 Banryū | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Banryū (exEmperor) |
| Ordered | 1856 |
| Builder | R & H Green of Blackwall |
| Laid down | 1856 |
| Launched | 1856 |
| Commissioned | 1857 |
| Decommissioned | 1888 |
| Fate | Broken up late 1890s |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 370long tons (376 t) |
| Length | 41.8 m (137 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 5.45 m (17 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 3.23 m (10 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Sail plan | Schooner |
| Armament | 6 × 12-pounder cannon |
Banryū (蟠龍;Coiled Dragon) was a ship of theTokugawa Navy, and following the collapse of the shogunate, was operated by Tokugawa loyalists under theRepublic of Ezo during theBoshin War inJapan. An armed iron hulledscrew-propelledschooner, she had a length of 41.8 metres, a breadth of 5.45 metres, a draught of 3.23 metres, and weighed 370 tons. She was armed with four 12-pounder bronze cannons.[1]
Built by R&H Green at theBlackwall Yard asHMY Emperor, she was presented to the Tokugawa administration byJames Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin as a present for the "Emperor" fromQueen Victoria on the 26 August 1858, to commemorate the signing of theAnglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Intended to serve as a royal yacht, its interior was luxuriously furnished with sculptures and mirrors.[2][3]
During theBoshin War,Banryū participated in theNaval Battle of Awa, Japan's first engagement between two modern fleets, on 28 January 1868. Subsequently, she was used to transport ShōgunTokugawa Yoshinobu fromEdo to exile inSumpu following theFall of Edo to imperial forces of 11 April.
Under the command ofBankichi Matsuoka, she was one of the ships seized byEnomoto Takeaki and other Tokugawa loyalists in their escape to create the Republic of Ezo inHokkaido later that year. Matsuoka was dispatched to participate to theNaval Battle of Miyako Bay in March 1869, but had to return to Hachinohe due to the weather. During theNaval Battle of Hakodate Bay in May 1869, she sank one of the Imperial navy's warships, thesteamcorvetteChōyō Maru in the first recorded modern warship being sunk in ship to ship combat in Japanese history. Towards the end of the battle, with her ammunition exhausted and suffering from severe damage due to numerous hits, she was beached nearBenten Daiba, and set on fire (although the fire went out before it could consume the vessel).[4][5]
She was salvaged by an Englishman, and after repairs and rebuilding inShanghai was renamed the SSEmperor. She then returned to Japan in 1873 asRaiden Maru (雷電丸) for use in transporting colonists and supplies to Hokkaido. She was purchased by theImperial Japanese Navy in 1877 asRaiden, serving as a training vessel until January 1888. Afterwards, she was demilitarised, and served as a whaling ship out ofKochi, and later as a transport, passing through several owners until she was scrapped in 1897.[1][6]
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