Ebisugahana Shipyard, Shipyard heritage site in Hagi, Japan
Ebisugahana Shipyard is a historic site in the Chintō district of Hagi, Japan, recognized as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Excavations have uncovered the remains of several workshops and a stone breakwater that still stands at the edge of the harbor.
The site was established in 1856 by the Hagi Domain as foreign warships began appearing in Japanese waters. The domain responded by setting local craftspeople to work building vessels that drew on Western designs.
The shipyard shows how Japanese craftspeople started absorbing Western building techniques into their own practice. Walking through the excavated workshops, you can see how two different ways of working occupied the same space at the same time.
The site sits along the Chintō waterfront and is easy to explore on foot, starting at the stone breakwater and working your way toward the excavated workshop remains inland. The stone structures are easiest to read in the low light of early morning or late afternoon.
Excavations at the site turned up two shipwrecks buried on the grounds themselves, which is rare since ships are rarely abandoned at the place where they were built. Their presence suggests the yard was still active when these vessels were taken out of use.
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