小栗上野介と横須賀

　Oguri Kouzukenosuke and Yokosuka

　小栗忠順の生い立ち

　小栗は、父・忠高と母・邦子の長男、そして小栗家12代目として、文政10(1827）年、江戸神田駿河台（現在の千代田区神田駿河台）で生まれました。
　小栗家の当主は代々「又一」を名乗りました。これは徳川家康に仕えた４代目の忠政が、槍で家康を救い、家康は忠政にほうびとして槍を与え、その後の戦いでも、「又も一番槍は忠政」と評判かたち、家康が「今後は又一を名乗るように」と命じたことから「又一」の名か受け継がれるようになりました。
　小栗は9歳（年齢は数え年）の時から、小栗家の敷地内にあった儒学者・安積艮斎の塾へ入っています。この安積の塾には咸臨丸でアメリカに渡った木村喜毅（芥舟）、三菱財閥の創業者･岩崎弥太郎らとともに小栗の生涯を通しての友人であり、協力者であった喜多村瀬兵衛（後の栗本鋤雲）がいました。
　小栗はこの塾に通いながら剣術や柔術、砲術も学んでいます。小柄であり、そう丈夫ではありませんでしたが負けん気と、好奇心は人一倍強く、くどくどと言うことは嫌いな江戸っ子的な面も持っていました。
　天保14(1843)年3月、17歳の小栗は初めて江戸城へ登城し、御目見え（将軍に拝謁すること）し、その後、学芸と武術に秀でているとのことで、将軍の護衛役になりました。その数年後、小栗は建部家の長女・道子と結婚をしています。小栗22歳、道子15歳のころといわれており、初々しいカップルの誕生でした。
　そして、嘉永6(1853)年にペリーが来航し、わが国が開国の道を歩み始めると、小栗の獅子奮迅の活躍か始まります。

　Background of Oguri Tadamasa

　Oguri was born in 10th year of the Bunsei Period (1827)，in Kandasurugadai，Edo(current-day Chjyoda-ku，Tokyo)，the eldest son of his father，Tadataka and his mother，Ｋuniko and the 12th in the Oguri line.
　Traditionally，the head of the Oguri household was called "Mataichi".The reason for this dates back to the time of the 4th generation Oguri，0guri Tadamasa.When the 4th Oguri was in the service of future shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu，he look up a spear at the critical moment during a battle and saved his lord's life. After the battle，Tokugawa leyasu rewarded him with the same spear and，thereafter,he always aimed to be at the head of the army in battle(ichiban-yari:"first spear").His Position as ichiban-yari became so expected that leyasu eventually ordered that he take the name Mataichi, a combination of the characters for “again”and “first”,and the name was then passed down through the Oguri line.
　From the age of nine (according to the way of reckoning age whereby children are considered a year old at birth, and then add a year to their age at the new year),0guri attended thc school of Confucianist scholar Asaka Gonsai, on the grounds of the Oguri residence. Also attending this school were Kimura Yoshitake (Ｋimura Kaishu),who later travel to the United States on the Kanrin-maru，Iwasaki Yataro,the founder of Mitsubishi Group and, working as an assistant，Kitamura Sehei (later known as Ｋurimoto Joun),who would become a lifelong friend of Oguri.
　While attending school，he studied the arts of swordplay, jujutsu and gunnery. Small in size and not especially robust, he nevertheless possessed a well1-developed fighting instinct and an unusually powerful curiosity. He also possessed the dislike excessive and meaningless talk characleristic of the “Edokko”(a native of Edo).
　In March of the 14th year on the Tenpo Period (1843)，when he was 17 years old, 0guri paid his first visit Edo Castle and had his first audience with the shogun. Before long，word of his excellencc in the fields of both the liberal and military arts had spread aｎd he wａs made an escort to the shogun.Several years later he married his wife,eldest daughter of the Takebe family.With Oguri reputedly just 22 and Michiko just 155,they made a charming young couple.
However it was not until the arrival of the United States Navy's Commander Perry in the 6th year of the Kaei Period(1853),and Japan took its first steps towards opening to the world,that Oguri's efforts began to take on a furious energy.

