東善寺―小栗上野介―遣米使節 ● 日の丸を国旗にした遣米使節  
Tozenji - Kozukenosuke Oguri - Japanese envoys to the U.S.
● The Japanese envoys used the Hinomaru as Japan's national flag   


日の丸を国旗にした
遣米使節
The delegation to the U.S. used Hinomaru as Japan's national flag.
 1860(万延元)年、アメリカに到着した遣米使節一行は行く先々で日の丸の旗で迎えられました。この日の丸を国旗としたのは遣米使節一行の幕府への申請から始まります。

In 1860, the Japanese envoys to the U.S. arrived in the United States and were greeted with Hinomaru flags wherever they went. The adoption of the Hinomaru as the national flag began with an application to the Shogunate by the Japanese envoys to the United States.

ワシントン海軍造船所に上陸する遣米使節
大きな日の丸を掲げて歓迎された


The envoys to the U.S. landing at the Washington Naval Shipyard were welcomed with a large Hinomaru Japanese flag.
                 
米船に日本の使節が乗っている目印が必要、と申請した遣米使節

申請書
○使節送迎ノ米軍艦ニ皇国旗章建設新見豊前守正興外二人ノ申稟

亜墨利加国へ渡海之節乗組候軍艦之儀者素より大統領厚意を御国へ表し候訳に候得共惣体之国旗者勿論彼国旗相建可申候得共彼国之印而巳者使節乗組候目標も無之御国之不体裁にも相成候得者相(惣)印者彼国旗に据置候とも右之外別に御国使節乗組候印を付置可申方可然奉存候間日の丸御国旗相建候様仕度私共評議仕此段申上候 以上

  未九月       
               新見豊前守
 村垣淡路守  小栗 又一

Japanese envoys to the U.S. applied to the shogunage to have a Japanese envoy marker on board a U.S. ship that they would embark on.

Application Form

Buzennokami Shinmi and two others apply for the installation of the Imperial flag insignia on the U.S. warship that will be used to transport the envoys to and from Japan.

(See below for the content of the application)

September, 1859                      
              Buzennokami Shinmi, Awajinokami Muragaki and Mataichi Oguri

 【上記申請書の現代語訳】
 アメリカへ行く際に乗ります軍艦についてはもとより大統領の厚意によるものであり、船全体の旗としてはもちろんアメリカの旗を立てるべきではありますが、アメリカの国旗のみでは日本の使節が乗っている目印がなく、日本国として不体裁になりますから、船の印としてはアメリカの国旗をそのままに置くとしても、そのほかに
別に日本の使節が乗っている印の旗をつけておくのがよろしいかと思いますので、日の丸の旗を国旗として立てるようにしたく、私どもで協議いたしましたので、この段申し上げます。以上
               新見豊前守 村垣淡路守 小栗 又一
《『幕末維新 外交史料集成 第四巻』修好門 P117〜 訳:村上泰賢
************************************

[Contemporary translation of the content of the above application]  

As for the warship that will be used for us to go to the U.S., it will be provided by the President of the United States, so of course the U.S. flag should be flown as the flag of the entire ship. However, if the U.S. flag is the only flag, there will be no mark of the Japanese envoys on board, and this will be disrespectful to the nation of Japan. Therefore, we would like to have the Hinomaru flag as our national flag, and we have discussed this matter. That is all.

               Buzennokami Shinmi, Awajinokami Muragaki and Mataichi Oguri

 <“Bakumatsu Ishin Gaiko Shiryo Shusei Vol. 4” Shukomon p. 117- Translated by Taiken Murakami>

          【申請書の追記】


     ◯亜墨利加国へ渡海之節相用候船印之儀に付相伺候書付

 書面御国旗建候儀勿論之事に候得共御国体を損し候様之場所へ建候而者不可然儀に付右之処篤と勘弁いたし同国コンシュルへも遂送談判場所可申上旨被仰渡奉承知候
       未十一月十八日      
                  新見豊前守
 
                 村垣淡路守
 
                 小栗 又一


<Additional information on the application form>

Document inquiring about a ship's seal to be used when crossing to the U.S.

