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57-464: The Chōshū han, based in what is now known as Yamaguchi Prefecture , was eager to acquire better knowledge of the western nations and gain access to military technology in order to strengthen the domain in its struggle to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate . The decision by Chōshū han elders to sponsor five promising students to study overseas came in the midst of growing domestic political tensions and in

114-611: A reverberatory furnace which has been designated a World Heritage Site. Kawara soba (hot tile noodles) is a popular dish in Yamaguchi. It was developed during the Seinan Rebellion when soldiers cooked wild grass and meat on hot tiles. Today people in Yamaguchi create this dish by frying green tea noodles on a hot tile, and arranging a thin fried egg, stewed beef, green onions, and grilled liver on top. Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park , which includes Japan's longest cave,

171-501: A British regiment from Hong Kong augmented their display of military might. The French maintained a minimal naval presence, with the bulk of their forces in Mexico trying to bolster Emperor Maximilian 's unstable regime. The U.S., engaged in its Civil War , limited itself to demonstrate diplomatic and minimal military support for the allies. In the meantime, Mōri procrastinated in negotiations by requesting additional time to respond to

228-596: A conflict in Japan. Duchesne de Bellecourt would be relieved from his position in 1864. Jaurès was also congratulated by the shogunate for taking such decisive steps against anti-foreign forces, and was awarded a special banner. Meanwhile, the Americans, French, British and Dutch feverishly opened diplomatic channels to negotiate the reopening of the passage to the Inland Sea. Months dragged by with no end in sight to

285-523: A prevalent tool in imperialism. Bitter resentment against foreign influence made the Chōshū clan feel justified in engaging in acts of military provocation in defiance of their own government. While it was bitterly embroiled in the American Civil War , President Abraham Lincoln 's government was carefully watched by the world for signs of weakness and indecision. The actions of USS Wyoming made it

342-483: A small town, together with at least one artillery emplacement. The intervention was supported by the French plenipotentiary in Japan, Gustave Duchesne de Bellecourt , but the French government, once informed, strongly criticized their representatives in Japan for taking such bellicose steps, for the reason that France had much more important military commitments to honour in other parts of the world, and could not afford

399-641: Is Shimonoseki , which has the Karato Fish Market and a large fireworks festival in summer. Another attraction is the Kintai Bridge in the town of Iwakuni . This five-arched wooden structure is considered a symbol of Western Honshū. The area on the banks of the Nishiki river close to the bridge is considered among the best places in Japan for Hanami , when groups of family and friends gather in early April to view cherry blossoms. Hagi City

456-574: Is contained in Ernest Satow 's A Diplomat in Japan . Satow was present as a young interpreter for the British admiral, Augustus Kuper on the British flagship HMS Euryalus , commanded by Captain J. H. I. Alexander. It was also the action at which Duncan Gordon Boyes won his Victoria Cross (VC) at the age of seventeen. Satow described Boyes as receiving the award "for conduct very plucky in one so young." Another VC winner at Shimonoseki

513-454: Is in the north of Yamaguchi. It is a very traditional city. The usual color of Japanese post boxes is red, but in Hagi they are painted green or brown. The Hagi Museum is modeled after a traditional samurai residence. The exhibits are detailed and realistic, and are changed every year. The permanent collection is data about Hagi's history and collections about Takasugi Shinsaku . Hagi also contains

570-734: Is located at the western tip of Honshu with coastlines on the Sea of Japan and Seto Inland Sea , and separated from the island of Kyushu by the Kanmon Straits . Yamaguchi Prefecture was created by the merger of the provinces of Suō and Nagato . During the rise of the samurai class during the Heian and Kamakura Periods (794–1333), the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In

627-755: The 2015 election , the LDP won a majority. Liberal Democrats form several parliamentary groups together with independents. As of June 8, 2015, the assembly is composed as follows: LDP 24 members, LDP Shinseikai 5, Kōmeitō 5, DPJ/Rengō no Kai 4, LDP Kensei Club 2, JCP 2, SDP /Citizens League 2, and the independent "groups" shinsei club , mushozoku no kai and kusa no ne have one member each. 34°4′N 131°30′E  /  34.067°N 131.500°E  / 34.067; 131.500 Shimonoseki Campaign 18th century 19th century 20th century The Shimonoseki campaign ( Japanese : 下関戦争/馬関戦争 , Hepburn : Shimonoseki Sensō/Bakan Sensō , "Shimonoseki War")

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684-498: The Chūgoku region of Honshu . Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 km (2,359 sq mi ). Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the north and Hiroshima Prefecture to the northeast. Yamaguchi is the capital and Shimonoseki is the largest city of Yamaguchi Prefecture, with other major cities including Ube , Shūnan , and Iwakuni . Yamaguchi Prefecture