　小栗登場

　ペリーやロシアのプチャーチンの来航が和親条約を結ぶかたちで一段落した、安政2（1855）年7月 29歳の時、父・忠･高が新潟奉行として赴任中に病死をしたため、小栗が12代目として家督を相続しました。
　安政5(1858)年6月、勅許を得ぬまま大老井伊掃部頭直弼によって［日米修好通商条約］が調印されました。この調印には幕府内部でも賛否両論がありましたが、小栗は一貫して「貿易というものは、座って待っているものではない。自ら進んで海外に出て通商貿易をやるべきだ」との考えを持っていました。
　また、幕府内部の条約慎重派の人々に対しては、「国の政治を預かるものは、徳川家よりも国家を重視する決心を持つべきである」と考えていました。
　そして、翌年この通商条約の批准書の交換かアメリカで行われることになり、幕府はその使節団を送り込むことになりました。当初、幕府か決めていた人たちがさまざまな理由で行かれなくなり、9月になって正使・新見豊前守正興、副使・村垣淡路守範正、目付・小栗忠順と決まりました。
　新見や村垣はすでに幕府の要職にありましたが、小栗は大抜擢といってよいでしょう。小栗はこの拝命の前日に幕府の目付に任命され、さらにこの年の11月に豊後守に叙せられました。なぜ、小栗か選出されたのか明確な答えは得られませんが、知的能力が高く、論理的であり、正義感か強く感受性に富んでいることや、先にあげた小栗の貿易に対する考え方などが、井伊大老の耳に入り、抜擢されたものと思われます。

　Oguri Takes the Stage

　Following the arrivals of Commodore Perry and Russian Vice-Admiral Putiatin，and the consequent settling of the Treaties of Peace and Amity with the United States and Russia,Oguri's father died from sickness whilst serving as magistrate in Niigata City and Oguri， in July of the 2nd“year of the Ansei Period(1855)at Just 29 years of age，succeeded as the12th generation head of the family.
　In June of the 5th year of the Ansei Period(1858)，and without the emperor's sanction，Minister Ii Kamonnokami Naosuke signed the United States-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce,Within the shogunate government， debate still existed concerning the pros and cons of signing the treaty but， from the beginning Oguri was a consistent proponent of the notion that,“Trade is not something for which one can just sit and wait. We should take it upon ourselves to enter the international community and pursue trade and commerce.”
　In answer to those factions within the shogunate who were cautious of the treaty he said，“The important thing about who holds responsibility for the country's administration，is not whether they are a Tokugawa，but whether they Possess the determination and resolve to place the emphasis on the good of the nation.”
　It was decided that the shogunate would send a delegation to the United States，to take part in the treaty's exchange of the instruments of ratification to take place there the following year.　For various reasons,the representatives that the government initially intended to send were unable to go so,in September,it was decided that Shinmi Buzennokami Masaoki would go as senior envoy， Ｍuragaki Awajinokami Norimasa as deputy envoy and Oguri Tadamasa as metuke(a form of inspection officer).
　Shinmi and Muragaki already held important posts in the shogunate govemment but for Ogurit it must have been a considerable promotion. Just one day prior to this appointment,he had been promoted to the post of metsuke,and in November of the same year he was named to the rank of bungonokami.Why Oguri was chosen for this responsibility cannot be said with any certainty, but it is thought that word of Oguni's sagacity，sensitivity and keen sense of logic and Justice， and his opinions regarding such issues as commerce and trade，must have come to the attention of Minister Ii.