(See below for the content of the letter)       

December 11, 1859 (November 18, 1859 in Japanese calender)   
                   Buzennokami Shinmi, Awajinokami Muragaki, Mataichi Oguri

 

         【上記の現代語訳】
 日本国の旗を立てる件は勿論のことですが、国威を損ずるような場所へ立ててはならないので、そのことをしっかり検討して、アメリカの領事に立てる場所を申上げるようにとのご指示について承知いたしました
《『幕末維新 外交史料集成 第四巻』修好門 P118〜訳:村上泰賢
***********************************
[Contemporary translation of the content of the above]

We understand your instruction that the Japanese flag should not be placed in a place where it would be detrimental to national prestige, and that we should carefully consider this matter and inform the U.S. consul of the place where it should be placed.
(“Bakumatsu Ishin Gaiko Shiryo Shusei Vol. 4” Shukomon p. 118 Translated by Taiken Murakami)
 
 申請が通ってさっそく使節は日の丸の旗を業者に発注します。この時の寸法書きなどの書類も残っていますが、こまかい話だから省略。代金として結局 九両一分永七十五文 を支払っています。仲介業者「喜助」とありますから、たぶん帰国後した小栗忠順の指導を受けて、日本で最初の株式会社方式で築地ホテルを建設した清水喜助(清水建設2代目)でしょう


 この時点で、従来日本船籍であることを示す船印であった日の丸が、日本という国を象徴する国旗(船以外にも掲げる)に格上げされたと言えます。こうして使節が乗ったポウハタン号にも、サンフランシスコまで随行した咸臨丸にも日の丸が掲げられました。

 この話が先ぶれとなったアメリカ人によって本国に伝えられ、アメリカではたくさんの日の丸を用意して待っていました。


After the application was approved, the envoys immediately ordered the Hinomaru flag from a contractor. There are still documents and other materials showing the dimensional writing at this time, but I will omit them here because it is a complicated story. In the end, they paid a total of 9-ryo 1-bu 75 mon for the flag. The name of the broker, "Kisuke," indicates that he was probably Kisuke Shimizu (the second generation of Shimizu Corporation), who built the Tsukiji Hotel under the guidance of Kozukenosuke Tadamasa Oguri after his return to Japan, using the first joint-stock company method in Japan.  

At this point, the Hinomaru, which had previously been used as a ship's mark to indicate Japanese-registered ships, was upgraded to the national flag (flown on ships other than ships) to symbolize the country of Japan. Thus, the Hinomaru was flown on the Powhatan, on which the Japanese envoys boarded, as well as on the Kanrin Maru which accompanied the envoys to San Francisco.  

The story of using the Hinomaru on those ships was conveyed to the U.S. by the Americans, who were the first to hear of it, and many Hinomaru flags were prepared and waiting for the Japanese in the U.S.
パナマ鉄道 Panama Railroad

使節一行を乗せ、機関車に日の丸と星条旗をつけて歓迎して走った
佐藤藤七「渡海日記」

The locomotive carrying the envoys' group ran with the Hinomaru Japanese flag and the Stars and Stripes to welcome them.
“Tokai Nikki (Diary of Crossing the Pacific Ocean)” by Toshichi Sato

同じく パナマ鉄道
Also Panama Railroad


機関車をアップすると▼
Close-up of the locomotive...

やはり日の丸で歓迎していることがわかる
... shows that they are also welcoming the visitors with the Hinomaru Japanese flag.

ワシントンに上陸  
黒山のような人々の歓迎で、その頭上に日の丸が翻る

Landing in Washington
The delegation was welcomed by a dense crowd of Americans and the Hinomaru Japanese flag flutters above their heads.



ニューヨーク・ブロウドウェーの大行進
Grand March on Broadway in New York
 
メトロポリタンホテルに到着
通りをまたいで大きな日の丸が飾られ、ホテルの窓は
各階に日の丸と星条旗が翻っていた

Arrival at the Metropolitan Hotel
Large Hinomaru Japanese flags were displayed across the street, and the Japanese flags and the Stars and Stripes were flown in the hotel windows on every floor.

ブロウドウェーの日の丸 は写真でも残っています
The Hinomaru Japanese flags at Broodway are also visible in photographs.

