SSK Soryu's Collision Off Cape Ashizuri : Curse of the Kuroshio?

 

The damaged SSK Soryu at Kochi Port 
9th Feb 2021. Photo : Asahi Shimbun 

Collision At Sea

Collisions at sea involving submarines thankfully do not happen everyday. Even when such unfortunate incidents occur, they tend to take place at remote waters where there are not much media coverage. In any case the need to maintain operational security would ensure very little information whatsoever will be made available to the public on these mishaps.

On 8th Feb 2021, the Japanese attack submarine JS Soryu collided with the Hong Kong registered bulk carrier the Ocean Artemis while it was surfacing during a training deployment in international waters southeast of Cape Ashizuri, Kochi Prefecture. The collision occurred at periscope depth and left the Soryu with extensive damage but fortunately no fatalities.

What was unusual about this incident was the large amount of high resolution images and video footage taken of the damaged submarine after the accident. Once the word was out the Japanese news media even had reporters and cameramen flown out to sea in helicopters to film the stricken submarine, made possible also because of the accident location's proximity to land.

Many theories had been proposed by new agencies and defense web portals as to how and why the accident happened, from poorly trained sonar technicians to equipment failure to thermal layers and even professional negligence. Frequently the opinions of serving or ex-submariners were sought and while they provide a good overview of the matter, none mentioned anything about a local maritime phenomenon that could have played a significant role in causing this incident : the fast moving warm Kuroshio Current that flows northward and eastward off the Pacific coast of Japan.

The Kuroshio Current off the coast of Japan
Here for real time map by earth.nullschool.net

Cape Ashizuri, approximate collision site
and current path of the Kuroshio in red.

The Submarine Soryu

The Soryu is one of the largest and most advanced diesel attack submarine in the world. It is equipped with an air-independent propulsion system. It is also relatively new, being launched as the first-in-class in Dec 2007 and commissioned in March 2009. It has a length of 84m with a displacement of 2900 tonnes surfaced. Its sonar suite comprises of a bow array, flank arrays and a towed array. 

It could make 13 knots on the surface and 20 knots submerged. Its maximum diving depth, though classified, is believed to be between 600m to 800m.

The Soryu is assigned to the 5th Submarine Squadron, 1st Submarine Flotilla operating out of Kure. Her commanding officer is Commander Koji Keisuke ( 恒次啓介 ). The submarine had recently spent considerable time in the ship yard on routine maintenance. She left her home port on 6th Feb 2021 with 90 crew members on a training deployment, most likely for re-certification of her operational readiness.

Soryu-class submarine on surfaced transit.
Photo : JMSDF

The Bulk carrier Ocean Artemis 

The Ocean Artemis is a bulk carrier with a gross tonnage of 51208 tonnes and a dead weight of 93103 tonnes. It was built in 2011. It has an overall length of 229m with a beam of 38m. Its maximum speed is said to be 13.8 knots. It was transporting iron ore from the Chinese port of Qingdao and was heading for the Japanese port of Mizushima, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture when it collided with the Soryu. AIS data suggested that the Ocean Artemis had a draught of 14.9m on the day of the collision.   

Map of Shikoku Island and Kuroshio

The seabed 50km off Shikoku is 
between 1000m to 1500m deep.
Map : Geological Survey of Japan 

Reconstructing The Collision

Based on satellite, oceanographic, meteorological and maritime traffic data, we know that it was a clear but windy day out at sea 50km southeast of Cape Ashizuri on 8th Feb 2021. The wind was gusting at 25 knots from the northwest and whipping up swells with significant wave heights of 1.59m, probably the equivalent of Sea State 4.

The collision site is located over the continental shelf of Shikoku Island and lies over waters about 1000m deep. It straddles not only the main shipping lanes south of Shikoku but also the main path of the warm Kuroshio Current. Despite being winter, the sea surface temperature was about 21C, only dropping to 15C at the 200m depth. The current is strong with a flow speed of about 2 knots and an axis of 070 degrees. 

The Ocean Artemis, laden with ore and riding low in the water, was east bound for the port of Mizushima in the Seto Inland Sea. It would likely be maintaining a course of approximately 060 degrees as she navigates around Shikoku to enter the Inland Sea from the east via the Naruto Straits. 

At 10:58am local time, the Soryu was conducting a surfacing drill when, rising from the deep, she failed to detect the presence of the bulk carrier until she was at periscope depth. It was already too late to take evasive action by the time the surface vessel was seen through the periscope and a collision was inevitable. 

The bow of the bulk carrier struck the starboard side of the submarine's conning tower, denting it and damaging the anechoic tiles covering that area. It also caused severe damage to the starboard hydroplane and the sensor masts, taking out the communications antennae. Three submariners suffered from light injuries like bruises and none required evacuation.

Since the damage occurred mainly on the starboard side of the submarine, it can be deduced that it would have been a glancing blow had the submarine been on a course similar to the bulk carrier or if it were on a reciprocal course. Conversely it would have been a head-on impact had the submarine been maintaining a southerly bearing.

We would later learn that the Ocean Artemis did not report detecting any noise or vibration from the collision and most likely continued with her voyage without even realizing that a collision had taken place.

The loss of communications rendered the Soryu incapable of reporting the incident to the 1st Submarine Flotilla headquarters. Fortunately the Soryu could still move under her own power on the surface and she eventually navigated to an area with cellphone reception. The Ministry of Defense would eventually learn of the accident by 2:20pm. 

Transiting on the surface, the Soryu made it to the port city of Kochi by nightfall. Meanwhile the JCG diverted the Ocean Artemis to Kobe the next day for investigations. There, divers discovered that the impact left multiple scratch marks with black paint residue that presumably matched those from the Soryu on the bulbous bow of the Ocean Artemis. A dent and a 20cm crack corresponding to the point of impact was also found on the bow. This crack had caused some sea water seepage into the vessel.

The black paint residue were collected and had been dispatched to the JCG Research Centre in Tachikawa City, Tokyo, for further analysis and confirmation that they originated from the Soryu.   

Underway enroute to Kochi.
Photo : 5th Regional HQ JCG

Damage to the hydroplane, sensor masts and conning tower 
of the JMSDF submarine Soryu. Photo : Mainichi Shimbun

Moored off Kochi, 9th Feb 2021
Photo : Mainichi Shimbun

Moored off Kochi, 9th Feb 2021
Photo : Mainichi Shimbun

Moored off Kochi, 9th Feb 2021
Photo : Mainichi Shimbun

Moored off Kochi, 9th Feb 2021
Photo : Mainichi Shimbun

The damaged Soryu at Kochi on 9th Feb 2021

Ocean Artemis off Kobe 9th Feb 2021
Photo : Mainichi Shimbun

Divers inspect the bow of the Ocean Artemis
Photo : Asahi Shimbun

Scratch marks on the bow of the Ocean Artemis
Photo : Jiji Press

What Caused The Collision?

Surfacing drills are among the most hazardous submarine operations undertaken during peace time. Even with modern sonar equipment, collisions with surface vessels are always a possibility especially around busy shipping lanes.

