Namamugi Incident

The Namamugi Incident (生麦事件, Namamugi Jiken) (also known sometimes as the Kanagawa Incident, and archaically as the Richardson Affair) was a samurai attack on foreign nationals in Japan on September 14, 1862, which resulted in the bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863. In Japanese the bombardment is described as a war between the United Kingdom and Satsuma Province, the so-called Anglo-Satsuma War (Satsu-Ei Senso).

Consequences of the Namamugi Incident

The incident sparked a scare in Japan's foreign community, which was based in the Kannai district of Yokohama. Many traders appealed to their governments to take punitive action against Japan. Britain engaged Satsuma a year later in the Anglo-Satsuma War, a naval bombardment of Kagoshima which claimed 5 lives among the people of Satsuma, 13 lives among the British (including the Captain of the British flagship) *. Material losses were important, with around 500 houses burnt in Kagoshima, and three Satsuma steamships destroyed. The conflict caused much controversy in the British House of Commons.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Satsuma War - Kagoshima - *

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Footnote 1

The British victims were caused by accidents due to the usage of Breech-loading guns developed by the English engineer William George Armstrong.

Related Topics:
Breech-loading gun - William George Armstrong

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