741-603: The Meiji Restoration in which lower-rank nobility from Chōshū played a major role, many politicians from Yamaguchi have held important positions in national politics. In the post-war era, the most prominent political family from Yamaguchi is the Kishi - Abe / Satō prime ministerial dynasty, and Yamaguchi is leaning solidly towards the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Since the electoral reform of

798-533: The Muromachi period (1336—1573), Ouchi Hiroyo , the 24th ruler of the Ouchi family conquered both areas of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Ouchi clan imitated the city planning of Kyoto . They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade with Korea and Ming Dynasty China. As a result, Yamaguchi came to be known as the "Kyoto of the West," and Ouchi culture flourished. Sue Harutaka defeated

855-654: The Wyoming were raised again by Chōshū in 1864 and attached to the harbour of Hagi . On the heels of McDougal's engagement, on July 20, the French Navy retaliated for the attack on their merchant ship. The French force consisted of marines and two warships, the aviso Tancrède and the Admiral's flagship, Sémiramis . With 250 men, under Captain Benjamin Jaurès , they swept into Shimonoseki and destroyed

912-746: The beheading of the leaders of the rebellion. At the same time as this campaign, the British Royal Navy engaged Satsuma samurai at the Bombardment of Kagoshima , one of the several engagements of the Japanese conflict of 1863 and 1864. Closely resembling the series of little conflicts fought by the European powers in Asia, Africa and elsewhere during the nineteenth century, the troubles in Japan seemed to exemplify their gunboat diplomacy ,

969-505: The 1990s, Yamaguchi elects four members directly to the House of Representatives . Three of the new single-member districts have been held exclusively by Liberal Democrats as of 2013, the easternmost district bordering Hiroshima was initially won by Shinji Satō (Eisaku Satō's son) in 1996, but went to Democrat Hideo Hiraoka in several later elections. Currently, following the 2021 general election, Yamaguchi's directly elected delegation to

1026-472: The 27 June 1863, bound for Shanghai where they were sheltered on an opium storage ship before dividing into two groups for the extended voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to London . While Inoue Masaru, Yamao Yōzō and Endō Kinsuke travelled to Europe as passengers on the 915 ton three-masted tea clipper Whiteadder , Inoue Kaoru and Itō Hirobumi , destined to be two of the greatest Japanese statesmen of

1083-940: The 2nd Abe Cabinet, and following the April 2013 by-election to replace Nobuo Kishi, Kiyoshi Ejima (LDP, 1st term, up in 2016), former mayor of Shimonoseki city. The current governor of Yamaguchi is former MIC bureaucrat Tsugumasa Muraoka . He won the gubernatorial election in February 2014 with more than 60% of the vote against other two candidates, and succeeded Shigetarō Yamamoto who had been hospitalized since October 2013 and resigned in January 2014. Elected governors of Yamaguchi have been: The Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly  [ ja ] has 47 members, elected in unified local elections in 15 electoral districts: 5 single-member districts, four two-member districts and six districts that elect each between four and nine members. In

1140-739: The 31st ruler of the Ouchi clan. The Sue clan was then defeated by Mōri Motonari , and the Mōri family gained control of the Chūgoku region . Yamaguchi was ruled as part of the Mōri clan domain during the Sengoku period . Mōri Terumoto was then defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was forced to give up all his land except for the Suō and Nagato areas (current-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), where he built his castle in Hagi . Mōri sought to strengthen

1197-632: The Akiyoshido ( 秋芳洞 ) , is another popular destination. Two ferry services provide regular sea transport from the Shimonoseki Port International Terminal: Kanpu Ferry provides round-trip service to Busan , South Korea; the Orient Ferry provides round-trip service to Qingdao and Shanghai , respectively. Yamaguchi Prefecture has alliances with the following five districts. Since

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1254-567: The Allied demands, a response unacceptable to the treaty powers. The allies decided that the time for united action had arrived. Despite retaliatory action from the treaty powers, another attack occurred in July 1864 when the rebel forces fired upon the U.S. steamer Monitor after she entered a harbor for coal and water. This provoked further outrage, even after a British squadron delivered a multi-national ultimatum to Mōri, threatening military force if

1311-473: The Bank of England. Inoue Kaoru and Itō Hirobumi returned after only six months in early April 1864 when they received news via Jardine Matheson's London representatives that the Chōshū clan was engaged in direct conflict with Western allied powers over control of the strategic Straits of Shimonoseki . Endo also returned in the later half of 1866 for health reasons. In August 1865, Yamao moved to Glasgow to study

