Yokosuka Village, Before The Navy Arrived 海軍がくる前の横須賀村

Over the years, some people have asked me:

"What was Yokosuka like before the Japanese Navy Base was built?"

So, I did some checking-around, and here is what I found...

A document ( called: 新編相模国風土記稿  "Shin-hen Sagami-koku Fudoki-ko" ), published in 1840, listed the geographic and cultural aspects of "Sagami Province", in which "Yokosuka Village" was located.

It said --- "Yokosuka Village is located a little over 15 里 "ri" (1 ri = 2.4 miles) from Edo (Tokyo), and it contains 201 homes, and some of the (minor officials) family names are: Sakamoto, Shiori, Yokosuka, Kasugaura, Togatani, Dogatsuka, Nagamine, and Tomari."

Yokosuka was mainly a fishing village, and its population was concentrated in Hon-Cho (the Honch), the area around what is now Keikyu Shioiri train station, and around the central bay & harbor which are now part of the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) bases.

Here is a rare photo of a part of Yokosuka Village, taken in 1871:

                    











Uraga Bay, located just south of Yokosuka Village, also hosted a population from olden times.  This wood block print, from 1858, provides a good impression of how the coastal areas, and local fishing and cargo vessels, looked, back in those days...