Shimonoseki Campaign - Historical Significance

Historical Significance

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, a prevalent tool in imperialism. Bitter resentment against foreign influence made the Chōshū clan feel justified in engaging in foolish acts of military provocation, in defiance of their own government.

The same nationalistic anger directed against foreigners demonstrated by the Japanese would flare up again in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion. The U.S. and its European allies then felt compelled to use military force to uphold the treaty with Japan. For the U.S., July 1863 was a momentous month for Northern arms at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

While it was bitterly embroiled in the American Civil War, the world was carefully watching President Abraham Lincoln's government for signs of weakness and indecision. The actions of USS Wyoming made it 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 the Japanese, something another generation of Europeans and Americans, eighty years later would come to appreciate. The feudal Japanese did 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 learned the ways of the Europeans within that brief span, purchasing foreign vessels and arming them with foreign weaponry. The quality and abundance of these armaments in 1860s Japan shocked the world.