Every submarine's forward mounted sonar has blind spots known as the baffles, an area directly behind the submarine where sound detection is not possible. In order to surface safely, a submarine has first to perform a manoeuvre known as clearing the baffles to ensure there are no vessels hiding in the blind spot. It requires the boat to change its course slightly so that the previously hidden areas could now be scanned. Once the baffle is cleared, the submarine will have to execute the ascend to the surface within a specified time of not more than 10 to 15 minutes, any longer and the traffic pattern could have changed.

There is a possibility that the Soryu did not perform a proper baffle clearing or it could have taken too long to ascend after that. Her skipper Cmdr Koji Keisuke had commanded the JS Takashio ( SS-597 ) before assuming command of the Soryu on 15th Oct 2019, so he is not new to his post. However, the Soryu has recently spent considerable yard time on regular maintenance and had just resumed operational training after a long lapse. Perhaps crew proficiency may not be at the peak level and mistakes might be more common.

Clearing the baffle ( sonar blind spot )
Image : Asahi Shimbun

The same trend of thought tells us that the likelihood of the sonar specialists not reporting a surface contact as they should is also possible and could have been made more likely by their long absence from regular training. Having said that, due to the hazardous nature of operating submarines, only the best of the best gets selected to train as submariners, and MSDF personnel have to undergo rigorous training of high standards for their qualification process. So again, professional negligence, though unlikely, cannot be completely ruled out. 

Equipment failure is a remote possibility but Japan's fleet of submarine is young by other navy's standards. Until recently, JMSDF used to retire its submarines after an average of just 20 years! We also know that the Japanese tend to maintain their equipment in tip top condition, and that the Soryu had just completed its regular yard maintenance, so the scenario where there is a catastrophic failure of the sonar system leading to a collision has a low probability. In fact, Chief of the Maritime Staff, Adm Yamamura Hiroshi had already categorically denied any reports of a periscope or sonar malfunction. 

The size and draft of the bulk carrier brings up another possibility to the cause of the accident - the bow-null effect. Simply put, the enormous length of the surface vessel approaching head-on effectively acts as a shield to greatly diminish the acoustic signature from the engine and propellers which are a couple of hundred meters behind the bow. This reduced sound level could have been misinterpreted to be emitted from a source much further away along the same bearing, leading to a potentially disastrous situation. Even veteran submariners have had close shaves due to the bow-null effect. It has also been postulated to be the cause of many collisions between whales and large surface vessels.

Apart from human errors and equipment failures, environmental and geographical factors frequently have a contributory if not causative role to play in such accidents. For submarines, water temperature, depth and to a lesser extend, salinity, will have a huge impact on sound transmission. The existence of shallow thermal layers for example, might create environments with positive sound velocity profile gradients, causing some surface generated sound waves to be deflected upwards. It would result in shadow zones below the layer and make vessel detection from beneath all but impossible. The Kuroshio could have contributed to the creation of such thermal layers.

The Black Tide

The collision took place on a winter's morning in an area known to have high maritime traffic, over the continental shelf extension of Shikoku with depths of approximately 1000m. February is typically the coldest month of the year in the northern hemisphere and being located in the temperate zone one could logically expect the sea surface temperature around Japanese waters to be cold as well, causing thermal layers commonly encountered in warmer months to be greatly diminished or even dissipate altogether. 

That would well be the case if not for the powerful Kuroshio Current which brings warm water from the tropics to the Japanese archipelago all year round. Kuroshio ( 黒潮 ) means black tide in Japanese. It is named because of its nutrient poor, deep blue, clear waters. It is one of the world's major oceanic currents comparable to the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic. The impact of this warm current on Japanese climate and maritime related industries is so great that the Japan Coast Guard monitors its activities constantly and issues daily reports.

JCG Quick Bulletin of Ocean Conditions
Path of Kuroshio & Tsushima Currents
Flow speed is 2 knots south of Cape
Ashizuri on 8th Feb 2021

Sea Surface Temperature off Cape
Ashizuri is about 21C on 8th Feb 2021

Because of the Kuroshio Current, the sea surface temperature south of Cape Ashizuri where the collision occurred remains at 20C to 22C in winter and between 26C to 28C in summer. So even in winter a significant layer of warmer water will exist above the colder water deeper below. How deep is warm layer gets depends on factors such as the current's flow rate, mixing from colder layers below and even eddies that form when the current is deflected by geological features or when it meets another ocean current, like the southward flowing cold Oyashio current from the Kuril Islands. 

It is a well known fact that the salinity and water temperatures can vary considerably especially at the boundaries of the tide, making navigation with sonar extremely tricky. To complicate matters, the path of the black tide is not always fixed and can sometimes shift quite drastically in what is known as the " Great Meandering " ( 黒潮大蛇行 Kuroshio Daidako ) especially off the Kii Peninsula east of Shikoku Island.

Sea Surface Temperature 20.6C
Flow Direction 070
Flow Speed 0.94m/s ( 1.88 knots )

Significant Wave Height 1.59m
Peak Wave Period 5.2s
Direction 305 deg

Surface Wind 25.5 knots
Direction 310 deg

The waters around the collision site is 
approximately 1000m deep.
Bathymetry from Japan's Submission to
the Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf.

Maritime traffic density 2012
Image : shipmap.org

The Aftermath

The JMSDF has not been all forth coming with information on the collision. There were no mention of the incident on its website and social media accounts. The Minster for Defense and the Chief Cabinet Secretary did have press conferences and the MOD had a press release, but that was it. Some of the images and videos came from the JCG but mostly they were from the news media. Investigations are ongoing and hopefully the findings will be released soon. 

Since the Kuroshio Current dominates over almost the entire Pacific coast of Japan, I am convinced that the collision has something to do with it, barring other factors such as human error. Its high flow volume of very warm water creates a perpetual summer-like condition to Kyushu, Shikoku and Western Japan extending eastwards to the Kanto region at times. Its ever changing flow axis with major deviations and meandering and its multitude of eddies and countercurrents where there are deflections by land masses and confluences with other currents means that it is as unpredictable as can be, creating treacherous acoustic environments for submarine navigation. 

As usual, most accidents are caused by cumulative errors committed by all parties involved, but sometimes it can boil down to just pure bad luck, like being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Soryu unfortunately has quite a long history of mishaps .... from electrocution and burns at the shipyard to attempted suicide and the accidental drowning of three petty officers within the flooded areas of the sail during routine operations in 2012. 

At the time of writing, the Soryu is back in Kobe where the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipyard is located, presumably for damage assessment and repairs. Even though her pressure hull wasn't damaged, it could still possibly be out of active duty for several months and the repairs could cost several tens of millions of dollars.

Cmdr Koji will likely be relieved of his command regardless of the cause of the collision and the outcome of the investigations. His career as a sub-driver or even his future in the JMSDF could already be jeopardised. 

Meanwhile, the MOD decided that a 3.5 hour delay in incident reporting due to communications failure is utterly unacceptable and the JMSDF has pledged to ensure the availability of satellite phones on their vessels and boats.