　この大抜擢の陰で、小栗には一つの大きな密命か課せられました。それは通貨の交換比率の不公平を是正することでした。当時、「日米修好通商条約」により、諸外国の貨帑は日本の貨幣と「同種同量」をもって通用すると決められ、例えば「1メキシコドル銀貨＝１分銀3枚」という交換比率でした。ところが、金と銀の交換比率は、海外では金の価値が日本よりも3倍も高いものでした。この比価の違いが、日本からの金（金貨）の大量流失を招いていたのでした。
　この金流失の背景には日本側の事情かありました。1両の4分の1貨幣として1分金かありましたが、当時、金の生産量が少なくなってきたため、新たに１分銀という貨幣をつくり、これを1分金貨幣として流通させていました。つまり。1両（金貨）は、1分銀(銀貨)4枚と等価としたのです。
　例えば、1メキシコドル銀貨100枚を持ってきて、1分銀300枚と交換します。これを小判（金貨）に替えると75両になります。この小判を持ち帰って再びメキシコドル銀貨に替えると、１ドル銀貨300枚と交換できることになり、いとも簡単に最初の100ドルを300ドルに増やすことかできたのでした。
　小栗は、フィラデルフィアの造幣局の一室で、日米の貨幣の金含有量をそろばんと天秤ばかりで瞬く間に計算し、周囲を驚かせるとともに。こうした不公平さをアメリカ側に納得させたのでした。
　これで小栗のアメリカ側の評価が一躍高まります。それまでの目付を直訳した「スパイ」から、小柄ではあるが威厳と知性と信念が不思議に混ざっている男として、また「ＮＯ」をはっきり言える人として見直されたのでした。
　このアメリカでの見聞が、後の小栗の行動に大きな影響を与えます。

　Behind the promotion，Oguri was also assigned a secret task:to identify and rectify any imbalances in the currency exchange rate.
　According to the Treaty of Amity and Commerce,it was decided that currency exchange should be conducted on a basis of“same type，same amount" ,and the rate was fixed at one Mexican silver dollar for three Japanese silver coins.However the matter was complicated by the fact that,at the time，the value of gold was three times higher outside of Japan than within. This disparity threatened the loss of great quantities of gold and gold coins from Japan.
　At the time there were smaller gold pieces in existence,four of which were equa1 to the larger Japanese gold coin, the koban.However,due to the low production volume for gold coins,it had been decided that new silver pieces would be produced and circulated as the equivalent of the smaller gold piece. In other words,one koban became equal to four silver pieces.
　This meant that 100 Mexican silver dollars could be exchanged for 300 Japanese silver pieces which, if changed into gold would be worth 75 koban.If this gold was then taken outside of Japan and changed back into Mexican dollars，it would be worth 300 Mexican silver dollars,three times the original amount.
　0guri took himself to an office at the Philadelphia Mint and,in no time at all,armed only with scales and an abacus，calculated the go1d content of the Japanese and United States currencies and, to the surprise of everybody,made the American authorities recognize this disparity.
　After this,Oguri's estimation in the eyes of the United States authorities took a leap.Until that time he had been seen as just a metsuke，little more than a spy， but he soon came to be seen as a man who,despite his small stature,possessed a curious mixture of dignity,intellect and conviction,and who was quite able to express himself directly and give a firm “no”,shoud he feel the need.
　This experience in the United States would prove a great influence upon the actions of the man in the future.

　勘定奉行小栗

　約9カ月のアメリカ、いや世界一周に近い大旅行から帰ってきた小栗を待っていたのは、大きく変わり始めていた国内情勢でした。
　万延元（1860）年11月に外国奉行に就任し、その直後の12月にアメリカ公使館のヒュースケンか薩摩藩士に殺害されました。
　さらに文久元(1861)年3月、ロシア軍艦が対馬を占拠しました。報告を受けた幕府は、外国奉行の小栗を対馬へ派遣して問題解決を図ろうとしましたが、ロシアを退去させることには失敗します。このことで外交の難しさと幕府の無策さを知った小栗は、外国奉行の辞任を申し出ます。
　この事件を通して、小栗は幕府の経済力と軍事力の弱さを痛感し、これがやがて横須賀製鉄所・建設を決意する糸口となったのです。
　翌年3月には御小姓組番頭（今で言う秘書兼警護人）を命ぜられ、5月には軍政御用取調（今で言う防衛担当）、6月 には勘定奉行に任せられ、上野介と改めています。小栗36歳の時です。勘定奉行とは、幕府の財政担当であり、この時代、外交と財政が幕府にとって最も頭の痛い問題でした。小栗はこの勘定奉行に就いたり、辞めたりを繰り返し、慶応4(1868)年1月に罷免されるまでに4度も勤めています。このことから小栗がいかに財政問題に精通していたかが分かります。

