商船用主機をめぐる明治前半期諸状況

Abstract

This paper is an excerpt from the manuscripts written by the two subcommittees, i.e., the Bioler Subcommittee and the Reciprocating Engine Subcommittee, of the Marine Engineering History Committee of the MESJ. The manuscript was completed after 10 years of hard work, but has not yet been published because of various adverse conditions. This paper is the first of the serial papers which will appear in this Journal twice a year to introduce the content of the manuscript to members of MESJ.The history of western style marine engineering and shipbuilding in Japan started in the last 15 years of the feudal Tokugawa Age, which was succeeded by the Meiji Era. The Tokugawa Government hired Dutch and French consultants, constructed Nagasaki and Yokosuka Shipyard by importing all tools and machineries from abroad, and constructed its navy. The Meiji Government that succeeded inherited nearly all of them, and eagerly constructed navy and mercantile marine under a new system. The first half of the Meiji Era, from 1868 to 1893, had seen a very rapid development of marine engineering and shipbuilding technology. After reviewing the preceding Tokugawa era, this paper describes the rise of western style shipping and shipbuilding in Japan in this period. Two tables on the propulsion machinery installed in home-made and imported new ships are given. The rapid progress is the result of the cooperative effort of the government and the industry.