Cmdr Koji Keisuke
Photo : JMSDF

Foot Note : Cape Ashizuri

It would not be right to end this article without elaborating on Cape Ashizuri. Known in Japanese as Ashizuri Misaki ( 足摺岬 ), this is the southernmost point of Shikoku Island. It is located in the remote western part of Kochi Prefecture where the pristine Shimanto River lies, with rugged coasts and beautiful night skies. 

Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse
Photo : JNTO

I had visited Cape Ashizuri in Feb 2017, after completing the Kochi Ryoma Marathon. Accessibility was an issue as the rail network did not extend to that region and even driving along the winding coastal roads was tedious and time consuming. But the effort was well worth it.

The Cape lies within the Ashuzuri-Uwakai National Park and it has majestic sea cliffs that towers above the vast expense of the Pacific Ocean. I remembered that it was extremely windy when I visited the Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse and walked through the tunnel of camellia which was in full bloom.

Cape Ashizuri is the southernmost
point of Shikoku Island. Statue
of John Manjiro in the Background.
Photo : Author

Another attraction at Cape Ashizuri is the statue of John Manjiro ( 中浜万次郎 ), a Japanese whose remarkable story I first learnt only during that visit. Manjiro had hailed from Nakanohama, an area known today as Tosashimizu, not far from Cape Ashizuri. 

Manjiro came from a poor family and lost his father at a young age. In 1841 when Manjiro was fourteen years old, he left home to work on a fishing vessel to help make ends meet. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, he was shipwrecked on an uninhabited island off the coast of Japan for six months. Manjiro was eventually saved by the captain of a passing American whaler who named him John and brought him back to his hometown of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, so that he could be educated. 

Statue of Nakahama John Manjiro
at Cape Ashizuri. Photo : Wikipedia

Manjiro stayed in America for ten years, learning English and the science of navigation among other things, becoming the first Japanese to achieve long term residency in America. All that during an era when the ordinary Japanese were forbidden to travel or interact with foreigners! He would later join a whaling ship and work his way up to become the first mate and even participated in the California Gold Rush, earning enough money to fund his journey back to Japan. 

Upon his return, instead of meting punishment for violating the travel ban, the Shogunate government found his knowledge in English and foreign ways valuable and made him an advisor. He was also the translator for Japan's first trans-Pacific delegation to San Francisco and was appointed a lecturer at the Kaisei Institute dedicated to the teaching of foreign languages, science and advanced western technologies, paving the way for the Meiji Restoration and the industrialization of Japan which followed shortly. 

John Manjiro's story is worthy of an article all by itself but fortunately all the details can be found here.

Gunkan Machi : The Sprightly Japanese Naval March That Even The Chinese Found Irresistible

 

Gunkan March written in calligraphy. Image : JMSDF

You might be familiar with military marches such as " Anchors Aweigh " of the US Naval Academy or the British " Colonel Bogey " march adopted in the 1957 film " The Bridge on the River Kwai ", but have you heard of  Japan's number one military march, the Gunkan Koshinkyoku?

The Gunkan Machi ( 軍艦マーチ ), officially known as the Gunkan Koshinkyoku ( 軍艦行進曲 ), is a military march composed in 1897 by Setoguchi Tokichi. Translated, it is invariably known as the Warship March or the March " Man-Of-War ".  It was the official naval march of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) and currently that of its modern day successor the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ( JMSDF ).

It has a storied past in its more than a century of existence and was banned for a few years by the US occupation forces after World War II, in part due to its controversial imperialistic and militaristic lyrics. The march was resurrected with the formation of the JMSDF and is frequently played during ship naming and launching ceremonies for both warships and sometimes merchantmen as well. In post-war Japan, this much beloved tune continues to endear Japanese hearts and can found in CD compilations and can be heard as background music streaming from pachinko machines and arcade video game consoles.

It even has a commemorative monument erected in its honour at the Mikasa Park in the port city of Yokosuka, and that is an uncommon feat. How many of the world's great marches have had their own monument? And did I mention that this march has such a catchy rhythm and tune that even the Chinese could not resist using it during one of their graduation ceremony? But more of that later.

We can begin by listening to the Gunkan March being played by the JMSDF Band, Tokyo at the Tokyo Opera City at the 50th Regular Concert in 2011. The video can also be accessed here. 

The Gunkan March

I honestly could not  recall when I first heard the Gunkan March being played but it was likely a few years ago when watching one of the launching ceremony of a Japanese warship. After listening to it a few times being played on different events, it must have dawned on me that this had to be some official tune sanctioned by the JMSDF. The more I listened to it, the more appealing it became. I was so intrigued by it that I started to research on its origins and history, and what a treasure cove of information I discovered.

The Gunkan March could have its origins traced to lyrics written by the multi-talented educator, naturalist and lyricist Toriyama Hiraku ( 鳥山啓 ) in 1893 entitled " Man-of-War " ( Gunkan ). It was made into a military song with music composed by Yamada Genichiro and was selected for the Compilation of Elementary School Songs edited by educator Isawa Shuji ( 伊澤修二 ). You can listen to this original Gunkan military song set to a very different tune and tempo here. If the song does not play automatically, right click on the black bar below the photo of the songbook and select reload frame.

Original Gunkan military song composed by Yamada Genichiro
in the Collection of Elementary School Songs, published on
18th Aug1893. Photo : JMSDF Band, Tokyo

In 1897, Setoguchi Tokichi ( 瀬戸口藤吉 ), then a warrant officer in the music corps of the navy, created a new composition to the lyrics and the Gunkan March came into being. In modern English, naval vessels are known as warships, but in those pre-dreadnought days towards the end of the nineteenth century when the march was composed, they were commonly known as man-of-war. Hence the Gunkan March is also frequently referred to in English as the March " Man-of-War".

The exact date which the Gunkan March premiered has been lost in history but music critic, composer and lyricist Horiuchi Keizo ( 堀内敬三 ) reckons it to be 30th April 1900 during the fleet review off Kobe, played by the naval band onboard the flagship, the battleship Fuji. He came to the conclusion based on the recollections of the naval band personnel. However, according to the JMSDF Band, Tokyo website, historical records indicated that the Fuji remained at anchor during the fleet review due to an unexpected epidemic and Emporor Meiji conducted the review onboard the cruiser Asama. So Horiuchi could have had either the date or the venue wrong.

The Lyrics

It is interesting to note that the march was originally composed in B-flat major but was found to be too difficult for men to manage. It was transposed first to G major and then finally to F major towards the end of the Taisho era.

In its initial form, the Gunkan March lyrics consisted of the two verses from Toriyama's " Gunkan ". Later, a third verse known as the Umi Yukaba ( 海行かば ) which has its origins from the Manyoshu ( 万葉集 ) manuscripts, an ancient collection of poetry in Classical Japanese, would be inserted to the march as a middle portion to form a trio. In the latest iteration however, the Umi Yukaba portion would be rearranged as the third verse.