遣米使節航路概略図(1)
Course Followed by the Japanese Delegation

　Oguri:Magistrate of Accounts

　When Oguri returned from his nine-month-long visit o the United States, he found the state of affairs within his country one of burgeoning radical changes.
　In November of the 1st year on the Manen Period(1860)，he took office as foreign magistrate and,just one month later, Mr.Heusken,an interpreter for the United States Legation,was killed by a member of the Satsuma Clan.
　Following this in March of the 1st year of the Bunkyu Period (1861)，a Russian warship occupied Tsushima Island in current-day Nagasaki Prefecture. When the government received word of this, 0guri,in his capacity as foreign magistrate， was sent to Tsushima lsland with the task of solving the problem， in the end failing to make the Russians withdraw. lt was this incident which brought home to Oguri the difficulties inherent in diplomacy and the lack of policy of the shogunate government and he submitted his resignation from the office of foreign magistrate.
　The incident also revealed to Oguri the shogunate's lack of economic and military strength，and it was this that would,before long， spell the beginning of his resolve towards the establishment of the Yokosuka Arsenal.
　In March the following year he was appointed to a position as secretary and bodyguard in May to the position of defense representative, and in June to the position of Magistrate of Accounts,and given the name “Kozukenosuke". By this time Oguri was 36 years old. As Magistrale of Accounts, he was responsible for the government's finances, which was,along with diplomacy,one of the shogunate's two greatest headaches at that time. 0guri went through periods of repeated appointment and resignation from the post and,by the time of his dismissal in January of the 4th year of the Keio Period (1868),0guri had taken up the position four times.This shows his expertise in matters of finance.

遣米使節航路概略図(2)
Course Followed by the Japanese Delegation

　横須賀製鉄所の建設

　元治元(1864)年8月、小栗は再び勘定奉行になりました。そのころ幕府軍艦の翔鶴丸が破損し、その修理をたまたま横浜に寄港していたフランス軍艦に頼み、この修理が完璧であったことから、フランスは幕府の信頼を得ることかできました。しかもこの修理について、幕府とフランスとの橋渡しをしたのか、小栗か最も信頼していた友人の栗本鋤雲でした。
　小栗は、本格的な造船所と修理施設の建設を念願していましたが､頼りにしていたアメリカは南北戦争の最中で、日本へ技術援助をする余裕がありませんでした。といってイギリスは薩摩藩、長州藩に接近していて、アヘン戦争のこともあるので避けたい。またロシアは対馬での苦い思いかあり、これも技術援助を頼むことかできないでいました。
　こうした状況の時に、フランスとの交渉を信頼できる友と共にできることになり、喜んだ小栗は、早速駐日フランス公使ロッシュを訪ねました。ロッシュにしても日本の公使に任命された時に、東洋進出が遅れていたフランスの地位を取り戻すように命令されていました。

　The Establishment of the Yokosuka Arsenal

　ln August of the 1st year of the Genji Period(1864)，0guri once again became Magistrate of Accounts. Around this time,a shogunate vessel,the Shokaku-maru was damaged and requested aid in repairs from a French ship which happened to be in port at Yokohama at the time. The repairs were completed perfectly and，in this way， France was able to earn the trust of the shogunate.ln addition,the man who facilitated relations between the Japanese government and France during the repairs,was none other than Oguri's most trusted friend, Kurimoto Joun.
　Oguri longed to establish a true dockyard and repair facility,but he could not look to the United States for assistance as they were in the middle of the Civil War and did not have the luxury of providing technical support to Japan.England was to be avoided due to their dealings with the Satsuma and Choshu Clans,and their involvement in the Opium War. As for Russia、relations were still bitter after the incident at Tsushima and he could not turn to them for aid.
　0guri was greatly pleased then,to find himself in a position where his close friend could assist in negotiations with the French and he immediately paid a visit to French Minister Roche.Roche too,when he was appointed as minister to Japan, had been charged with regaining status for France, which had been late in penetrating the Orient.

