YOSEI HODAI KAIKOKU JIJITSU ZEN (lit “ Western-Made Battery: Fact for a Maritime Nation “)
14 pages including 5 pages of drawing.
Because there is no record of any database this book, I will explain a little more about the content.
This text concerned with how to construct a good defensive battery, under different situations and conditions. After the first two pages of drawings, which depict cannons and mortars from profile views, the work especially the position and length of the various components installed. The author focuses on the English and French examples of these structures as suitable models for the Japanese to emulate, and then moves on to discuss how the ideal battery should be built in a a variety of geographical situations. For instance, he states the desirability of round-shaped batteries in the water as well as suggests the ideal construction near a mountain of hillside; here too he gives precise measurements.
The author then presents two more drawings: the first shows battery emplacements on either side of a meandering river from an overhead view; the second isa a model of the round battery in the water mentioned previously, with its front, back, summit and different levels named. the next section appears to involve fort construction in wetland areas, again specifying height, width and length measurement as before. after a final drawing which illustrates fortifications and cannon placements along a river in a wetland, the final section seems to concern setting ups ambushes and traps for invading enemies. it is from around the 1850s. there were some prominent Japanese experts on Western armaments and architects of military installations, including Katsu Kaishu (director of training for the Nagasaki Naval Center, reputed for Knowladge of western military techology) and Takeda Syasaburo (built the fortresses of Goryokaku and GentenDaiba between 1854 and 1866m based on Dutch military architecture books). However, there is no mention in the main body of text or elsewhere of specific dates or events, or of persons such as these.
Seiyo Kayaku Seizo Oyobi Yoyaku Setsu (How to Use and Manufacture Western Explosives) and Kogeki Suirai Zusetesu (The Illustrated Guide to Torpedo Attack) are listed as reference at the end of the book, but none are recorded in any database.
Author Writer: Kono Bairei
Painter: Unkown
Publisher: Unkown
Date: Around the 1850s
Size: 21×14cm
Painter: Unkown
Publisher: Unkown
Date: Around the 1850s
Size: 21×14cm
If you want more look at the Interesting book…