I personally find the lyrics rather disturbing, even macabre, especially the Umi Yukaba portion. They are shown here with the corresponding translation, not as any form of endorsement for the expansionist and militaristic ideology of Imperial Japan, but for facilitating the understanding of the history and evolution of the march itself.

軍艦行進曲 Warship March

守るも攻むるも黒鐵の Black steel that excels in defense and attack

浮かべる城ぞ頼みなる Reliable castles over the water

浮かべるその城日の本の Floating fortresses of the Japanese Imperium

皇国の四方を守るべし Protecting the four corners of the Empire

真鐵のその艦日の本に Japan's fleet of steel

仇なす國を攻めよかし Will attack and triumph over the enemy

石炭の煙は大洋の Columns over coal fire smoke over the great ocean

龍かとばかり靡くなり Adrift with the winds as if soaring with dragons

弾撃つ響きは雷の Thunderous clap from exploding shells

聲かとばかり響むなり Reverberate over the sea

萬里の波濤を乗り越えて Riding the waves for ten thousand miles

皇国の光輝かせ For the glory of the Empire

海行かば Should I perish at sea

水漬く屍 I'll be a corpse awash

山行かば If I expire in the mountains

草生す屍 The grass be my pall

大君の辺にこそ死なめ To sacrifice my life for my sovereign

かえりみはせじ I have no regrets

JMSDF Bands from the various naval districts frequently play the Gunkan March in its instrumental form without singing the lyrics, which is the way I most prefer.

A well used Gunkan March score.
Photo : JMSDF Band, Tokyo

Ceremonial Use

The Gunkan Koshikyoku is one of ten musical compositions selected by the JMSDF for ceremonial use in 1961. Of these seven were also found on the IJN's list of ceremonial music established in Aug 1912. Adopted as the JMSDF's official ceremonial march, the use of the Gunkan March is only sanctioned under the following circumstances :

During fleet reviews ( 観艦式 kankanshiki ) and military parades ( 観閲式 kanetsushiki )

During ship commissioning ( 引渡式 hikiwatashishiki ) and flag awarding ceremonies ( 旗授与式 hatajyuyoshiki )

During ship naming ( 命名式 meimeishiki ) and launching ceremonies ( 進水式 shinsuishiki )

Any other approved occasions such as military academy graduation ceremonies, port entry and departure ceremonies for visiting ships, publicity events, and lastly, concerts and tattoos.

Multi-purpose frigate JS Kumano goes down the slipway
amidst the tune of the Gunkan March, 19th Nov 2020.
Photo JMSDF

Ship Naming & Launching 

Japanese ship naming and launching ceremonies always follow a strict sequence. For a typical dry dock ceremony, the opening speech comes first, followed by the singing or instrumental rendition of the national anthem the Kimigayo. Then the guest of honor, usually the Minister for Defense, would name the ship. Preparations to launch the ship follows, with shipyard workers scurrying to remove dog shores and choke pins. Then comes the rope cutting that will start the ship moving down the slipway into the water.

The military band is usually stationed near the bow of the ship, sometimes said to be near enough to smell the champagne when the bottle is smashed against the bow. They will start playing the Gunkan Koshinkyoku the moment the rope is cut, many a times just milliseconds before the bottle hits the bow and the giant confetti ball bursts open.

The speed of the ship going down the slipway frequently means that the ship is already in the water way before the naval band could finish playing even the first verse of the march. The blessing whistle would have been sounded by other ships in the surrounding waters at this stage and the ceremony gradually draws to a close.

The above JMSDF video shows the launch of the destroyer Asahi ( DD-119 ) at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipyard in 2016.

Ship's company march to the tune of the Gunkan Koshinkyoku
during the commissioning of the Aegis destroyer JS Maya.
Photo : JMSDF

Commissioning and Flag Awarding Ceremony

Ship commissioning ceremonies in the JMSDF similarly follow a set routine, with the vessel by the wharf and the ship's complement standing at attention near to it. The VIP arrives and inspects the contingent. The opening speeches are delivered and the initiation of the commissioning by the Minister for Defense or an appointed representative is carried out. The shipyard representative formally hands over the ship to the Minister for Defense. At this stage, the shipyard's flag is lowered for the last time onboard the vessel signifying the final process of ownership transfer. The commanding officer of the ship then receives the state flag from the Chief of the Maritime Staff and marches to hand the flag to his deputy. The deputy will lead the ship's company to board the vessel, marching to the beat of the Gunkan Koshinkyoku played by the naval band.

Once onboard, the national anthem is played and the state flag is raised for the first time on the vessel. The Chief of the Maritime Staff then comes onboard and gives a speech to the ship's company, followed by another speech by the CO of the vessel. The ship prepares to sail while the bouquet presentation ceremony takes place at the wharf side. The CO then reports to the Chief of the Maritime Staff for permission to sail. As the vessel casts off, the naval band plays the Gunkan Koshinkyoku again for the second time during the ceremony. The invited guests and all the naval brass then gather at the wharf side to wave goodbye to the departing ship amidst the Auld Lang Syne tune.

The above video shows the commissioning of the improved Soryu-class submarine the Oryu ( SS-511 ), the world's first lithium-ion battery powered diesel-electric submarine, at Mitsubishi's Kobe shipyard on 5th March 2020.

 

Unofficial Use

As mentioned earlier, various iterations of the Gunkan March as been used as background music ( BGM ) in all sorts of places in Japan. The most common would be BGM from those pinball machines in the ubiquitous pachinko palours found in every Japanese town or city. It can also be heard streaming from video game machines in arcades and sometimes as BGM in elevators.

It is also frequently used in commercial advertisements, not just within Japan but also in Taiwan and South East Asia where Japanese influence is strong.

Bama ( Myanmar ) Doe Ye Tatmadaw
official military song. Image : JMSDF

Burmese Military Song

An adulterated version of the Gunkan March even became adopted by the Burmese military ( Tatmadaw ) as their official military song. Known as the Myanmar Doe Ye Tatmadaw March, it is played on the Army Broadcast every morning and any self-respecting Burmese would be familiar with the song. It can be heard on the JMSDF Band, Tokyo website here. If the audio does not play automatically, right click on the black bar below the photo of the score and select reload frame.

How this came to be has an interesting history and has everything to do with General Aung San, the Burmese politician and revolutionary, founder of the Burmese Armed Forces and father of Myanmar's recently ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The older Aung San had been fighting for independence from Burma's colonial rulers, the British, and fled Burma shortly before the outbreak of World War II to seek support from Chinese communists. By a twist of fate, he was recruited by the Japanese who promised support. Together with a core of 30 revolutionaries ( 30 comrades ), they were educated in the Japanese language and trained with the Imperial Japanese Army where they were exposed to many different Japanese military songs or gunka ( 軍歌 ). Among all the songs, they were so smitten with the Gunkan March that they adopted it as their official military song when the Burmese Armed Forces was subsequently founded in 1945. 

