Japanese Ships | FX Shōgun Viewers Guide

The Erasmus is modeled after the Liefde, a Dutch galleon that ran aground in Japan in 1600. The Liefde ("Charity") was a 300-ton warship with 18 cannons aboard. 

Being smaller and lighter than the Portuguese carracks, the Dutch and English galleons were much faster and more maneuverable. In a sea battle, the galleons would be at a disadvantage if they were grappled by the carrack. The Portuguese could then shoot down onto the galleon's deck with firearms and small cannons. But because of their maneuverability, the galleons could keep their distance and hit and retreat before the black ship could fire back. 

In addition, a galleon had heavier cannons designed to blast the enemy's hull. With these advantages, the odds in a sea battle were very much in favor of a galleon's victory. That is why the Portuguese feared the Erasmus.

The famed and coveted Black Ship was the premiere trading vessel in Japan in 1600. A colossal Portuguese carrack, the Black Ship traded between the enemy nations of Japan and China, ferrying silk and silver between the two countries. 

Whoever controls the Black Ship controls trade. A new captain is appointed each year, and if that individual is successful, they will come into untold wealth. During our story, the captain of the Black Ship is the unscrupulous Ferriera. Cunning and quick, he refuses to engage in local politics as his mind is already on his journey back to Portugal.

Navigating the treacherous waters falls to his trusted pilot, Rodrigues, a true eccentric who has lived and traveled throughout Asia for the last decade. While captains of the Black Ship come and go, Rodrigues takes on whatever assignments pay the bills, sometimes piloting vessels for influential warlords like Toranaga. 

Heavily fortified, the hulking Black Ship dwarves all other vessels in Osaka harbor. Armed sailors constantly patrol the ship, protecting its valuable cargo. 

The Black Ship boasts an array of riches and oddities. Even dogs and monkeys are packed into the ship to be sold to wealthy merchants or gifted to Japanese nobles. 

Keenly aware of their profitable cargo, the crew works tirelessly to ensure they safely arrive at their destination. When sea travel was perilous and often deadly, successfully crewing the marquee ship in Asia became a mark of pride.

In history, the Portuguese ship that was sent from Macau to Japan every year was a gigantic ship called nau by the Portuguese and carrack by the English. The Japanese called it "the black ship" because of the thick black tar mixture applied to the hull for waterproofing. 

The wide deck made it a very stable ship, but it lacked speed. It had castle-like structures at the bow and stern, giving it a unique appearance. Weighing 1200 to 1500 tons, the black ship could carry all the imported products Japan needed for a year. Although the black ship was essentially a cargo ship and not a warship, it was invincible in Asian waters due to its sheer size and the cannons on its sides and stern.

Toranaga’s galley is a grand sekibune ship. It’s a fast and powerful vessel primarily designed for transportation. Unlike the Erasmus and the Black Ship, the galley was not constructed for years-long voyages. Instead, it primarily makes short trips around Japan. Because of this, there are no cabins for overnight stays. The galley allows Toranaga to bypass the laborious land journey from Edo to Osaka and permits easy visits to his coastal territories.

Although the galley is smaller than its European counterparts, it cannot be discounted on the water. It is highly maneuverable and acts as a large hangar for samurai armies. 

Ashigaru, or low-ranking samurai foot soldiers, row the ship in unison to the beat of a large taikō drum. When the ashigaru prepare the ship, they hang a multitude of colorful flags, providing spectacle and, crucially, identifying the warlord to his allies and enemies.

In the Sengoku period, a peculiar type of Japanese warship developed, of medium size (100 tons or less) and highly maneuverable due to its combination of sails and oars. They often had covered structures built on deck. 

These ships were called sekibune, meaning "checkpoint ship", because they were originally used by pirates to patrol the coasts and inland waters to collect tolls from passing ships. Unlike their European counterparts, Japanese galleys did not usually carry cannons. 

Only the largest Japanese galleys, called atakebune, occasionally mounted a few small cannons on their decks. Basically, sea battles were fought not by firing at the enemy, but by boarding the enemy's ship. In this way, the Japanese galleys were no match for the European ships. But they were superior in one aspect: mobility.