　両者の思惑が一致しているので、話はとんとん拍子に進み、11月小栗とロッシュによって、製鉄所（明治４年横須賀造船所に改称）の首長の件が話し合われました。
　この会談の結果、中国の上海にいた技師ヴェルニーに正式依頼することとし、建設予定地には万延元(1860)年以来、製鉄所が開設されるまで複数の外国船修理の実績を持つ横須賀村が、水深や石造りのドライドックを据えられる岩盤の硬さ、さらに地形がフランスを代表する港ツーロンに似ていることなどから第一候補になりました。
　元治2（1865）年正月、来日したヴェルニーは横須賀港を測量し、ロッシュへ横須賀製鉄所建設に関する報告をすると、ロッシュと幕府の間で正式に建設計画が承詔されました。
　小栗の製鉄所建設は幕府内外から批判を浴びましたが、小栗はそのような雑説には一切耳を貸さず、「どうしても必要な造船所を造ると言えば、冗費を削る口実となってよい。横須賀製鉄所かできれば、幕府かほかに政権を譲ることになっても、土蔵付きの売家として渡すぐらい価値あるものとなり、名誉なことである」と語ったといいます。
　小栗は、政権かどのように変わろうとも、この造船所が日本の近代化に大きな役割を果たすであろうと確信していたのでした。

　As the two had complementary goals，talks progressed very quickly and smoothly and,in November, discussion had already taken place between Oguri and Roche concerning the appointment of an overseer for the proposed steelworks(renamed the Yokosuka Arsenal in the 4th year of the Meiji Period(1871).
　As a result of these talks， it was decided that a formal request would be made for Mr. Verny,an engineer currently posted in Shanghai, China，while the village of Yokosuka was selected as the first choice for the site of the steelworks. Yokosuka had already been involved in the repair of foreign vessels since the 1st year of the Manen Period(1860)，possessed shores of an appropriate depth and with a bedrock capable of supporting dry-docks， and had a marked similarity to the geography of France's Port of Toulon.
　In January of the 2th year of the Genji Period (1865),Verny arrived in Japan and conducted a survey of Yokosuka Port.He made his report concerning the construction of the Yokosuka steelworks to Minister Roche,and the minister and the shogunate government granted their official approval on the construction plan.
　0guri's plan for the construction of the steelworks received much criticism from within and without the government,but Oguri refused to listen.He is attributed with saying,“A shipyard is a necessity,if only to cut down on unnecessary expenditure.Even if the shogunate should lose the reins of power,the construction of a steelworks at Yokosuka would be an honorable treasure to leave to posterity,on a par with leaving behind a house with a treasure house."
　Oguri was convinced that, regardless of who held the reins of power within the Japanese government,the Yokosuka Arsenal would play an important role in the modernization of the nation.

　横須賀製鉄所が新政府の手に

　慶応4(1868)年閏4月1日、江戸幕府か本格的な洋式造船施設として設立した横須賀裂鉄所が新政府に引き継がれました。この年の１月に京都の鳥羽・伏見口で始まった「戊辰戦争」と呼ばれる戦いでは、新政府軍が幕府軍を圧倒していました。
　こうした状況下でもフランス人の指導のもと、着実に製鉄所建設の工事は続けられました。江戸へ進駐した新政府軍によって、前月の4月21日、神奈川裁判所総督になった東久世通禧と横須賀製鉄所奉行の一色直温らとの引き渡し交渉が行われました。さらに24日には、フランス人の取り扱いについてフランス公使との協議も終わり、横須賀裂鉄所に勤めていた首長ヴェルニーら33名と横浜製鉄所の12名は、そのまま新政府が行う造船施設に勤務することになり、工事途中のドックや船台も引き続き工事を行うことになりました。
　閏4月6日、上野国群馬郡権田村(現在の高崎市倉渕町)を流れる烏川の水沼河原で、罪もない一人の武士か斬首されました。この人物こそ、横須賀に造船所を建設することを決定した小栗上野介忠順でした。
　小栗はこの戦争か始まると新政府軍との徹底抗戦を主張し、15代将軍・慶喜に「御役御免」を言い渡されます。このため、領地である権田村へ妻子や、供の侍たちと帰農していましたが、新政府軍に捕らえられ、審判もないままに処刑されたのです。享年42歳でした。