In the Doe Ye Tatmadaw, the original lyrics of the Gunkan March has simply been replaced by Burmese words. The tune had been slightly changed here and there but it is still recognizable as a foreign or adulterated version of the Gunkan March. It is constantly being played as BGM at the Defense Services Museum of Naypyidaw, the world's biggest military museum and the white elephant monument that the military junta built for itself. 

What's surprising to me is that the official JMSDF Band, Tokyo website has a fairly detail write-up on this illegitimate version of its Gunkan March and even plays the Doe Ye Tatdamaw when the web page is first opened. It does not seem to be bothered by the infringement of copyrights by the Tatmadaw. 

I am no expert in copyright laws, but the copyright lengths typically lasts for the lifetime of the author or composer plus another 50 to 70 years ( In Japan Life + 70 years ) and Setoguchi passed away in 1941. So the Doe Ye Tatmadaw was created when Setoguchi's composition was still protected under intellectual laws which should be enforceable. Even though 80 years had passed since Setoguchi's death and the copyrights to his masterpiece would have lapsed based on commercial principles, would it apply to the official march of a national institute like the JMSDF? Wouldn't sovereign nations have perpetual rights to their national anthems for example? 

Chinese Infatuation 

Many Chinese people have a long standing hatred for Japan because of the many atrocities committed by the Japanese imperial military and the decades of abuse and humiliation brought by them. China's humiliating defeat by Japan during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 resulted in the loss of Korea as a tributary state and the ceding of Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and Penghu Islands in perpetuity. 

The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1931-1945 began with the invasion of Manchuria followed by the full-scale invasion of China in 1937 and saw even more atrocities committed by the Japanese including the Nanjing Massacre where an estimated 300000 civilians were killed and the illegal use of chemical and biological weapons. These are excruciatingly painful memories that the Chinese will likely never forget or forgive.

Even though Sino-Japanese relations were supposed to have normalized in 1972, anti-Japanese sentiments still prevail among a significant portion of the Chinese population. Therefore the inadvertent use of the Gunkan March for any purpose in China would trigger off a huge public outcry. This had happened several times in the past decade, as the sprightly, fast paced and jubilant march is characteristically irresistible to almost anybody, unsuspecting Chinese included! 

In 2005 a war veteran complaint at an online forum that the Zhonghai Kangcheng Kindergarten ( 中海康城幼儿园 ) in Guangzhou City played the Gunkan March every morning as the children arrived at the school. He claimed to have informed the school about the history and origins of the music and requested for the broadcast to be stopped but to no avail. Reporters from the local news portal subsequently staked out the kindergarten and verified that the school was indeed playing the Gunkan March. When contacted, the person in-charged, a young women, said that the broadcast was from a CD bought at a local music shop and had no indication that the particular tune had a Japanese connection. She further said that the Sino-Japanese War happened a long time ago, before she was born, which was absolutely true! The local education ministry however, had a dim view of the incident and conducted a thorough investigation. It failed to uncover the offending piece though and the school indicated that that it did not deliberately broadcast the Japanese march and subsequently used only piano pieces for its daily broadcast. News on the incident in Chinese only here.

Also in 2005, a retiree noticed the Gunkan March ringtone emerging from a young person's cell phone in Danyang City, Jiangsu Province. Investigations by a news reporter traced the ringtone to a local telecommunications service provider who failed to respond to inquiries but would later quietly remove the offending ringtone from its download list.

In 2009, at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing City, a tourist reported to the management authority that a video games booth was streaming the Gunkan March as BGM from its shooting game machine. The stall was swiftly reprimanded.

Most recently on 27th Jun 2014, the Aurora Foreign Language Kindergarten of Shanghai City was known to have used the Gunkan March as BGM during a drum performance by students at its graduation ceremony. It created a huge backlash against the school when parents unwittingly uploaded the visuals on social media. According to the teacher in-charged, the music was sourced through a search on Baidu Music. The teacher selected it for its tune and rhythm, out of ignorance since it was a musical piece that came without any lyrics or written explanation on its background. The education ministry intervened and the school's executive committee had to issue a public apology and it seemed that the services of the principal and the teacher involved were also terminated. The irony was the kindergarteners actually liked the tune very much. Write up on Baidu about the incident in Chinese here.

Gunkan March Monument, Mikasa Park, Yokosuka
Photo : Wikipedia

Gunkan March Monument

The Gunkan Koshinkyoku is probably the only march in the world that has a monument to its name. It is located in the Mikasa Park at Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo. The main attraction of the Mikasa Park is of course the preserved pre-dreadnought battleship IJN Mikasa ( 三笠 ) which served as Vice-admiral Togo Heihachiro's flagship in the Battle of Tsushima Strait against the Russian Fleet in 1905.

The monument was completed in 1996 as a public effort by the people of Yokosuka City. It has the lyrics on one face and the score, notated in G Major on the opposite side. A short description about the history and origins of the march appears below the score.

It is erected near the stern of the battleship.

Mikasa Park. Arrow points at Gunkan March
monument. Photo : Wikipedia

Setoguchi Tokichi

Setoguchi was born on 28th Jun 1868 in Tarumizu City, Kagoshima Prefecture. He joined the Tokyo Naval Band as a clarinetist in 1882 and would later study at the Tokyo Academy of Music. He was appointed the Naval Musician in 1895 and married in 1896.

He composed his masterpiece the Gunkan March in 1897. In addition, he had numerous other marches and songs to his name, such as the Patriotic March, Song of the Shikishima Warship, the Battle of Tsushima Sea March etc. He is known as the Father of Marches in Japan.

After his retirement in 1917, Setoguchi became a professor of music at the Tokyo Imperial University. He died of cerebral haemorrhage on 8th Nov 1941 at the age of 74. His tomb, set amidst weeping cherry trees, is located at the Jokoji temple ( 常光寺 ) in Yokosuka, about 3km from the Mikasa Park.

Since 1999, the City of Tarumizu has held an annual Setoguchi Memorial March Competition in his memory.

In 2018, on his 150th birth anniversary, the City of Tarumizu relocated the Setoguchi monument from its original site at the Shitamiya Shrine ( 下宮神社 ) to its current location at the grounds of the Tarumizu City Culture Center.

Setoguchi monument probably at its previous 
location at the Shitamiya Shrine a.k.a.
Kagoshima Shrine ( Tarumizu City ).
Photo : Jalan.net

Publicity poster for the 20th Setoguchi March Competition
in 2019 depicting a 15 year old Setoguchi.

So there you go, a much beloved military march, a Japanese music icon, and a whole lot of history.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also what to check this other article of mine out Warding Sea Monsters & Demons : Japan's Sacred Silver Ship Launching Axe.

Warding Sea Monsters And Demons : Japan's Sacred Silver Ship Launching Axe 破邪.魔除け.日本国神を祀る銀の進水斧

 

Ceremonial Axe used for launching Aegis destroyer 
DDG-179 JS Maya. Photo  JMSDF

While researching on Japan's new Taigei-class submarine recently, I came across photographs and videos of the ship naming and launching ceremony featuring the guest of honour, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, wielding an exquisitely decorated axe for cord cutting. That certainly piqued my interest as the use of this ceremonial axe seems to be common in many Japanese ship launching events involving both warships and merchant vessels. It also appears to be a uniquely Japanese custom as most shipbuilders elsewhere in the world would use mallets, gavels or scissors for cord or ribbon cutting. And by the way, did I mention that they are all made of silver and have special engravings for protection against evil spirits?

