Nagasaki incident
The Nagasaki Incident (長崎事件, Nagasaki Jiken) was a riot involving the arriving Qing Dynasty Beiyang Fleet soldiers. It is also called the Nagasaki―Qing Navy Incident (長崎清国水兵事件).
Outline
In 1 August 1886 (Meiji 19), within the Qing Dynasty's navy called the Beiyang Fleet, were the four ships, the Dingyuan, the Zhenyuan, the Saien, and Weiyuan, were in Nagasaki harbor for military repairs.[1]
On August 13, 500 Qing Dynasty sailors began going on land. They went to places like the red light district, wrecked fixtures, and generally caused trouble through violent acts, and went around the city of Nagasaki breaking into shops to loot them. Drunkenly, they went around the city pursuing women and children, causing outrages. The policemen of the Nagasaki Prefecture Department of Police then aimed to stop this. As a result, the policemen and Qing Dynasty sailors began to fight in sword battles within the city, and as a result, there were at least 80 deaths on both sides, and the sailors were arrested. The sailors used katana purchased from antique stores.[2] As a result, a sense of unrest thus pervaded.
On August 14, at a conference between the governor of Nagasaki prefecture, Kusaka Yoshio, and the Qing consulate Xuan Cai, the Qing navy prohibited its sailors from going on land as a group, and agreed that when sailors are let on land, they would be overseen by an officer.
On August 15, against the previous day's agreement, at around 1 o'clock PM, about 300 sailors went on land. There were some with clubs, and those who bought swords were fewer. Several Qing sailors urinated on a koban, so that when the constables of the koban were warned, the constable would be beaten up. 300 Qing navy sailors swarmed around 3 constable and assaulted them, resulting in 1 death. The chauffeur of a rickshaw who saw this was indignant about this, and tried to punch the Qing navy sailors. In doing this, the Qing navy sailors backed each other up and it became a big melee. Thus, another big incident began where the policemen who came to stop this and the Qing navy once again began fighting, with various casualties (On the Qing side, 1 officer died and 3 were injured, and 3 sailors died and at least 50 were injured. On the Japanese side, 3 police officers were injured, 2 constables died, and 16 were inured. Several tens of Japanese civilians were also injured).
Effects of the incident
Combined with the Gaspin coup of 1884 (Meiji 17), this incident stirred up anti-Qing sentiment and was a distant cause to the First Sino-Japanese War. Also, Toyoma Mitsuru created the political association called the Genyosha, which was the first turning away from civil rights theory to sovereign rights theory.
After the incident, the Qing did not apologize to Japan, and behaved with confidence in the great power of their navy. At that time, the Qing possessed the newest model of navy battleships, the Dingyuan, and thought that the Japanese navy was no match, and even at the time of the Gaspin coup 2 years previous, Japan was defeated by the Qing, so at that time, the Qing dynasty did have superior military power.
The Qing made the demand to the Japanese government that from then on, the Japanese police would not prohibit the wielding of swords, in which they succeeded.[3] However, as a result of this incident, anti-Qing sentiment went higher, and Japan which made the negotiations with Qing mainly to reduce frictions, had this in sight until the time of the military confrontation.
References
- ^ JACAR（アジア歴史資料センター）Ref.B07090388600、帝国造船所二於テ外国船艦修理方請願雑件第3巻「清国軍艦長崎ニ来航修繕スル様李鴻章ヘ勧告ノ儀ニ付在天津領事ヨリ申出ノ件」（外務省外交史料館）。事件の翌年、Template:和暦8月、波多賀承五郎天津領事が井上馨外務大臣に問い合わせた「機密第六号」のなかにつぎの文言がある。「先年修繕ノ為メ長崎ニ軍艦ヲ発遣シタルニ不図モ意外ノ葛藤ヲ生シタルニ付再ヒ長崎ニ軍艦ヲ派スルコトハ支那官吏ノ決シテ為サザル所ニ有之」。
- ^ 『伊藤博文文書 第34巻 秘書類纂 長崎港清艦水兵喧闘事件』所収、明治19年8月15日付・司法大臣山田顕義宛長崎控訴院検事長林誠一発「長崎事件第三報」(53～58頁)のうち、55頁に「携フ所ノ日本刀（此刀ハ古道具屋ヨリ買取所持シ居タルモノナラン）」とある。
- ^ 岡崎久彦「明治の外交力 陸奥宗光の蹇蹇録に学ぶ」海竜社、2011年