1368-489: The British Minister to Japan, Sir Rutherford Alcock , discussed with his treaty counterparts such as American Minister Robert Pruyn and Dutch Minister Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek , the feasibility of a joint military strike against Mōri. They were soon making preparations for a combined show of force. Under the wary eyes of the Japanese, fifteen British warships rode anchor alongside four Dutch vessels, while

1425-738: The Camden home of Professor Williamson and his family, while Inoue Kaoru and Yamao Yōzō lodged at 103 Gower Street with the Coopers adjacent to the university campus. They all enlisted in University College London, and studied analytical chemistry under the tutorship of Professor Williamson. Between classes, the five students visited places in London such as the Royal Mint, museums, art galleries, shipbuilding yards, factories and

1482-491: The Japanese. The feudal Japanese had not set eyes on a steam-powered ship until Commodore Perry's arrival only a decade before USS Wyoming ' s battle. Yet they had rapidly advanced in such a short period of time. The Shimonoseki city government in 2004, in recognition of the importance of the bombardment in Japanese history, placed several life-size replicas of the guns used by Chōshū. The replicas are made of hollow steel and include coin-operated sound effects and smoke from

1539-546: The United Kingdom to mark this event. In July, there was a celebration hosted by UCL at the main campus with participation from representatives of the Japan embassy in London. On 1 May 2014 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzō Abe paid a courtesy visit to UCL and the monument of the Chōshū Five there. Yamaguchi Prefecture Yamaguchi Prefecture ( 山口県 , Yamaguchi-ken ) is a prefecture of Japan located in

1596-584: The United States, and three steam warships of American construction: the bark Daniel Webster of six guns, the brig Lanrick , or Kosei , with ten guns, and the steamer Lancefield , or Koshin , of four guns. The first attack occurred on June 25, 1863, soon after the Imperial " Order to expel barbarians " came into effect. The U.S. merchant steamer SS Pembroke , under Captain Simon Cooper,

1653-601: The adjacent Bungo Strait with only slight damage and no casualties. Upon arrival in Shanghai , Cooper filed a report of the attack and dispatched it to the U.S. Consulate in Yokohama , Japan. The next day, the French naval dispatch steamer Kien Chan was also riding at anchor outside the strait, when rebel Japanese artillery atop the bluffs surrounding Shimonoseki opened fire on her. Kien Chan sustained damage to its engine and suffered four casualties before escaping to

1710-537: The age, were mistakenly assumed to be eager to earn their passage as crew and were put to work as deckhands on a grueling 130 day journey aboard the 525 ton sailing ship Pegasus . Pegasus reached London on 4 November 1863, Whiteadder arriving three days later on the 7th. The reunited Chōshū students were introduced by Hugh Matheson , senior partner of Matheson and Company to Dr. Alexander Williamson, FRS , Professor of Chemistry at University College, London. Itō Hirobumi , Endō Kinsuke and Inoue Masaru lodged at

1767-442: The basis of further foreign pressure to open Japanese ports; Japan was forced to choose between paying compensation of three million piastres and opening another port on the Inland Sea. The harbour of Hyōgo was opened to foreign trade, and customs tariffs were lowered uniformly to 5%. In 1883, twenty years after the first battle to reopen the strait, the United States quietly returned $ 750,000 to Japan, which represented its share of

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1824-582: The command of Admiral Sir Augustus Leopold Kuper of the Royal Navy , steamed out of Yokohama to open Shimonoseki Strait. The U.S. chartered steamer Ta-Kiang accompanied the operation in a token show of support. The two-day battle that followed on September 5 and 6 did what the previous operations could not; it destroyed the Chōshū Domain 's ability to wage war on the Western powers. Unable to match

1881-793: The deadline of the 10th day of the 5th month, according to the traditional Japanese calendar . Openly defying the shogunate, Mōri ordered his forces to fire without warning on all foreign ships traversing Shimonoseki Strait . This strategic but treacherous 600-meter waterway separates the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū and provides a passage connecting the Inland Sea with the Sea of Japan . Even before tensions escalated in Shimonoseki Strait, foreign diplomats and military experts, notably U.S. Minister to Japan Robert Pruyn and U.S. Navy Captain David McDougal had been aware of

1938-534: The economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign (salt, rice, and paper). After Commodore Matthew Perry 's opening of Japan , clans from Nagato (also called Chōshū ) played a key role in the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the establishment of the new imperial government. Four years after the Edo Shogunate was overthrown and the Meiji government formed in 1868,