In this article we explore the traditions of Japanese ship naming and launching ceremony and the origins of this silver ship launching axe.

Ceremonial Ship Launching

Ceremonial ship launching is a maritime tradition that that dates back thousands of years. It is an important milestone in shipbuilding and marks the first time that the vessel is transferred into water. It is frequently observed as a public celebration and will also be a time to call for solemn blessings through religious rites or other appropriate processes for the safety and good fortune of the new vessel, its crew and its passengers. 

As one would expect, different cultures would have evolved different methodology for their naming and launching traditions which can change with the passage of time. The Babylonians had been known to sacrifice oxen while the Vikings sacrificed slaves for blood offerings to their sea gods during the launch of their new ships. Fortunately, these barbaric customs were no longer practiced by medieval times as wine had largely substituted blood as an offering during such ceremonies. 

Since the Europeans were a global maritime power and were at the forefront of the shipbuilding industry at least until the turn of the twentieth century, it is probably safe to say that most contemporary ship launching ceremonies would be based either in part or wholly on the Western customs and traditions. It would typically involve a mass celebration where the ship sponsor, usually a female civilian, would have the honour of releasing the ship into water. She would be standing on a platform built around the bow of the ship as it rest on the slipway and at the time of choosing, she would break a bottle of wine or champagne over the bow, wish the vessel and all those who would sail in it good luck, and operate the mechanism that would slide the vessel into the water.   

During the Meiji Restoration beginning from 1868, Japan embarked on rapid industrialization and militarization by assimilating the wisdom and technology of the western powers and adapting them as necessary. Technical advisors from Europe were hired to teach the Japanese the most advanced western thinking and practices while Japanese students were sent abroad to study in the most prestigious continental universities. British naval officers were seconded to help train and indoctrinate Japanese sailors. Many of the Imperial Japanese Navy's early pre-dreadnaught battleships including the famed Mikasa were constructed by European yards, until the Japanese managed to acquire the knowledge and expertise to construct these capital ships themselves from the subsequent Taisho era onwards. So there had been plenty of opportunity for western influence in maritime customs and traditions within the fledgling Japanese navy and shipbuilding industry at the turn of the 20th century. 

Currently, Japanese ship naming and launching procedures largely mirror those of the western cultures with minor variations, like the use of the silver cord cutting axe. The ship launching ceremony is known as 進水式 ( shinsuishiki ) while the christening ceremony is known as 命名式 ( meimeishiki ). The special axe is referred to as the 進水斧 ( shinsuifu ). 

                                                Ship naming and launching ceremony of destroyer JS Shiranui 

Japanese Shipbuilding Industry

Japan did not have any modern form of ship building capacity until the second half of the 19th century for one important reason. For more than 200 years, the isolationist foreign policy ( 鎖国 sakoku - locked state ) of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled over feudal Japan prohibited the construction and possession of large ocean-going ships. Enacted in 1635, the large ship construction ban ( 大船建造の禁 ) would outlaw the building of ships larger than 500 koku ( 75 tonnes ) with the exception of commercial vessels. As a result, the most common Japanese vessels of that era are the small single mast coastal boats known as bezaisen ( 弁才船 ) or sengokubune ( 千石船 ).

Japan Post 1975 Ship Series : Sengokubune ( left ) and
frigate Shoheimaru

These restrictive legislation were only revoked after the gunboat diplomacy of Commodore Perry's Black Ship Expedition in 1853 shocked the shogunate to open up the country to trade and to aspire to build a modern navy to avoid being colonized by western powers. Within a few years, iron foundries, dockyards, a ship engine repair facility and a naval training institute were set up and the various samurai domains were encouraged by the shogunate to built western-style warships. Initially through trial and error, experimentation, and later by the direct importation of western technology, Japan progressed to full-blown industrialization through its gradual build-up of domestic expertise and continued adoption and adaptation of western technology.

Slipway Launching And Associated Tools

One of the first few western style ships built by Japan after the ship construction ban was abolished was the schooner Heda ( 戸田号 ) in 1855. It was built for the Russian admiral and diplomat Yevfimiy Putyatin as an urgent replacement for his frigate Diana which was sunk by a tsunami triggered by the Ansei-Tokai earthquake. With a length of 24m and displacing 100 tons, it was launched via a western type wooden slipway, a first for Japan. 

Launch ceremony of the schooner Heda 7th Mar 1855
on western style wooden slipway. Image : Wikipedia.

Thereafter, the slipway gradually became the method of choice for launching large ships in Japan. By 1872, the Yokosuka Shipyards had even constructed rails for launching large vessels. The slipway stern-first ship launching method would invariably require some holding and releasing device known as launching triggers, to prevent the unintended release of the ship until the desired moment. The release of these triggers frequent involved severing of cords or rope with cutting tools such as a mallet and chisel combination which was commonly used in 19th century Europe. 

Gavel and chisel used for launching the royal yacht
HMY Victoria and Albert in 1855.
Image : National Maritime Museum

According to Kakizaki Sadao, a member of the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers, in Japan, it was at Yokosuka where cord or rope cutting during ship launching ceremony was first recorded. This occurred in 1885 at the launch ceremony of the Imperial Navy sloop Katsuragi ( 葛城 ) but the type of cutting tool involved was not specified. Many more ships including the corvette Musashi ( 武蔵 ) launched the following year and the gunboat Chokai ( 鳥海 ), launched in 1887 at the Ishikawajima-Hirano Shipyard, would be put to sea in this way, involving rope cutting and sliding down slipways. 

Subsequently, there were records of axe usage during the launch of the protected cruisers Hashidate in 1891 and Akitsushima in 1892 but they prove difficult to verify and it is believed that the usual mallet and chisel were used. 

By the beginning of the 20th century, the tonnage of Japanese constructed vessels had began to increase exponentially and consequently the size of the cables and ropes used during construction and launch had also increased. Cutting them became difficult with the usual small blades and shears and that eventually lead to the introduction of guillotine mechanisms and axes for more efficient cutting.  

Cultural Significance Of The Axe

In ancient China, the broadaxe had always been held as a symbol of imperial authority and were presented to high ranking officials and military commanders to bestow upon them power and status. It is sometimes depicted on coat-of-arms and other forms of heraldry. 

In Japan, the axe has been used in Shinto rituals such as during the periodic reconstruction of its most sacred Ise Grand Shrine. The Naiku or inner shine is constructed from Japanese cypress and two giant cypress trees had to be fell with axes using an ancient method which involved cutting the trunk from 3 sides. The blades are grooved with 3 streaks on the left face and 4 on the other side representing several Japanese deities believed to protect the bearer from evil spirits especially when working in remote mountainous areas. The axes used for cutting these sacred trees ( 御神木 oshinboku ) as well as many ordinary forestry worker's axes are frequently seen shrouded with a braided hemp cover to protect the cutting edge when not in use. 

