Nishinomiya Battery

Katsu Kaishu’s folly. That’s how some referred to the Nishinomiya Battery. We stand now before this cylindrical bastion. The Nishinomiya Battery whispers tales of a bygone era. A time when the Tokugawa shogunate, gripped by fear of foreign invasion, ordered the construction of coastal defenses. The Nishinomiya Battery, built between 1863 and 1866, was a key part of this defense strategy. It guarded the approaches to Kyoto, the imperial capital, via Osaka Bay. The shogunate, increasingly alarmed by the “black ships” of Western powers, entrusted Katsu Kaishu with the design. The Nishinomiya Battery stands as a testament to this fear. Imagine the scene: a 12-meter high cylindrical structure. Its thick walls, made of granite quarried from islands off Okayama Prefecture, taper from 1.53 meters at the base to 1.21 meters at the top. Inside, three stories. The ground floor housed a well and a gunpowder magazine. The second floor, constructed of wood, held eleven cannons. Eleven openings pointed towards the sea, ready to repel any invaders. One additional opening, on the north side, allowed for communication. The Nishinomiya Battery was a formidable sight. However, its design had a fatal flaw. During a test firing with blank charges, the interior filled with smoke. This rendered the Nishinomiya Battery unusable in combat. It became a monument to good intentions, but poor execution. A fire in 1884 partially destroyed the structure. The Imperial Japanese Army later sold the property to the Hanshin Electric Railway. The Nishinomiya Battery may not have seen battle, but it stands as a reminder of a pivotal moment in Japanese history. It embodies the anxieties of a nation grappling with the arrival of the modern world.