Order to drive away foreign shipsForeign policy at the end of the Edo period aimed at maintaining national isolation

As the number of foreign ships arriving in Japan increased in the latter half of the Edo period, the shogunate issued the "Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships" in 1825. This command was issued to drive away all foreign ships approaching the Japanese coast, but this led to a number of incidents. In this article, we will explain in an easy-to-understand way the background to the issuance of the Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships, as well as its contents.

"National Isolation" by the Edo Shogunate

At the time the edict to drive away foreign ships was issued, the Edo Shogunate was practicing a policy of national isolation that restricted diplomacy and trade with other countries. When the Edo Shogunate was first established, it traded with various foreign countries, including China (Ming), Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and Tokugawa Ieyasu also tolerated Christianity. This was because Catholic countries such as Spain and Portugal combined trade with the propagation of Christianity, and placed importance on trade with these countries.

On the other hand, Tokugawa Ieyasu deepened ties with Protestant countries such as the Netherlands, which did not involve the missionary work of Christianity, by engaging in trade with them. Then, in 1609 (Keicho 14), the "Okamoto Daihachi Incident" occurred, in which Christian Okamoto Daihachi defrauded Christian daimyo Arima Harunobu of Kinsei. In response to this, the shogunate issued an edict banning Christianity on March 21, 1612 (Keicho 17). From then on, successive shoguns issued edicts banning Christianity, and Christianity was oppressed.

In addition, the Shimabara Rebellion broke out, which lasted from October 1637 to February of the following year, 1638. Feeling further threatened by the Christian rebellion, in 1639 the shogunate issued the Fifth Isolation Order, which banned Portuguese ships from entering Japan and specified penalties for Christians, completing the isolationist system.

However, the shogunate did not actually close the country completely. The four gateways to the outside world - Nagasaki, Tsushima, Satsuma, and Matsumae (Ezo) - were exceptionally kept open, allowing trade with the Netherlands, China, Korea, the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the Ainu of Ezo (the whole of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, etc.), as well as the inhabitants of the lower reaches of the Amur River in Russia via the Ainu.

Arrival of foreign ships and the "Order for the Handling of Foreign Ships"

Japan had been in a state of isolation for a long time, but in the second half of the 18th century, ships from Russia, France, the UK, America and other countries began to visit Japan and seek diplomatic and trade relations. In particular, from Russia, in 1739, a detachment of ships from Bering's second expedition reached Sendai Bay and the Boso Peninsula, and in 1778, the merchant Ochiereden landed at Notsukamappu in Nemuro City, seeking trade with Japan due to food shortages.

In light of the increasing number of foreign ships adrift, the shogunate issued the "Foreign Ships Handling Order" in September 1791. The order stipulated that as soon as a foreign ship was found, a scribe and inspector should be dispatched to inspect it, and that the shogunate should be consulted on whether to protect it and send it to Nagasaki.

And for foreign ships that refused to be inspected or did not follow instructions, "they would have to destroy both the ship and the people," and they would have to either kill or capture the crew. Furthermore, in those cases, they would have to use cannons and flaming arrows "at their own discretion."

Troubles with foreign ships①Laxman's visit

In 1792, the year after the edict on handling foreign ships was issued, military officer Adam Laxman arrived in Japan as an envoy for Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire. Laxman escorted the boatman Daikokuya Kodayu, originally from Ise Province (Mie Prefecture), and his companions to Japan, requesting trade with the shogunate.

However, the shogunate was in a period of national isolation and rejected both offers. However, the shogunate did give Laxman a certificate of entry into Nagasaki, allowing him to conduct trade negotiations there. The senior councilor at the time was Matsudaira Sadanobu. He seemed to think that Russia had no choice but to open up, but Laxman returned to Russia without stopping in Nagasaki.

Troubles with foreign ships 2. Nikolai Rezanov and the "cultural piracy"

Regarding Russia, in September 1804, Nikolai Rezanov, a diplomatic envoy from the Russian Empire, visited Nagasaki to deliver a personal letter from Alexander I and request trade between Russia and Japan. He was a successor to Laxman's diplomatic envoy, but the shogunate rejected this request.