Lumberjack's broadaxe with 4 grooves on the right side.
Image : Forest Research and Management Organisation Japan

JS Izumo's axe with 3 grooves on the left side. Photo : JMSDF

Origins of the Silver Ship Launching Axe

The modern Japanese ship launching axe could have its origins traced back to 1907, the 40th year of the Meiji Era, where Koyama Kichiro ( 小山吉郎 ) the chief of the ship building department of the Sasebo Naval Arsenal ( 佐世保海軍工廠 ) proposed the use of an axe for the launching of the cruiser Tone. The ceremony was attended by the crown prince. Like many existing Japanese axes, his proposed ship launching axe would also have grooves carved into the blade face itself in the usual pattern, 3 on the left and 4 on the right. As mention earlier the grooves represent the various Japanese gods and when used during the ceremonial launching were supposed to confer divine protection to the ship and all those onboard. Silver or gold is used in making the axe as these precious metals are believed to have special warding effects against demons and evil things. 

The use of these ship launching axes were not officially sanctioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and their usage was dependent on the decision of the director of each individual shipyard. In 1909 when a young engineer officer known as Nagamura Kiyoshi ( 永村清 ) was transferred from Sasebo to the Kure Naval Arsenal, he brought with him the launching axe culture. 

At Kure, the first recorded use of the axe was at the launching ceremony of the dreadnought Settsu ( 攝津 ) in 1911. For the next several years the shipyard would support the use of both the axe as well as the traditional mallet and chisel. The launch of Submarine Number 23 ( later renamed Ro-13 ) in 1919 for example still involved using the mallet and chisel which is known as tsuchi to nomi ( 槌とのみ ) in Japanese. In had been estimated that it took 15 years before the use of the ship launching axe became regular and exclusive at the Kure Naval Arsenal, permanently replacing the mallet and chisel. 

Further west at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, it is not clear when the usage of the launching axe had began but textbooks describing the launch of the battleship Mutsu in 1920 still mentioned about mallet and chisel. However, the launch of the cruiser Myoko in 1927 was said to involve the use of a broadaxe ( 鉞 masakari ). Coincidentally, that was also the year that Nagamura Kiyoshi, by then a rear admiral, was transferred from Kure to Yokosuka. It might have been easy to postulate that he had popularised ritual axe usage as a result of his transfers among the various naval yards. In any case, it probably took more then 20 years for the culture of the ship launching axe to be entrenched within the naval ship building community. From then onwards, the launching of government vessels and subsequently most civilian ships would have featured the ship launching axe.

Launching axe of mine sweeper MSO-306 JS Etajima. Photo : JMSDF

Evolution And Variations

The early pre-WWII ship launching axe is usually of simple design without much fanfare comprising of a metal blade attached to a wooden handle. The name of the ship and details such as the date and location of the launching ceremony, sponsor or the guest-of-honour, are usually printed or engraved on the handle. They are rarely adorned with any precious stones or expensive jewelry. Several examples have survived and are found in the private museum collections of shipyards as well as naval and maritime museums like the Kure Maritime Museum a.k.a. Yamato Museum.

Contemporary ship lunching axes can have more elaborate designs and may have the ends of the wooden handles wrapped with metal or may even feature an all-metal handle. They can also have ribbons or tassels attached. Some may also come in a set which includes a matching mallet for striking the axe. They may also sometimes come in a pair of two axes for two guests to concurrently perform the act of cord cutting. This occurred during the launch of the helicopter carrier JS Izumo. 

In a survey of 60 post-war ship launching axes, Kakizaki Sadao discovered that the lengths varied between 191mm to 386mm while the weights were between 305g to 1233g. The cost of material alone can be considerable if the blades were to be entirely forged with silver!

Launching axe of DD-120 JS Shiranui ( 不知火 ). Photo : JMSDF

Launching axe of SS-512 JS Toryu next to the cutting block and cord
Photo : JMSDF

Mallet and axe set for AOS-5203 JS Aki. Photo JMSDF

Double axe during the launch of DDH-183 JS Izumo. Photo : JMSDF

Simultaneous cord cutting during the launch of JS Izumo. Photo : JMSDF

Launching ceremony of Aegis destroyer DDG-180 JS Haguro
Photo : JMSDF

The cutting block with remnants of the cord during
the launch of JS Haguro. Photo : JMSDF

The Sacred Blade

The main distinguishing feature between a normal utilitarian axe and a sacred Japanese axe are the presence of grooves on both sides of the blade representing the highest ranking Japanese deities. The three grooves on the left symbolise the Shinto creator gods Izanagi, his wife Izanami and their daughter the sun goddess Amaterasu. The four grooves on the right represent the Four Heavenly Kings, Tamon-ten, Zocho-ten, Jikoku-ten and Komoku-ten, Buddhist gods that are believed to be watching the four cardinal directions of the world. Shintoism and Buddhism are the two most common religion in Japan and by including deities from both faiths on the axe blade, the Japanese seem to have all their bases covered. 

In Japanese mythology, Izanagi ( 伊邪那岐 ) and his twin sister-wife Izanami ( 伊邪那美 ) were the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the creation of heaven and earth. Upon receiving orders to from the other gods to shape the earth which was then a formless swirl of aquatic chaos, the couple churned the waters with the jeweled spear Amenonuhoko and the brine that dripped from the tip of the spear formed island Onogoro-shima. They settled on the new land mass and their union lead to not only the birth of the eight islands of the Japanese archipelago but also to more deities to inhabit these islands. 

Izanagi and Izanami with jeweled spear
Image : Wikipedia

Unfortunately, Izanami died after giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi. Wishing to see his wife again, Izanagi ventured to Yomi no kuni ( 黄泉の国 ), the land of the dead, but was informed by Izanami that she had already consumed food from Yomi and could no longer return to the land of the living. Breaking his promise not to look at her, Izanagi lighted a torch while Izanami was asleep and was shocked to find her in a horrible state of decay. Terrified, he fled, chased by his indignant wife and the minions that she had unleashed after him. Izanagi barely made it to the boundary between the living and the dead and sealed the entrance to Yomi with a large boulder. Feeling contaminated by his visit to Yomi he then purified himself by bathing in a river from which more deities came into being - the sun goddess Amaterasu-Omikami ( 天照大御神 ) when he washed his left eye, the moon goddess Tsukuyomi when he washed his right eye and the impetuous god Susanoo when he washed his nose. Collectively they are referred to as " The Three Precious Children " of the creator god Izanagi.

Sun goddess Amaterasu. Image : Ise Grand Shrine

Amaterasu the sun goddess is also the ruler of Takamagahara, the abode of the heavenly gods and the mythical ancestor of the Japanese imperial house via her grandson Ninigi, who is said to be the great-grandfather of Japan's fist emperor, Emperor Jimmu. Her main place of worship is the Grand Shine of Ise at Ise, Mie Prefecture, the holiest of all Shinto sites.       

