Story: A train commissioned by the Japanese Government was built by Yorkshire Engine Co., Meadow Hall Works in 1871. Today it stands at the old Yokohama train station, having been restored in 2020. Engine 25 was one of 10 that was commissioned by the Japanese government. It changed numbers many times. From the beginning it didn’t work properly. Yet the ‘Yorkshire’ is one of the oldest, the most looked after and loved steam locomotives in Japan.
The Recovery: Multimedia artist Seiko has created and installed six banners to capture this unlikely connection between Japan and Sheffield. She considers the locomotive’s impact on the Japanese way of life at a time when the country was discovering the latest version of itself, trying to keep Japanese tradition, resisting western influences, while learning from new technology. Symptom and symbol of a tumultuous time, Sieko states, “I think Yorkshire Engine train has been like an old Japanese proverb. The more difficult the child is, the cuter it is’.
Why did a train have to run over the sea?
No.110 was one of the 10 steam locomotives of 5 styles imported from England for Japan's first railway opened in 1872 (Keihin line: Between Yokohama and Shinbashi). It came through the newly opened Suez canal, and was manufactured by Yorkshire Engine Co., Meadow Hall Works in 1871 (manufacturing number 164), and was the only Yorkshire-made steam locomotive in Japan, operated by Japanese National Railways and private railways.
It was said that No.10’s performance was not very good. In 1873, F.C. Christie, the railway inspector in charge of the Keihin area at the time, submitted a report giving the train the lowest rating out of 10 steam locomotives. However, a steam locomotive researcher Shigenobu Usui suggests in his book Locomotive Genealogy Chart 1 (1972), Yorkshire Engine Co at that time was a highly capable manufacturer with skilled engineers, and it is difficult to imagine that only the products exported to Japan were of particularly bad quality. He suspected that this result may have been due to poor assembly after arrival or faulty valve settings. The fact that this machine was used for 50 years without undergoing any major modifications like Vulcan's 1 (150 type) and Doves' 8 and 9 (190 type). He points out that this may be proof of this.
The opening of the railway became the cornerstone of Japan's urbanization, but things did not go smoothly from the beginning. At the time, the Japanese national treasury did not have enough leeway, and many Samurai clans including Takamori Saigo strongly opposed the construction of the railway, advocating that `the top priority should be to build up military forces to counter the Western powers that were promoting colonialism.'' Furthermore, the issue of purchasing land for building a railway where the domain residences and naval training grounds of the Ministry of Military Affairs were located, also hindered the construction of the railway.
Shigenobu Okuma, who presided over the construction of the railway, proposed running a sea railway from Takanawa to Shinagawa as a solution to the problem. He gave instructions to build a long embankment in the sea and lay a railway there. Edmund Morel, the chief architect who had been invited to Japan from England to work on the railway, was astonished at the idea's boldness and eccentricity, saying, ``This is the first time I've been asked to build a railway into the ocean!''
East versus West
Japan was experiencing a rapid change of lifestyle after opening the border to foreign countries. The embankment built in the sea was reinforced with stone walls, and a railroad track was laid in the center. Interestingly, two stone layering techniques were used. The sea side of the stone wall had a gentle slope to suppress the influence of waves, and the stone walls were piled up one tier at a time using a 布積み``cloth stacking'' method, (western style) whereas the mountain side was almost vertical and the stones were stacked diagonally in a 谷積み``tani-zumi'' method (Japanese traditional style).
This clash of cultures extended to other elements of the railway. Many Samurai had to get a job to survive and were involved in the construction of this first railway. At the time there was a law that Samurai had to wear or carry a sword outside the house. However, this caused problems as it interfered with the magnet measuring machines at the construction site. Therefore a special rule was established in 1871 that indicated Samurai didn't always need to wear a sword. This was rule was made stricter in 1876 when Samurai were instructed that they could not have a sword at all.
‘The SOUND’ was very important part of Japanese life at that time. At the station, a departure of train was informed by the sound of Taiko drum. At the opening ceremony of railway on 14th October 1872, 雅楽(gagaku)Japanese classic music established around 10th century were played. They played different songs at each Departure & Arrivals.
Departure of Shinbashi station: 雅楽 萬歳楽
Arrival of Yokohama Station:雅楽 慶雲楽
Departure of Yokohama: 雅楽 陸玉
Arrival of Shinbashi: 雅楽 還城楽
On the opening day of railway, A foreign train driver wanted to show off his skills by blowing away Keihinkan, so he surprised the people on the Yokohama side by arriving 30 minutes early on the train, which was scheduled to run in about an hour.
Considering the comfort of the passenger car, the passengers must have felt very scared and wouldn’t have felt alive. At that time, people watched and described the train run as if it were the sound of thunder.『万雷の轟くが如し』 Many foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialised knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan, especially for building the first railway and running trains. They have complained: Japanese people are loose with their time. It is totally opposite to be known from current Japanese features.
I think this shows the unique time of Japan, trying to keep Japanese tradition, fighting over western influences as well as learning new technology.
