Namamugi Incident

On the afternoon of August 21st, Bunkyū 2 (September 14, 1862), near Namamugi village (present-day Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama) on the Tōkaidō highway, a moment occurred that would change the course of Japanese history. An English merchant named Charles Richardson, who rode his horse into the procession of Shimazu Hisamitsu, lord of the Satsuma domain, was cut down by Satsuma retainers. The Namamugi Incident — the most well-known case of the Japanese sword as an international "incident" in the bakumatsu era.

Background of the Incident — Sonnō-jōi Ideology and the Prohibition on Riding Through Processions

Since the conclusion of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States in Ansei 5 (1858), Yokohama had developed rapidly as an open port. English merchants in Yokohama's treaty settlement made long-distance horse rides a daily habit, traveling freely along the Tōkaidō. Meanwhile, in August of that year, Satsuma domain lord Shimazu Hisamitsu led troops to Kyoto to realize political reforms of the bakufu (the reforms of Bunkyū), and was returning from Edo to Satsuma on his journey home.

At this time, the Satsuma domain maintained strong sonnō-jōi ideology and samurai pride. The daimyo's procession followed strict protocols; riding across the procession or "riding over" it was considered an insult to the samurai. The fact that foreigners were either unaware of or disregarded these protocols became the tragic cause of the incident.

The Course of Events — The Moment a Sword Severed International Relations

The procession that day numbered in the hundreds. Four English nationals, including Richardson (age 28), Marshall, Clarke, and Borodale, encountered the procession while traveling on horseback along the Tōkaidō. When leading retainers asked them to stop their horses, the English riders proceeded along the side of the procession.

As the procession neared Hisamitsu's palanquin, multiple Satsuma retainers drew their swords and struck at Richardson. Richardson, suffering deep cuts to his torso and arm, fell from his horse and died shortly after. Marshall and Borodale were also wounded but managed to escape. Clarke (an accompanying English national) was also wounded.

The killings are attributed to Satsuma retainers including Nara Hara Shigeru and Kaieida Nobuyoshi, but the perpetrators were never formally identified or punished after the incident.

The Meaning of the Namamugi Incident in Sword Culture History

The significance of the Namamugi Incident in the history of Japanese sword culture is multifaceted. First, it represents a paradigmatic example of the Japanese sword functioning as both a spiritual and physical weapon of sonnō-jōi ideology. The drawing of swords by Satsuma retainers was a reflexive act of the bushidō code in response to the "disrespect" of riding through the procession; whether explicit sonnō-jōi political intent was present remains debated, but the result—a foreigner cut down by Japanese swords—was widely reported as a symbol of sonnō-jōi ideology.

Second, the Namamugi Incident gave Britain concrete awareness of "the threat of the Japanese sword." What Britain demanded through negotiation was not merely monetary compensation, but a fundamental re-examination of the danger inherent in Japanese "sword culture"—namely, the nature of a society in which armed retainers walked freely. This perception would later influence discussions surrounding the Haitōrei sword-ban edict.

Third, the Namamugi Incident is also a symbolic event of the era when the Satsuma sword-making tradition enjoyed its final brilliance. Satsuma-den (Satsuma sword-making), centered on the Nami-hei school, produced distinctive robust blades. The swords carried by Satsuma retainers of this era were precisely the battlefield-ready tachi of Satsuma-den tradition, their sharpness proven in the instant at Namamugi.

The Path to British-Satsuma Negotiations and the Anglo-Satsuma War

Following the incident, British Chargé d'Affaires Neil demanded of the bakufu: ① payment of 100,000 pounds in compensation, and ② prosecution of the perpetrators and payment of 25,000 pounds from the Satsuma domain. The bakufu paid the 100,000 pounds the following June, but negotiations with the Satsuma domain reached an impasse.

On July 2nd of Bunkyū 3 (1863), a British fleet of seven ships entered Kagoshima Bay and began bombarding (the Anglo-Satsuma War). The Satsuma artillery batteries responded, and both sides sustained casualties, but the experience drove home to Satsuma the overwhelming superiority of foreign modern weaponry. This encounter became a major catalyst for converting the Satsuma domain from the sonnō-jōi position to the open-port and anti-bakufu line.

The Satsuma domain that "cut down a foreigner with a sword" in the Namamugi Incident came to realize after the Anglo-Satsuma War that "swords cannot prevail against cannons," and eventually became a principal actor in the Meiji Restoration and an enthusiastic embracer of Western civilization. This embodied the paradox of Japan's modernization.

Aftermath and Memory of the Incident

Richardson's body was left at the scene, shocking the foreign community in Yokohama. The Namamugi Incident was widely reported in Western newspapers, with emphasis on the "cruelty of the Japanese sword." This coverage is said to have influenced the formation of international public opinion supporting the later Haitōrei edict of 1876.

Today, a monument to the Namamugi Incident stands in Namamugi, Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama, preserving the memory of the incident. As a symbol of the turbulent bakumatsu era—a historical site where the Japanese sword moved international diplomacy—it continues to attract many visitors.