− | 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 ''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 15 ''ken'' (approx. 27-31 meters) long, four ''ken'' one ''shaku'' (7.5 m) wide, and three ''ken'' (5.5 m) deep, with three masts, ten cannon, two mortars, four turret guns, and a displacement of 370 tons, and bore a crew of forty. |
| 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'' ([[Ryukyu Kingdom|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 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'' ([[Ryukyu Kingdom|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). |