Treasure 64: Ho Sho Maru Logbook (1869)

The Ho Sho Maru was the first iron-clad warship in Japan. It was built in 1868 by Aberdeen shipyard Alexander Hall & Co. The gunboat was a barque rigged steamer equipped with two 110-pound and two 60-pound guns on deck. Aberdeen City Libraries hold a number of logbooks from Aberdeen-built ships, including the log book detailing the maiden voyage of the Ho Sho Maru from Aberdeen to Japan.

The vessel was ordered by the Choshu clan and brokered by Fraserburgh born trader and industrialist Thomas Blake Glover. The Choshu were one of the two main actors, with the Satsuma clan, in the rebellion against the Tokugawa Shogunate. The rebellion led to the Meiji Restoration and enormous changes in the political and social structure of Japan.