About 10 years after Laxman's arrival in Japan, Matsudaira Sadanobu had fallen from power and the Shogunate was under the rule of the senior councilor Mizuno Tadakuni. The negotiating partner had been replaced by Doi Toshiatsu, who was overconfident in Japan's military power and kept Rezanov waiting, refusing his demands and even taking back his signature. Rezanov eventually returned to Kamchatka in Bunka 2 (1805), but he seems to have been quite angry at the callous response from the Japanese side.

After that, Rezanov ordered his subordinate Khvostov to attack Japan's northern bases, including Sakhalin. Thus, in Bunka 3-4 (1806-1807), Japan and Russia fought in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, leading to the so-called "Cultural and Russian Raids."

The shogunate suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Russia in the Cultural Invasion. In particular, Russian and Japanese forces clashed at Shana, the center of Etorofu Island, but the Russian side was outgunned by gunfire and naval gunfire, resulting in a complete collapse. The Japanese army was forced to abandon Shana, and the shogunate's meeting hall was plundered and burned down by Russian soldiers. Toda Matatayu, a subordinate inspector to the Hakodate Magistrate who was responsible, committed suicide during the battle. This defeat brought widespread criticism of the shogunate both at home and abroad.

Issued an order to drive away Russian ships.

After the Bunka Raids, the shogunate issued the "Order to Drive Away Russian Ships" at the end of Bunka 4 (1807). In fact, in Bunka 3 (1806), the shogunate issued the "Bunka Order to Provide Firewood and Water" in response to the increase in foreign ships, allowing foreign ships that arrived in Japan to be supplied with fuel, water, and food. Sales were permitted only for supplies necessary for the voyage. However, due to the impact of the Bunka Raids, the Bunka Order to Provide Firewood and Water was repealed after just over a year, and instead a decree was issued to drive away Russian ships, and to "summon or dispose of" any that approached.

In fact, after the Bunka-Russian Invasion, there were voices from both inside and outside the shogunate calling for the country to be opened up. In addition to Dutch scholars Otsuki Gentaku and Sugita Genpaku, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was a leader in this field, was asked for his opinion at this time and submitted four written opinions. They proposed that if Russia apologized after demonstrating Japan's military might, trade should be permitted as a merciful and generous measure. However, in light of Russia's threat of a large-scale attack if trade was not permitted, they also expressed the view that "it may be difficult to grant permission for trade."

Despite these opinions, the shogunate decided to issue an order to drive away Russian ships in order to maintain its policy of national isolation.

Troubles with foreign ships 3: This time it was Britain! The Phaeton incident

As the shogunate strengthened its stance on national isolation, the "Phaeton Incident" occurred in August 1808 (5th year of Bunka), when the British ship Phaeton, falsely claiming to be of Dutch nationality, trespassed into Nagasaki port. At the time, Britain was at war with France in the Napoleonic Wars, which had continued from the French Revolutionary Wars. The Netherlands was under the control of Napoleon of France. For this reason, Britain was capturing Dutch ships one after another in an attempt to take over the Dutch trading area in East Asia.

The Phaeton entered the port flying the Dutch flag, so the Dutch trading post staff thought it was a Dutch ship and tried to board the ship to greet it. However, the Phaeton was a British ship. The trading post staff were captured and taken hostage. The Phaeton also demanded water, food, firewood, etc. from the shogunate.

Matsudaira Yasuhide, the Nagasaki magistrate, tried to recover the hostages but failed. He ordered the Saga and Fukuoka domains, which were in charge of security within the bay, to detain or burn the Phaeton, but was unable to do so due to a lack of manpower. In the end, the hostages were saved, but the Phaeton left unharmed, and Matsudaira Yasuhide, feeling responsible, committed suicide. After that, Nagasaki's security system was reviewed, and efforts were made to strengthen coastal defenses, such as building more batteries (gun emplacements) on the outskirts and preparing for emergencies.

The Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships: Part 1: The Otsuhama Incident and the Takara Island Incident that Triggered It

The arrival of foreign ships continued. In 1818, the British ship Brothers, and in 1822, the British whaling ship Saracen, arrived in Uraga. In 1824, 12 British people landed at Hitachi-Otsuhama (Otsu Town, Kitaibaraki City, Ibaraki Prefecture). They were apparently seeking supplies, and although the shogunate arrested the 12, they later released them after providing them with the supplies. The shogunate was shocked that foreigners had landed so close to Edo Castle, and their response at the time was criticized as being weak.

