Taiho Maru

• Built: 1792, 1835
• Japanese: 泰宝丸 (Taihou maru)

The Taihô-maru was a private ship constructed and used by the Hosokawa clan lords of Kumamoto han as an additional alternative to their chief official personal vessel, the Naminashi Maru.

The Taihô-maru was originally built in 1792, but was dashed upon the shore and wrecked in an earthquake shortly after its completion; the ship was then rebuilt in 1835. Covered in lacquer along its entire length, the Taihô Maru was ornately decorated, and served as a display of Hosokawa power, wealth, and cultivation.

References

• Hosokawa-ke monjo: ezu, chizu, sashizu hen II, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (2013), 198-199.