The Four Heavenly Kings ( 四天王 shitenno ) are benevolent Buddhist gods that watch over much of the world bringing peace, prosperity, and protection from evil. They are frequently depicted as fierce-looking red or green faced towering figures dressed in a full suite of armour and they each have their own preferred weapon.

Tamon-ten Statue at the Rengein Tanjoji Temple,
Kumamoto. Image : Wikipedia

Tamon-ten ( 多聞天 ) is the chief of the Heavenly Kings and the protector of the north. He is also the guardian of the place that Buddha preaches. He is frequently seen carrying an umbrella or sometimes a spear in one hand and a small pagoda in the other. The pagoda represents the divine treasure house whose content Tamon-ten both guards and gives away. In Japanese folklore he is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune ( 七福神 shichifukujin ).

Zocho-ten statue at the Rengein Tanjoji Temple,
Kumamoto. Image : Wikipedia

Zocho-ten ( 増長天 ) - he who causes growth, is the protector of the south and is frequently depicted as a blue-faced warrior general carrying a sword or a spear trampling over an evil spirit known as a jaki ( 邪鬼 ). He is the defender of the Buddhist Dharma and will guard Buddhist followers from dangers and enemies.

Jikoku-ten statue at the Rengein Tanjoji Temple,
Kumamoto. Image : Wikipedia

Jikoku-ten ( 持国天 ) - he who upholds the realm, is the protector of the east and is sometimes seen carrying a Japanese lute which is also known as the biwa ( 琵琶 ). Otherwise he might be holding a sword and also stepping over a cowering jaki. He is harmonious and compassionate and protects all beings. He is also the god of music and uses his tunes to convert others to Buddhism. 

Komoku-ten statue at the Rengein Tanjoji Temple,
Kumamoto. Image : Wikipedia

Komoku-ten ( 広目天 ) - he who sees all, is the protector of the west. He has a divine eye which allows him to identify non-believers and will convert them to Buddhism. He is frequently seen holding a serpent or a cord which symbolises the dragon. He is the lord of all dragons.

With such powerful deities onboard, what's there to be afraid of? Still plenty, as it turns out.

Sea Monsters And Boat Spirits

Japan is a nation mostly covered with high mountain ranges, with dense forests inhabited by dangerous creatures. The archipelago is surrounded by treacherous waters and its people have to constantly deal with natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It is therefore not surprising that in attempts to explain some of these incomprehensible natural phenomenon, Japanese folklore is full of stories about ghosts ( 鬼 Oni ), spirits ( 幽霊 Yurei ) and monsters ( 妖怪 Yokai ). Here are just a small selection of supernatural beings that Japanese mariners fear.

The Umibozu or sea priest. Wikipedia

The Umibozu ( 海坊主 ) or sea priest is a sea spirit that can suddenly appear on calm seas which will then turn tumultuous. They have eyes and take the form a black mass which resembles the bald head of the Japanese monk. The Umibozu's length can vary between few meters to few tens of meters and so can be quite gigantic. It can either break a ship upon emergence or else would demand a bucket or barrel from sailors and then proceed to drown them. It is believed that the only safe way to evade the Umibozu is to give it a bottomless barrel and sail away while it is confused.

Funayurei with hishaku or ladle. Wikipedia

The Funayurei ( 船幽霊 ) or ship spirit are vengeful ghosts believed to be the souls of people who have died in shipwrecks. They use hishaku ( bamboo spoon or ladle ) to fill boats with water and sink them or else will drag people underwater to drown them. They often appear on rainy days, during new moon or full moon and on stormy nights and foggy nights. Rising from the depths of the sea clad in white kimono-like attire and with their long hair trailing in the water, these spirits will always demand a hishaku from the sailors. If the demand is complied with, a single hishaku will in an instant turn into a countless number of hishakus which the Funayurei will use to swamp the boat with water and drown all the sailors. It is said that a wise captain always carries a ladle with holes drilled at the bottom when sailing in Funayurei infested waters. Giving the spirits this leaking spoon will render one's ship immune from sinking.

Kaika or ghostly lights. Wikipedia

The Ayakashi ( アヤカシ ) is a general term for various yokai that appear on the surface of the water. One particular legend originating from Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, relates to the Ayakashi no Kaika ( 怪火 ), literally meaning strange fire or ghostly lights. These luminous apparitions frequently appear on beaches in the evening and looks as if a child is running around within the flame. They can also appear as floating fires on the water surface and can suddenly transform into massive boulders or land masses in an attempt to panic the ship into changing course and then run aground on a reef or sink. No harm will come to the ship or crew if the captain stays calm enough to call the Kaika's bluff and hold the ship's course.  

If you wish to learn more about Japanese yokai and yurei, a good place to start would be Mizuki Shigeru's manga series GeGeGe no Kitaro ( げげげの鬼太郎 ) or Kitaro of the Graveyard. The anime series Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba ( 鬼滅の刃 ) is also highly recommended. Its movie offshoot - the Mugen Train was the fastest movie to rake in 10 billion yen in the Japanese box-office in Oct 2020. 　

Intangible Cultural Heritage

With such imaginative and colourful folklore about supernatural beings, its no wonder the Japanese mariners needed to call upon their highest deities for protection. The use of the ship launching axe is a cultural phenomenon that had began within the defense community but had subsequently been widely adopted even by the civilian ship builders within just a few decades. It is not found anywhere else and is entirely unique to Japan. With such deep religious, cultural and historical background, Japan's sacred ship launching axe should be deemed an intangible cultural heritage. I would wholeheartedly support its nomination to the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

Lastly, it would not seem appropriate to end without mentioning a little more about Koyama Kichiro, the proponent of the ship launching axe. 

Koyama was born on 1 Mar 1860 in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. He graduated from the Engineering Institute, University of Tokyo in 1883 and started work at Ishikawajima Ship Building as a drafter. He was employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1884 and was posted to Onohama Ship Building with the rank of Assistant Engineer 1. 

By 1887 he was chief of the drafting section and was made a lieutenant ( technical ) in 1888. He was transferred to Kure Naval Arsenal in 1890 and remained there until his sabbatical to Germany in 1896. He was promoted in rank to Commander ( constructor ) before his recall back to Japan in 1900. He then joined the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal as the acting chief of shipbuilding. He would be promoted to Captain ( constructor ) in 1902. 

From 1903 to 1908, Koyama was the Chief of the Shipbuilding Department at Sasebo Naval Arsenal where he came up with the idea of the ship launching axe. After that, he was transferred to Maizuru Naval Yard where he would stay until 1911. During this period he was conferred the title of Constructor General. He was back at Yokosuka from 1911 to 1913 after which he was put to the reserves. 

He obtained a doctorate in engineering in 1915 and was promoted in rank to rear-admiral ( constructor ) in 1919. He retired in 1923 and died on 25th Feb 1929 age 68 years old. 

That's all for now and we'll have more about Japan's ship launching ceremony and the " Warship March " in the next article.