　The Yokosuka Arsenal in the Hands of the Meiji Government

　On the 1st of April in the 4th year of the Keio Period (1868)，the Yokosuka Arsenal,established as a genuine Western-style shipbuilding facility,was handed over to the new Meiji government.This followed the breaking out,in January of the same year,of the Boshin War at Toba and Fushimi-guchi al the entrance to Kyoto,and the subsequent defeat of the forces of the shogunate at the hands of the Meiji government troops.
　Even during these turbulent times, under the supervision of the Frenchman Vermy，work on the steelworks continued steadily.The Meiji government had occupied Edo and,on the21st of the month preceding the handover on the steelworks, negotiations for the handover were conducted by Higashikuze Michitomi,Governor-General of the Kanagawa Court and lsshiki Naoatsu,Magistrate for the Yokosuka Arsenal. 0n the 24th of the same month, discussions with the French Minister concerning the involvement of France were concluded and it was decided that Vermy and his 33 French engineers, and the 12 engineers from the Yokohama steelworks, would continue work under the new government as they had under the old,and unfinished work on the dry-docks and shipbuilding berths would continue.
　０n April 6,by the side on the Karasu-gawa River where it runs through the village of Gonda， Gunma-gun，Kozuke-no-kuni(current-day Kurabuchi,Takasaki City，Gunma Prefcture)，an innocent samurai was beheaded. The man was none other than the one responsible for the creation of the Yokosuka Arsenal, 0guri Kozukenosuke Tadamasa.
　At the outbreak of the Boshin War, 0guri asserted his rejection of the new regime and was dismissed by the 15th of the Tokugawa line and then shogun, Yoshinobu.He then retreated to his farm at Gonda Village (part of his fief)with his wife children and retainers, but was taken by the new authorities and excuted without trial.He was 42 years old.

　小栗の功績

　小栗は横須賀製鉄所のほかにも、鉄道建設(江戸～横浜間)、国立銀行､電信・郵便制度、郡県制度の創設や、また商工会議所や株式会社組織など近代的な経営方法をも発案していました。
　これらは明治以降、新政府の手で次々に実現され、急速に近代国家としての形を整えていきましたが、その陰には小栗が旧弊を打破し、近代国家に向けて推進しようとしていたことが、浸透し始めていたことを忘れてはなりません。
　小栗の尽力によって建設された横須賀製鉄所は、造船や船の修理分野ばかりでなく、さまざまな分野でかかわっていきます。日本初の洋式灯台である観音埼灯台の建設や、幕末に閉山同様になっていた生野銀山（兵庫県）に製作した採鉱機械や蒸気機関などを送り、見事に再生させました。また、生糸生産の近代化を推進した官営富岡製糸工場（群馬県）の基本設計・機械類の製作や、綿糸生産のための官営愛知紡蹟所のタービン水車も横須賀製でした。
　このように､わが国の近代工業の発展と近代化の推進に必要な輸出産業育成に､横須賀製鉄所が果たした役割の大きさは､計り知れないものがありました。
　明治・大正の政界・言論界の重鎮であった大隈重信は、後年「小栗上野介は謀殺される運命にあった。なぜなら、明治政府の近代化政策は、そっくり小栗のそれを模倣したものだから」と語ったといわれています。
　現代にも通じるものがある激動期の幕末に、類まれなる先見性と行政手腕を発揮した小栗の功績は、近年あらためて見直されています。横須賀市では、毎年式典を開催し、小栗の功績をたたえています。

