Ōshima returned to Nanbu-han where he built a new Western-style blast furnace at Kamaishi to produce a higher quality pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
from the local magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
mined there. For this work he was assisted by an engineer on loan from the Satsuma feudal domain. They used a design from a Dutch book Het Gietvezen in s'Rijks Ijzer-Geschutgieterij'te Luik by Huguenin. Their efforts were rewarded with success on December 1, 1857 when they fired the new furnace for the first time.
Returning to Mito the next year Ōshima successfully produced three mortars and one cannon. In April a large shipment of pig iron arrived from Kamaishi and he produced three more large cannons. After 1868 he helped in the development of Japan's mining operations.