1995-400: The firepower of the international fleet, and amid mounting casualties, Takasugi Shinsaku negotiated peace with the four Western powers and Chōshū forces finally surrendered two days later on September 8, 1864. Allied casualties included 72 killed or wounded; although Ernest Satow describes only 8 killed and 30 wounded for the British and two damaged British ships. A full account of the battle

2052-399: The first foreign warship to offensively uphold treaty rights with Japan; this fact coupled with the possibility that the events would mire the U.S. in a foreign war made the battle of Shimonoseki a significant engagement. While the battles of Shimonoseki Strait were mere footnotes in the histories of the European powers, an interesting aspect of the affair was the resourcefulness displayed by

2109-502: The growing dilemma. By May 1864, various bellicose Japanese factions had destroyed thousands of dollars in foreign property, including homes, churches and shipping. This wanton destruction included the U.S. Legation in Edo , which housed Minister Robert Pruyn. Throughout the first half of 1864, as Shimonoseki Strait remained closed to foreign shipping, threats and rumors of war hung in the air, while diplomatic efforts remained deadlocked. Then

2166-467: The lower house consists of former LDP vice president Masahiko Kōmura ( 1st district , 12th term), the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, Nobuo Kishi (2nd district, 2nd term, former two-term member of the House of Councillors), and the chairman of the House of Representatives rules committee (as of 190th Diet, January 2016), Yoshimasa Hayashi (3rd district, 1st term). The seat for the 4th district

2223-595: The many British trading ships calling at the port of Yokohama. The Chōshū students disguised as English sailors were put aboard the Jardine, Matheson & Co. vessel Chelswick for 1000 ryō each with the reluctant agreement of the ship's captain, J. S. Gower. In order to pay for the voyage, Inoue had to borrow 5,000 ryō from the Chōshū han. Before leaving Japan, the Chōshū students had to cut off their topknots, remove their swords, and change into Western clothes given to them by J. S. Gower. The five departed Yokohama on

2280-683: The open ocean. On July 11, despite warnings from the crew of the Kien Chan , the 16-gun Dutch warship Medusa cruised into Shimonoseki Strait. Her skipper, Captain François de Casembroot , was convinced that Lord Mōri Takachika would not dare fire on his vessel due to the strength of his ship and longstanding relations between the Netherlands and Japan. However, Mōri did just that, pounding Medusa with more than thirty shells and killing or wounding nine seamen. De Casembroot returned fire and ran

2337-566: The post-World War II Shōwa Period , Yamaguchi developed into one of the most industrialized prefectures in the country due to the establishment of petrochemical complexes. As of April 1, 2012, 7% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks , namely the Setonaikai National Park ; Akiyoshidai , Kita-Nagato Kaigan , and Nishi-Chūgoku Sanchi Quasi-National Parks; and Chōmonkyō , Iwakiyama , Rakanzan , and Toyota Prefectural Natural Parks. For

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2394-592: The precarious state of affairs in Japan. McDougal wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles , dated June 12, 1863, stating, "General opinion is that the government of Japan is on the eve of revolution, the principal object of which is the expulsion of foreigners." The Chōshū clan was equipped with mostly antiquated cannons firing cannonballs, but also some modern armament, such as five 8-inch (200 mm) Dahlgren guns , which had been presented to Japan by

2451-535: The present Yamaguchi Prefecture was established. The Meiji government brought in many new systems and modern policies, and promoted the introduction of modern industry, though the prefecture was still centered on agriculture during this period. In the Taishō period , from 1912 to 1926, shipbuilding, chemical, machinery, and metal working plants were built in Yamaguchi's harbors in the Seto Inland Sea area. During

2508-465: The purposes of development analysis, Yamaguchi is construed to be part of Northern Kyushu . Although Yamaguchi is not part of the island of Kyushu , it has become a functional satellite of the Kanmon Straits metropolitan area. Per Japanese census data, Yamaguchi prefecture has had negative population growth from 1955 to 1973 and 1985–onwards, today at edge of having less than 1940 population leaving elderly behind. The most popular place for tourism

2565-623: The rebel gauntlet at full speed, fearful of endangering the life of the Dutch Consul General, who was on board. Within a short time, the Japanese warlord had managed to fire on the flags of most of the nations with consulates in Japan. In the morning of July 16, 1863, under sanction by Minister Pruyn, in an apparent swift response to the attack on the Pembroke , the U.S. frigate USS Wyoming , under Captain McDougal, sailed into