※本書中の日付は旧暦で表記しています。

　Oguri's Achievements

　Oguri was not only responsible for the establishment of the Yokosuka Arsenal,but he also proposed the establishment of a railway (between Edo and Yokohama)，a national bank,telegraphic and postal systems and the country and prefecture system，and also such modern administrative methods as the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce and Industry and joint-stock company bodies.
　These were all realized one-by-one by the new government during and after the Meiji Period, laying the foundations for Japan's rapid development into a modern nation，but it is important to remember also the contributions and efforts of Oguri in breaking the mould and taking those first active steps towards modernization.
　The Yokosuka Arsenal， built on the hard work of Oguri, was not just involved with shipbuilding and repairs, but has also been involved in various other fields of endeavor.The Yokosuka Arsenal was the site for the construction of Kannonzaki Lighthouse,Japan's first Western-style lighlhouse, and for the construction of mining machinery and steam engines used in the rejuvenation of lkuno silver mine (Hyogo Prefecture),which had been closed down at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Also, the basic design of and machinery for the Tomioka Silk Mill(Gunma Prefcture)，which pioneered the modernization of silk thread production,and the turbine water wheels used in cotton yarn production at the Aichi Spinning Mill,were all created at the Arsenal.
　In this way we can see the immeasurable importance of the role played by the Yokosuka Arsenal in the cultivation of an export industry so vital to the development of Japan's modern industry and the process of modernization.
　ln later years， 0kuma Shigenobu,a prominent figure in political and journalistic circles during the Meiji and Taisho Periods,said，“Oguri Kozukenosuke was destined to be killed. The reason:because the Meiji regime's plans for the modernization of Japan were imitations of his own.”
　Today，with the world undergoing a turbulent period not unlike the turmoil of the final days of the shogunate,the unmatched foresight and administrative skills exhibited through the achievements of Oguri are being discovered anew.To this day， each year in Yokosuka City,a ceremony is held to celebrate his deeds.

*Dates herein are reckoned according to the Chinese calendar.

　よこすか開国祭イメージキャラクタ一『ペリリンとオグリン』

　ペリーの来航150周年を迎えた2003年にスタートしたのか「よこすか開国祭」です。毎年夏に、「開国のまち横須賀」を代表するイベントとして開国花火大会などを開催しています。「ペリリンとオグリン」は、よこすか開国祭イメージキャラクターで、日本を開国に導いたペリー提督と横須賀の発展に貢献した小栗上野介という両雄が、小栗上野介の直系の子孫にあたる漫画家小栗かずまたさんの手によって可愛らしいキャラクターとして誕生し、多くの人に親しまれています。

　Yokoska Kaikoku Festival Image Characters:Peririn and Ogurin

　The Yokosuka Kaikoku Festival began in 2003,to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan. This festival, held each summer,is the representative event of “Kaikoku-no-Machi Yokosuka”(Yokosuka:the City of Japan's Opening to the World)，and features the Kaikoku Fireworks Display, and many other events.
　Peririn and Ogurin are much loved as the image characters of the Yokosuka Kaikoku Festival, and were created by cartoonist and direct descendent of Oguri Kozukenosuke，Oguri Kazumata，as cartoon re-imaginings of Commodore Perry， who led the re-opening of Japan to the world, and Oguri Kozukenosuke, who contributed in so many ways to the growth and development of Yokosuka.

引用・参照・底本

執筆：山本詔一　英訳ジャド・ニュートン　監修 平尾信子　編集：横須賀市企画調整部文化振興課　発行：横須賀市
「2007年市制100周年　横須賀が好き!」平成19年10月発行

Japanese Text:Yamamoto Shoichi English Translation:Jadd Newton Supervising Edilor:Hjrao Nobuko

Editing:Yokoslka City Planning and Coordination Dept., Cultural Promotion Div.Publisher:Yokosuka City
注記のない写真等は、横須賀市自然・人文博物館所蔵のものです。
All unannotated photos are part of the Yokosuka City Museum collection