The Forgotten Story of How British Redcoats Took on Japanese Samurai

Comments · 1.8K

• TH

  @thomas13RA · 2 years ago

  I was in Japan for a month in 07, working. I was on the romendensha, in Kagoshima. An old man came over and sat next to me, spoke English. He proceeded to tell me all about this for 20 or 30 minutes. I was listening intently as he described each sides efforts. Cannons and rifles against swords and bows and arrows. Pretty sure it was this battle. He told the story with a lot of respect for both sides. Amazing experience the whole thing, but i will never forget that guy.

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• PA

  @parmentier7457 · 2 years ago

  The Dutch were the only Europeans allowed to trade with the Japanese between 1641–1854. This was agreed between the Japanese and the Dutch. The Japanese studied Dutch so that they could read and study Dutch books such as medicine, mathematics and science. The Japanese wanted to be kept informed about what was happening in the world through the Dutch. The port where Dutch trading ships were allowed to moor was Dejima. Once a year there was a procession with European (latest technical) attributes from Dejima to the Japanese capital to show this to the Japanese emperor. This would be faster by boat, but the procession went over land which took much longer. The Dutch often warned the Japanese that they had to modernize and that there was a danger that other nations would force Japan to trade with them. The Spanish and Portuguese were thrown out of Japan because they converted Japanese to Catholicism. The Dutch were allowed to stay because they wanted to trade alone.

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• JO

  @Johnny-Thunder · 2 years ago

  A samurai was defeated by a soldier who extended his foot and make him trip over it... That is gotta be my new favourite example of why real history is not like a movie.

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• KA

  @KarlPHorse · 2 years ago (edited)

  The Shiminoseki campaign was wild. Imagine a bunch of Americans veterans in a bar in 1866 talking about the battles they were in.<br><br>Soldier 1: I fought the confederates at Gettysburg.<br><br>Soldier 2: I fought the Sioux at Wood Lake.<br><br>Marine: I fought a bunch of samurai alongside redcoats and Frenchies.

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• FU

  @FurobaOA · 2 years ago

  Prior to the confrontation with the allied fleet, Choushuu rushed out wooden cannons, pine reinforced with bamboo, that would perhaps get off two or three shots. These were used on small boats, and while they could reach the enemy ships, they did not do much damage. Interestingly, after the small boats were sunk, these cannons would float.. <br><br>Choushuu also had domestically produced western style bronze cannons, which were a few decades behind in technology. These were looted by French sailors and can still be seen at the hotel des invalides war museum in Paris.

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• GO

  @gorotv-j1f · 2 years ago (edited)

  I would like to share some trivia here. As a Japanese, I have to say that many of the samurai photos on the Internet, although not seen in this video, are fakes. From the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period, many fake photos taken in photo studios were sold as souvenirs to foreigners. These photos were popular with foreigners because they showed ordinary people wearing armor and pretending to be samurai by imitating seppuku (ritual suicide) or practicing martial arts. In many cases, the only photos that can be authenticated are those in which the person in the photo is a famous samurai.

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• BA

  @baldyman1965 · 2 years ago

  I had no idea about any of this, two VCs awarded in Japan. Another great video. Thanks.

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• AL

  @alanowen5379 · 2 years ago

  Interesting episode. My Great grandfather served with the 10th Foot in Yokohama in 1868. He may have had a more interesting time than I first thought.

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• AD

  @adventuresinhistoryland5501 · 2 years ago

  Pleasure to work with you on the script! I loved writing the book!

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• C.

  @C.A.S.H.H.H · 1 year ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0jIssC8Mm0&amp;t=13">0:13</a> 😂 “splitters”

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• GE

  @geomod6850 · 2 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0jIssC8Mm0&amp;t=656">10:56</a> &nbsp;I stood up and put my hand over my heart. &nbsp;I salute you sir!

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• MU

  @MultiFkUtube · 2 years ago

  Its great that you are sharing events that most people have never heard about. However, I feel that this was told from a western POV and could have elaborated on the historical context. This era was a revolutionary period in Japanese history leading to the formation of the foundation of modern Japan. It all began with the Americans one day sailing to Edo with gunboats and enforcing one-sided trade agreements, soon followed by other European nations vying to expand influence in Asia. This was during the age of western imperialism, where underdeveloped civilizations were colonized and annexed. China, British Malays, French Indochina, etc. The Japanese knew about this and the fact that China was overtaken was a huge shock as China was considered the most advanced civilization in the region for most of history. As western nations began to influence the country through show of force, meddling with internal politics, demanding agreements that only merit the west and disadvantaged Japan, etc. etc. naturally many people considered their country to be threatened, risked being overtaken like all the other asian countries, and their way of life to be destroyed. So its important to clarify that there was cause on the west one way or another for any clashes.<br>Japan knew it was time for change and these events caused many many young men to think about what should be done, what course the country needs to take. Of course there were different factions, different views and conflicts of interest, etc. so it lead to civil war and incidents with western countries like what was covered in the video. This was an era full of energy, bred many brilliant people who took a country from the feudal era to the modern era in just a few decades. <br>One unfortunate lesson Japan learned from the whole experience was that they thought that Japan too must become imperialistic like all other modern nations at the time, or else risk being colonized, which influenced the path of foreign policy/national security strategy afterwards.

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