Maruoka Domain Battery
Maruoka Domain Battery (丸岡藩砲台跡, Maruoka-han Hōdai-ato) was a Bakumatsu period coastal artillery battery erected by Maruoka Domain on the Sea of Japan coast in what is now the Mikuni neighborhood of the city of Sakai, Fukui in the Hokuriku region of northern Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site in 1930.[1]
丸岡藩砲台跡 | |
 Maruoka Domain Battery Site | |
 .svg.png){kind=icon} Maruoka Domain Battery Site  Maruoka Domain Battery (Japan) | |
| Location | Sakai, Fukui, Japan |
|---|---|
| Region | Hokuriku region |
| Coordinates | 36°15′11.4″N 136°9′14″E |
| Type | fortification |
| History | |
| Founded | 1852 |
| Abandoned | 1871 |
| Periods | Bakumatsu |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | National Historic Site |
| Public access | Yes |
Background
In the late Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate was increasing alarmed by incursions by foreign warships into Japanese territorial waters, fearing that these kurofune warships of the United States or other Western powers would attempt the end Japanese self-imposed national isolation policy by force, or would attempt an invasion of Japan by landing hostile military forces. Numerous feudal domains were ordered to establish fortifications along their coastlines with shore artillery located at strategic locations. Maruoka Domain was ordered to erect such a fortification in 1852, one year before the Perry Expedition. The daimyō of Maruoka Domain, Arima Michizumi, enlisted the assistance of military engineer Egawa Hidetatsu, the builder of the Odaiba fortifications in Edo for assistance. [2]
Design
The battery was a bow-shaped earthen rampart with a height of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft), faced with stone on its inner and side surfaces. The rampart was in the form of a redan with an open back. The rampart had openings for five cannon.
References
- "丸岡藩砲台跡" [Maruoka Domain Artillery Battery Site] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs.
- "福井県の文化財「丸岡藩砲台跡」". 福井県. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
External links
- Fukui Prefecture official home page (in Japanese)