Uraga bugyō

Uraga bugyō (浦賀奉行) were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate with responsibility for administration of the port of Uraga, which was a port of inspection for Japanese coastal vessels, especially those proceeding to Edo.[1]

This office was created in 1721, and it was held by one or two fudai daimyōs—always two who were appointed concurrently after 1844.[1] Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as "commissioner" or "overseer" or "governor".[2]

Uraga is both a town and a harbour at the entrance of Tokyo Bay, located on the eastern side of the Miura Peninsula, at the northern end of the Uraga Channel.[3]

Strategic location

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Due to its strategic location at the entrance of Edo Bay, Uraga has often been the first point of contact between visiting foreign ships and Japan.[4] In 1853, Commodore Perry lowered the anchor of his ships in front of Uraga.[5] On the return of the Commodore's squadron in 1854, the ships by-passed Uraga to anchor closer to Edo at Kanagawa, which is where the city of Yokohama now stands.[6]

List of Uraga bugyō

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Beasley, William G. (1955). Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868, p. 330.
  2. ^ "Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細". 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  3. ^ "Uraga and Yokosuka, Japan". JAXA Earth-graphy / Space Technology Directorate I. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  4. ^ Kitahara, Michio (1986). "COMMODORE PERRY AND THE JAPANESE: A STUDY IN THE DRAMATURGY OF POWER". Symbolic Interaction. 9 (1): 53–65. doi:10.1525/si.1986.9.1.53. ISSN 0195-6086.
  5. ^ Sewall, John S. (1905). The Logbook of the Captain's Clerk: Adventures in the China Seas, pp. 177; Cullen, L.M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds, p. 178.
  6. ^ Sewall, p. 243.
  7. ^ a b Beasley, Select Documents, p. 341.
  8. ^ Beasley, William G. (1972). The Meiji Restoration, p. 100.
  9. ^ Beasley, Select Documents, p. 334.

References

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