Warner W.E. Warships of the Late Tokugawa Conflicts: Japan (1853-1870)

CreateSpace, 2019. — 215 p."Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians” - Japanese political slogan in the 1850s and 1860. Less than twenty years after commodore Perry steamed into Yokohama bay, Japan had gone from an isolated medieval feudal society into the beginning of a transformation that would catapult it into one of the most powerful forces of the 20th century. Even though many in the countries clans and Domains disliked the “foreigners” as they called them, they did not shy away from adopting the latest in warfighting technologies. smoothbore guns and rifles were imported, from countries as varied as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, or the United States. The blade of the katana shared the battlefield with the bayonet. Ironclad warships did battle with paddle steamers. The struggle between those who wanted to preserve the status quo against those who wanted change made Japan a blood-soaked island. At the end the Shogunate that had ruled Japan for would be deposed by a combination of commoners and imperial will. This was all made possible by realization that in an Island nation naval power was key to ultimate political power.