    それまで日の丸は「船印」

◇そもそも日の丸は古来より誰でも適当に勝手に目印として、旗や扇などに使っていました。

◇江戸期に入り、幕府は寛文十三(1673)年に「城米廻船条例」を発して、天領から江戸へ御城米を運ぶ幕府の御用船に「白地に日の丸」の旗を用いることを指示して用いていた。

幕末になって、日本でも幕府や各藩が大型船を造ったり、洋式船を買い込んで使うようになると、外国船のように日本も船印が必要となって、幕府は嘉永七(1854)年七月九日、日の丸を「日本国総船印」と決めました。

   The Hinomaru was used as a "ship's mark before.

◇ The Hinomaru had been used freely since ancient times as a marker for flags and fans.

◇ In the Edo period (1603-1868), the Shogunate issued the "Ordinance on Castle Rice Shipping" in 1673, instructing the use of a flag with "red cirle on a white background (Hinomaru)" for the Shogunate's official ships that carried castle rice from the imperial domains to Edo.

◇ In the end of the Edo period, when the shogunate and various clans began building larger ships and buying and using Western-style ships in Japan, Japan needed ship's seals, like foreign ships, and on August 2, 1854 (July 9, Kaei 7 in Japanese calender), the shogunate decided to use the Hinomaru as the "general seal of Japan."


 
「向後、御国惣印は、白地日の丸の旗、艫綱(ともづな)へ引揚げ、帆は白布相用ひ、公儀軍艦は中黒の細旗を中帆の柱へ引揚げ候間、諸家に於ても大艦出来次第、家々の船印公儀船印に紛れざるよう取り調べ、雛型をもって相伺わるべく候」

 これからは日本の船印は日の丸の旗を艫綱へ掲げ、(従来幕府船は帆に中黒の線を入れていたが)帆は白布を使い、幕府の軍艦は中黒の細い旗を中帆の柱へ掲げるから、諸大名家に於ても大艦(洋式艦)が完成次第、家ごとの船印を幕府の船と紛らわしくないよう調査して、前もって雛形で申請をするように…


日本で最初に日の丸をつけて走った船は、幕府の命によって浦賀で中島三郎助らが建造した洋式帆船鳳凰丸(1853嘉永六年)です。

(石井研堂『明治事物起原』の「薩摩藩主島津斉彬が日の丸を船印に決め薩摩藩が作った洋式帆船昇平丸(1854安政元年)につけた」、という記述は根拠資料がありません)

"Traditionally, Shogunate ships had Nakaguro, a medium-black line, on their sails, but from now on, Japanese ships will be marked with the flag of Hinomaru on the stern line and sails made of white cloth, while Shogunate warships will have Nakaguro, a narrow medium-black line, flag on the middle sail pole. Therefore, the daimyos (Japanese feudal lords) are requested to research the ship's seal for each daimyo, as soon as the large ships (Western-style ships) are completed, so that they will not be confused with those of the shogunate, and to apply in advance using the model form."

◇ The first ship in Japan to run with a Himonaru flag was Ho-oh Maru, the Western-style sailing ship, built by Saburosuke Nakajima and others in Uraga by order of the shogunate.

(There is no evidence to support the statement in Kendo Ishii's "Meiji Jibutsu Kigen" that "Nariakira Shimazu, the lord of the Satsuma domain, decided to use the Hinomaru as a ship's mark and put it on the Western-style sailing ship Shohei Maru, which was built by the Satsuma domain.")


   鳳凰丸建造の仕様書

嘉永六年八月初旬に浦賀奉行戸田伊豆守、井戸石見守連名で幕府に提出した大型船の仕様帳にこうあります。

「…御船御保方宜様惣体白ミツタ塗ニ仕、帆繰方之儀、異国船似寄候ニ付、目印之為船・艀共惣中黒に仕、本檣上ニ日之丸御吹貫南蛮小車を以引上、艫ニ日之丸四半御印相建候積 (嘉永六年)丑八月」(『幕末軍艦建造記』横須賀開国史シリーズ5)
現代語訳すると
…船体を保護するために全体に白くミツダ(蜜陀僧…一酸化鉛の塗料)を塗り、帆の操作法が異国船に似ているから(間違われないよう)日本の船という目印に船や(はしけ)に中黒の線を入れ、メインマストには日の丸と吹貫きを滑車で引上げ、艫には日の丸を四半の大きさで立てるつもり、というもの。
      Specifications for constructing the Ho-oh Maru

In early September of 1853 (August of Kaei 6 in Japanese calender), Izunokami Toda, Uraga magistrate, and Iwaminokami Ido jointly submitted to the Shogunate a specification documnet for a large ship, which reads as follows:

"To protect the hull, we will paint the entire ship white with mitsuda (lead monoxide paint), and because the way the sails are operated is similar to that of foreign ships (so as not to be mistaken for them), we will mark the ship and barges with a Nakaguro (medium-black line) to identify it as a Japanese ship, and on the main mast we will pull up Hinomaru and a blowtorch with a pulley, and on the stern we will stand a Hinomaru flag in a quarter-size circle. August of Kaei 6"
("Bakumatsu Gunkan Kenzo Ki" Yokosuka Kaikoku Shishi Series 5)
 

            
            鳳凰丸の船尾に掲げられた日の丸
          船腹と帆の黒い筋が幕府の船を示す「中黒」です
                        (画像提供:香川県立博物館)
Hinomaru (Japanese flag) displayed on the stern of the Ho-oh Maru
The black stripes on the belly and sails are of "Nakaguro (medium-black line) ," indicating a Shogunate ship.
(Image courtesy of Kagawa Prefectural Museum)

「御軍艦鳳凰丸 二十分之壹  
於相州浦賀造 
于時嘉永六年丑仲秋 
安政二年乙卯仲春二紙之内書 印」 


こうして船印として使われてきた日の丸が、遣米使節の申請によって「船印」から「国印」に変わったことになります。
Thus, the Hinomaru, which had been used as a ship's seal, was changed to a "national seal" upon application by the envoys to the United States.

同じく 鳳凰丸 模型 Model of Ho-oh Maru

制作:岡崎英幸      東善寺蔵
Crafted by Hideyuki Okazaki   Owned by Tozenji Temple
  日の丸以前は「横縞の旗=中黒」
Before Hinomaru, "Nakaguro, horizontally striped flag" was used.

日の丸を国旗とする以前、ペリーが日本に来た時幕府は「中黒」と呼ばれる「黒い横筋が一本入った白い旗」を「幕府の船印」として使っていました。
Before the Hinomaru was adopted as the national flag, for example, when Admiral Matthew Calbraith Perry came to Japan, the Shogunate used a white flag with a single black horizontal stripe, called "Nakaguro," as the "Shogunate's ship seal."


嘉永七年一月にペリーが二度目の来日をして横浜に上陸するとき、

「…海岸に係留してある大型ボートの舳に積んできた榴弾砲が、皇帝に敬意を表して二十一発の礼砲が放たれ、湾内の蒸気船ポウハタン号の檣上にするすると横縞の入った日本の国旗が掲揚された。」(大羽綾子訳『ペルリ提督遠征記』酣燈社)

とあるように、外国人には「横縞の入った旗=中黒」が日本の国旗と思われていたようです。これに対応する日本側の記録を探していますが、見つかりません。ペリー艦隊が表敬の祝砲を打ち、”横縞の国旗”をポウハタン号に掲げてくれたことは、気付かなかったらしい。

When Admiral Perry came to Japan for the second time in February (January in Japanese calender), 1875, and landed at Yokohama ...
"A howitzer loaded on the bow of a large boat moored on the shore was discharged in honor of the emperor with twenty-one howitzers, and the Japanese flag with horizontal stripes was hoisted over the mast of the steamer Powhatan in the bay."
("Admiral Perri's Expedition," translated by Ayako Oba and published by Kantosha)

As stated above, it seems that foreigners thought that "a flag with Nakaguro, horizontal stripes" was the Japanese national flag. I looked for corresponding records on the Japanese side, but could not find any. It seems that they were unaware that Perry's fleet raised the "flag with horizontal stripes" on the Powhatan when they fired courtesy shots.

中黒の旗
Flag of Nakaguro (Mediam Black-line)

上が「中黒の細旗」、下は「丸に立浪」で小栗家の家紋と東善寺の寺紋
(東善寺境内・東駐車場)
The upper flag is "thin flag of Nakaguro" and the lower flag is "Maru ni tachinami," the family crest of the Oguri family and the temple crest of Tozenji Temple.
(Tozenji Temple grounds, east parking lot)


 関連ページ
 Related Pages

世界一周の旅…世界一周をした最初の日本人
遣米使節の行程:日本人初の世界一周の行程表

遣米使節の旅コースを訪ねる:フィラデルフィア編
US cities the Japanese delegation visited in 1860: Philadelphia


