- Built: 1853/5-1854/12
- Other Names: 琉球大砲船 (Ryuukyuu taihou sen), 昌平丸 (Shouheimaru)
- Japanese: 昇平丸 (Shouhei maru)
The Shôheimaru was a Western-style tall-masted sailing ship, constructed at the orders of Shimazu Nariakira, lord of Satsuma han, in 1853-1854. It was 31 meters long, with three masts, ten cannon, two mortars, four turret guns, and a displacement of 370 tons, and was given as a gift to the Tokugawa shogunate.
The project got its start when Shimazu Nariakira, in response to pressures from Western powers, ordered his retainer Tahara Naosuke to research Dutch shipbuilding texts. Construction began in 1853/5, one month before Commodore Perry arrived at Uraga Bay. The ship was initially called Ryûkyû taihôsen (Ryûkyû cannon ship), but by the time it was completed in 1854/12, after 19 months of trial and error, it was renamed Shôheimaru (昇平丸).
The Shôheimaru sailed to Edo in 1855 without incident, flying the Hinomaru flag Nariakira devised (which would later become the national flag). Later that year, in the 8th month, the ship was renamed again, from 昇平丸 to 昌平丸 (both pronounced Shôheimaru), and was given as a gift from Nariakira to the Tokugawa shogunate. Katsu Kaishû sailed the Shôheimaru back to Nagasaki the following month.
In 1869, following the fall of the shogunate, the Shôheimaru, along with the Kanrin Maru, among other ships, were used to ship development materials to & from Hokkaido.
References
- Gallery labels, permanent exhibits gallery, Shôkoshûseikan, Kagoshima, Sept 2014.
- Gallery labels, Museum of the Meiji Restoration, Kagoshima, Sept 2014.[1]