was a gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 of the Tokugawa

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 Navy, and Japan's first domestically-built steam warship (Japan's first steamship was the built by the fief of Satsuma in 1855). She was a 3rd class wooden gunboat and laid down May 7, 1861, and launched July 2, 1863 by the shipbuilder, and future industrial giant, Ishikawajima.

Completed in May 1866, She participated in the conflict of the Boshin War

Boshin War

The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....

 on the side of the troops loyal to the Shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

, against the newly formed Imperial troops. She was captured during the Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay, and suffered a grounding during that conflict. In May 1868 she was seized by the Japanese government, then captured by the rebels on 4 October 1868. Recaptured again by the Japanese government, she was finally stricken from the naval roster in June 1869. From 28 January 1888 Chiyoda through 1911 she served as a whaling ship, after which time she was broken up (scrapped).