遣米使節の旅コースを訪ねる:ワシントン編:海軍造船所の正門はまだ存在していた
US cities the Japanese delegation visited in 1860: Washington

遣米使節の旅コースを訪ねる・ニューヨーク編:ブロウドウェイを途中から迂回して
リーフレット『遣米使節三船』:教科書から咸臨丸を外すために
Brochure "Three Ships That Carried the First Japanese Embassy to the United States Around the World"


Bridge of Hope (English) … 小栗上野介の業績を紹介するJEWL発行の書籍
JEWL(Japanese Executive Women's League) in Los Angeles introduces the achievements of Kozukenosuke Tadamasa Oguri in the book they published.

大統領の記念メダル:使節と従者全員に金・銀・銅のメダルが贈られた
世界一周をした名主・佐藤藤七:権田村名主が従者として世界一周
玉蟲左太夫:仙台藩士の見た世界は新鮮だった
遣米使節小栗の従者:小栗忠順の従者9名
遣米使節従者・三好権三…島根の人だった
遣米使節の業績・・・1本のネジくぎを持ち帰った小栗
横須賀明細一覧図を読む…図から読み取れる産業革命の地横須賀

ブルック大尉::咸臨丸が沈まなかったのはブルックとジョン万次郎のおかげ
「咸臨丸病」の日本人:何でも勝海舟を出さないと気がすまない症候群
修身教科書が作った咸臨丸神話・・・国定教科書が教えた虚構

トミーポルカ:アメリカで大人気となった少年通訳立石斧次郎の音楽
遣米使節とアメリカの酪農…初めてアイスクリームを食べた日本人

「ポウハタン号の町・伊豆下田」
帆船模型作家・岡崎英幸さんに感謝状…おかげで「遣米使節3船」がそろいました

  Journey Around the World: They were the first Japanese to go around the world with a purpose.
 Itinerary of the Japanese Mission to the United States: 
The Itinerary of the first Japanese to go around the world

 Visiting the course of the mission to the U.S. (Philadelphiai)

 Visiting the course of the mission to the U.S. (Washington DC): The main gate of the naval shipyard still existed.
 Visiting the course of the mission to the U.S. (New York): They bypassed the Broadway to continue the parade on the way to the hotel.
 Leaflet in Japanese and English, "Three ships that carried the mission to the U.S. and around the world": We have made the leaflet to advocate removing the Kanrin Maru from school textbooks.

 Bridge of Hope (English) ... JEWL (Japanese Executive Women's League) in Los Angeles praises the achievements of Kozukenosuke Tadamasa Oguri in the book they have published.

 Toshichi Sato, a village master who traveled around the world: Gonda village master traveled around the world as a follower of Kozukenosuke Tadamasa Oguri
 Sadayu Tamamushi: The world that a Sendai clan samurai saw was fresh.
 Oguri's Followers on the Mission to America: Nine Followers of Tadamasa Oguri
 Miyoshi Gonzo, a follower of Tadamasa Oguri in the mission to the U.S.:
He was from Shimane prefecture.
 Achievements of the Japanese mission to the U.S.:
Oguri brought back a screw nail.
 Reading the "Detailed Drawing of Yokosuka" 
We can read from the drawing that Yokosuka was the place of the Industrial Revolution in Japan.

 Captain John Mercer Brooke: The Kanrin Maru did not sink thanks to Brooke and John Manjiro.
 Japanese people with the "Kanrin Maru disease":
 A syndrome that they feel uncomfortable unless they mention the Kanrin Maru and Kaishu Katsu in every occasion
 The Kanrin Maru myth created by Shushin textbooks: The "story" of the Kanrin Maru was taught in the national textbook "Shushin" from 1918 to 1945, and it still confuses Japanese people.

 Tommy Polka: Music of Onojiro Tateishi, a boy interpreter who became very popular in the U.S.
 Mission to the U.S. and American Dairy Farming: The first Japanese to eat ice cream

 President's medals: Gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented to the envoys and all the followers.
 Izu Shimoda, the town of the USS Powhatan
■ A letter of thanks to Mr. Hideyuki Okazaki, a model sailing ship artistThanks to him, we have three ships of the mission to the U.S.
 遣米使節一行一覧表(リンク)   List of the Japanese Delegation Members to the United States in 1860 (Link)