The Satsuma Samurai’s Hijacking Plot

Their strategy was to load eight small boats with a suicide squad disguised as watermelon merchants.

Once aboard, they were to draw their swords, ambush the crew, and commandeer the warships.

This squad actually included the very samurai who had slashed Richardson during the Namamugi Incident, as well as Kiyotaka Kuroda, who would later become Japan's second Prime Minister.

Two of the small boats pulled up directly alongside the British flagship, HMS Euryalus, and displayed their watermelons.

But contrary to the Satsuma samurai's expectations, the British sailors gestured that they didn't want any.

The disguised samurai stubbornly lingered until the British fleet's interpreter, Siebold, appeared on deck to ask what their business was.

The squad claimed they had brought a letter, to which Siebold replied that only the single man carrying the dispatch would be allowed to board.

When the first Japanese man climbed up, Siebold asked if he had the letter, but the man said no.

Then a second man climbed up.

As men continued to pour onto the ship one after another, Siebold grew angry and tried to stop any more from boarding.

Right at that moment, one of the squad members told Siebold that the person carrying the letter was a member of the Shimazu clan.

Siebold went below deck and reemerged a short while later with several officers.

Looking quite furious, he announced, "Gentlemen, you are all permitted to board."

By that time, however, almost everyone had already made their way onto the ship anyway.

They realized that even if they managed to hijack a single vessel, it would immediately be blown out of the water by the rest of the fleet.

To avoid needless casualties, the hijacking plot was ultimately called off.

The Satsuma Samurai’s Hijacking Plot

On June 27, 1863, just before the outbreak of the Anglo-Satsuma War, the British brought a fleet of seven warships into Kagoshima Bay.

Their strategy was to load eight small boats with a suicide squad disguised as watermelon merchants.

Once aboard, they were to draw their swords, ambush the crew, and commandeer the warships.

This squad actually included the very samurai who had slashed Richardson during the Namamugi Incident, as well as Kiyotaka Kuroda, who would later become Japan's second Prime Minister.

Two of the small boats pulled up directly alongside the British flagship, HMS Euryalus, and displayed their watermelons.

But contrary to the Satsuma samurai's expectations, the British sailors gestured that they didn't want any.

The squad claimed they had brought a letter, to which Siebold replied that only the single man carrying the dispatch would be allowed to board.

When the first Japanese man climbed up, Siebold asked if he had the letter, but the man said no.

Then a second man climbed up.

Siebold asked him the same question, and he too said no.

As men continued to pour onto the ship one after another, Siebold grew angry and tried to stop any more from boarding.

Right at that moment, one of the squad members told Siebold that the person carrying the letter was a member of the Shimazu clan.

He argued that it was a matter of basic etiquette for him to board with a large retinue of followers, demanding to know why only one person was being permitted.

Siebold went below deck and reemerged a short while later with several officers.

Looking quite furious, he announced, "Gentlemen, you are all permitted to board."

By that time, however, almost everyone had already made their way onto the ship anyway.

In the end, about 40 members of the suicide squad successfully infiltrated the Euryalus.

However, because the other squads failed to board the remaining six ships, the men on the flagship were forced to retreat.

They realized that even if they managed to hijack a single vessel, it would immediately be blown out of the water by the rest of the fleet.

To avoid needless casualties, the hijacking plot was ultimately called off.

The Satsuma Samurai’s Hijacking Plot

On June 27, 1863, just before the outbreak of the Anglo-Satsuma War, the British brought a fleet of seven warships into Kagoshima Bay.

Their strategy was to load eight small boats with a suicide squad disguised as watermelon merchants.

Once aboard, they were to draw their swords, ambush the crew, and commandeer the warships.

Two of the small boats pulled up directly alongside the British flagship, HMS Euryalus, and displayed their watermelons.

The disguised samurai stubbornly lingered until the British fleet's interpreter, Siebold, appeared on deck to ask what their business was.

The squad claimed they had brought a letter, to which Siebold replied that only the single man carrying the dispatch would be allowed to board.

When the first Japanese man climbed up, Siebold asked if he had the letter, but the man said no.

Then a second man climbed up.

Siebold asked him the same question, and he too said no.

As men continued to pour onto the ship one after another, Siebold grew angry and tried to stop any more from boarding.

Right at that moment, one of the squad members told Siebold that the person carrying the letter was a member of the Shimazu clan.

He argued that it was a matter of basic etiquette for him to board with a large retinue of followers, demanding to know why only one person was being permitted.

Siebold went below deck and reemerged a short while later with several officers.

By that time, however, almost everyone had already made their way onto the ship anyway.

In the end, about 40 members of the suicide squad successfully infiltrated the Euryalus.

However, because the other squads failed to board the remaining six ships, the men on the flagship were forced to retreat.

They realized that even if they managed to hijack a single vessel, it would immediately be blown out of the water by the rest of the fleet.

To avoid needless casualties, the hijacking plot was ultimately called off.