On August 8 of the same year, a British whaling ship arrived at Satsuma Takarajima (Izumi-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture). The crew caused trouble, including trying to steal cattle, and an incident occurred in which officials stationed on the island shot and killed one British crew member after a gunfight and drove the British ship away (the Takarajima Incident). Human casualties caused by a foreign ship had occurred.

These two incidents were a great shock to the shogunate, and the shogunate repeatedly discussed measures to deal with foreign ships. At this time, the opinions of Confucian scholar and university chief Hayashi Shunsai, the daimeikan (meet attendant), Ishitani Kiyotoyo, the metsuke (meet attendant), Hata Masayoshi, the kanjo (financial magistrate), Toyama Kagenobu, the kanjo (referendum inspector), and Tsutsui Masanori, the Edo town magistrate, were all sought. Of these, Toyama Kagenobu and Tsutsui Masanori had been the magistrates of Nagasaki and had ample diplomatic experience.

Order to drive away foreign ships 2. Forceful "drive-away"

As a result of the discussion, in February 1825, the shogunate issued the "Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships." Its contents were quite strong, ordering foreign ships approaching the Japanese coast to be fired upon indiscriminately and driven away. The Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships is also known as the "Order to Drive Away Without Second Thoughts," because the text reads, "Without second thoughts (without thinking too much), you should aim to drive them away and take care not to miss the opportunity." This meant that whether it was a drifting ship or a ship carrying castaways back to Japan, you should drive them away without hesitation.

Furthermore, because not only Kirisu (England) but also the Southern Barbarians and the West are all Christian countries that are forbidden, from now on, if any seaside village discovers a foreign ship approaching, the people present there should immediately drive it away regardless of whether it is a foreign ship or not. If the ship escapes, there is no need to pursue it, but if it lands on land, there is no problem in capturing and killing it.

This order to drive away foreign ships did not, of course, apply to trading nations. It stated that there was no problem with China, Korea, or the Ryukyu Kingdom, as they were "easy to distinguish," but that there would be "no punishment" for Dutch ships, even if they made a mistake.

Order to expel foreign ships③The weakness of the shogunate was revealed in the Morrison incident

One of the victims of this order to drive away foreign ships was the American ship "Morrison." The Morrison was an unarmed merchant ship that arrived off the coast of Uraga to rescue seven Japanese castaways and to open trade in return for delivering them. The shogunate's artillery mistook it for a British ship and opened fire on it. Giving up, the Morrison then visited Kagoshima Bay in Satsuma Province (Kagoshima Prefecture), but although it received supplies, it was also bombarded and was forced to retreat.

The shogunate came under fire for firing on a civilian merchant ship. Furthermore, the cannonballs on the Morrison missed their target at all, revealing the weakness of the Edo shogunate's military power.

When Dutch scholars such as Takano Choei and Watanabe Kazan heard about this, they criticized the shogunate, which responded by suppressing Dutch scholars in the "Bansha no Goku" crimes of 1839.

The Opium Wars abolished the Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships, and the Tenpo Order to Provide Firewood and Water was replaced.

Meanwhile, in 1840, the Opium War broke out, and China (Qing) was defeated by Britain. This caused the shogunate to feel a growing sense of crisis and to strengthen its national defense measures.

Furthermore, in June 1842, the shogunate received information that "Britain appears to be seeking trade with Japan, but if Japan refuses their demands in an unreasonable manner, they will launch a war."

Based on this information, the Edo Shogunate abolished the edict to drive away foreign ships, and in July of the same year issued the Tenpo Edict for the Provision of Firewood and Water, which required foreign ships in distress to be given fuel, water, food, etc. before leaving.

The text of the document states that the reason for issuing the proclamation was "the idea of implementing benevolent governance," but it goes without saying that the shogunate issued the proclamation after realizing the disparity in military power between them and other foreign nations, and to avoid war. However, if a foreign ship attempted to attack or argue, it ordered that they be driven away immediately and dealt with the situation flexibly. Furthermore, the shogunate adopted Western technology, such as Western-style gunnery, and strengthened the nation's coastal defenses. They prepared for foreign ships.

The revival of the order to drive away foreign ships was considered several times before Perry arrived in 1853, but none of these measures came to fruition, and the shogunate eventually decided to open up Japan to the world.