Kaishū Submits a Coastal-Defense Memorial

Perry’s 1853 arrival prompted the shogunate to request advice about its response. Katsu Kaishū, a hatamoto who had studied Dutch, submitted a memorial on coastal defense. His technical learning included copying a Dutch–Japanese dictionary before the crisis.

The proposals emphasized building warships and appointing capable personnel without restricting selection to inherited standing. Ships would require people able to operate them, making recruitment part of defense alongside equipment. The government’s search for usable advice gave Kaishū a route from private study into recognized technical service.

In 1855 he went to the newly established Nagasaki Naval Training Center to learn ship handling. This is a concrete sequel to the recognized memorial. His later Pacific voyage and work on naval education followed additional instruction and appointments; they do not establish that the memorial immediately created a navy or that every proposal became policy.