2622-564: The reparation payment. Right after the foreign interventions, the Shogunal government also launched its own preparations for a punitive expedition against Chōshū, the First Chōshū expedition . The expedition was aimed at punishing the 1864 Kinmon incident in which Chōshū forces attacked Shogunal forces in Kyoto . The expedition was however cancelled after a compromise was brokered, involving

2679-449: The rise of their fellow students of Yoshida in Chōshū han administration ( Katsura Kogoro and Takasugi Shinsaku —leader of the anti-Bakufu Kiheitai , respectively). At the time of the students’ departure it was still illegal to leave Japan and travel overseas due to the shogunate's maritime seclusion policy ( sakoku or, as it was known at the time, kaikin ). If they had been caught, they likely would have been put to death. This policy

2736-507: The shipyards. He worked at Napier’s Shipyard on the Clyde by day, and studied at Anderson’s College at night. He returned to Japan in 1868, the same year that the final member of the Choshū Five, Inoue, went back. 2013 was the 150th anniversary of the Chōshū Five departing Japan to commence studies at University College London (UCL). There were several commemorative events held in both Japan and

2793-533: The shogunate's open-door policy to foreign trade. Belligerent opposition to European and American influence erupted into open conflict when the Emperor Kōmei , breaking with centuries of imperial tradition, began to take an active role in matters of state and issued on March 11 and April 11, 1863, his " Order to expel barbarians " (攘夷実行の勅命 – Jōi jikkō no chokumei ). The Chōshū clan, under the daimyō Mōri Takachika , began to take action to expel all foreigners after

2850-406: The strait and single-handedly engaged the U.S.-built but poorly manned local fleet for almost two hours before withdrawing. McDougal sank two enemy vessels and severely damaged another one, along with inflicting some forty Japanese casualties. The Wyoming suffered a significant amount of damage, with four crew dead and seven wounded, one later dying of his injuries. The two Japanese steamers sunk by

2907-404: The strait was not opened. On August 17, 1864, a squadron consisting of nine British ( Euryalus , Conqueror , Tartar , Leopard , Barrosa , Perseus , Argus , Coquette , and Bouncer ), four Dutch ( Djambi , Metalen-Kruis , Medusa , and Amsterdam ), and three French warships ( Tancrède , Sémiramis , and Dupleix ), together with 2,000 soldiers , marines and sailors, all under

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2964-603: The wake of reports from the First Japanese Embassy to Europe that had returned in January 1863. Notably, two of the students chosen, Ito Shunsuke and Inoue Monta , were students of the intellectual Yoshida Shōin —who was previously imprisoned by the domain authorities, then executed by the Shogunate in 1859 for attempting to communicate with Matthew C. Perry (as well as launching an abortive revolt against Ii Naosuke ). This shift in policy coincided with

3021-562: Was Thomas Pride , and the third was the first American to win the medal, William Seeley . De Casembroot wrote his account of the events in De Medusa in de wateren van Japan, in 1863 en 1864 . The stringent accord, drawn up in the wake of the ceasefire and negotiated by U.S. Minister Pruyn, included an indemnity of $ 3,000,000 from the Japanese, an amount equivalent to the cost of about 30 steamships at that time. The Tokugawa shogunate proved unable to pay such an amount, and this failure became

3078-800: Was a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control the Shimonoseki Straits of Japan by joint naval forces from the United Kingdom , France , the Netherlands , and the United States , against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū , which took place off and on the coast of Shimonoseki , Japan. Despite efforts of appeasement by the Tokugawa shogunate to establish an atmosphere of peaceful solidarity, many feudal daimyōs remained bitterly resentful of

3135-482: Was held by former prime minister Shinzo Abe until his assassination in 2022, and is currently vacant. For the proportional representation segment of the House of Representatives, Yamaguchi forms part of the Chūgoku block . In the House of Councillors , Yamaguchi is represented by two members, making it one of the currently 31 winner-take-all single-member districts. As of 2013, the two members are Yoshimasa Hayashi (LDP, 4th term, up in 2019), agriculture minister in

3192-411: Was only finally abolished in 1866. The students were aware of the risks and wrote to the governing council of their domain to say that if they failed with their intention they "had not the slightest intention of coming back alive". With the support of Nagasaki-based trader Thomas Blake Glover , arrangements were made through his local agent, a Mr. Weigal, to secure passage for the five students on one of

3249-403: Was riding at anchor outside Shimonoseki Strait when it was intercepted and fired upon by two European -built warships belonging to the rebel forces. The crew of one enemy vessel taunted the frantic American seamen with a loud and unnerving cry: "Revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians!" ( 尊皇攘夷 sonnō jōi ). Under incessant cannon fire, Pembroke managed to get underway and escape through

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