🗺️ Embusubana Shipyard Ruins恵美須ヶ鼻造船所跡

In the 6th year of the Kaei era (1853), when the Black Ships arrived in Japan, the Edo Shogunate, in an effort to strengthen military and maritime defense capabilities, required each domain to begin constructing large ships. The Hagi Domain built two warships at the Emizubana Shipyard in the 3rd year of the Ansei era (1856). These were the "Heishin Maru," constructed in 1856 using Russian shipbuilding techniques, and the "Koshin Maru," built in the 1st year of the Man'en era (1860) using Dutch technology. During the late Edo period, this shipyard was unique in employing two different shipbuilding techniques. The stone breakwater that remains at the port today is the only confirmed site of a shipyard from that era, and it has received high praise. In 2015, it was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site as part of the "Meiji Japan Industrial Revolution Heritage: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industries," and it is included as part of the "Hagi Industrial Heritage Group" alongside Hagi Castle Town and the Matsushita Shōjuku. In the vicinity of the breakwater, remnants of the blacksmith workshop and the living quarters of ship carpenters from that time have been discovered, allowing one to feel the atmosphere of Japan before it opened to the outside world. The Hagi Reflecting Furnace, one of the "Hagi Industrial Heritage Group," is also within walking distance.

The shipyard established by the Hagi domain during the late Edo period. At that time, two warships were built using Russian and Dutch technology. Today, the port retains the stone breakwater from that era. It is registered as a World Heritage site along with the Hagi Reflecting Furnace and other sites as part of the "Hagi Industrial Heritage Group."