Battle of Fukuda Bay

Battle of Fukuda Bay
Part of the Sengoku period and Japanese–Portuguese conflicts
Nanban Ship, Kano Naizen
Date 18 October 1565 Location Fukuda Bay, Nagasaki, Kyushu 32°44′42″N 129°49′30″E / 32.745°N 129.825°E / 32.745; 129.825 Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Matsura clan	Portuguese Empire
Commanders and leaders
Matsura Takanobu	João Pereira
Strength
8–10 large junks c. 60 smaller boats 700 samurai	1 carrack 1 galleon 80+ crewmen
Casualties and losses
3 junks sunk over 70 killed 200 wounded[1]	8 killed[1]
class=notpageimage| Location within Japan

The Battle of Fukuda Bay (福田浦の戦い, Fukudaura no tatakai) in 1565 was the first recorded naval battle between Europeans (the Portuguese) and the Japanese.^[2] A flotilla of samurai under the daimyo Matsura Takanobu attacked two Portuguese trade vessels that had shunned Matsura's port in Hirado and had gone instead to trade at Fukuda (now within Nagasaki), a port belonging to the rival Ōmura Sumitada. The engagement was part of a process of trial and error by the Portuguese traders to find a safe harbour for their carracks in Japan that eventually brought them to Nagasaki.

The samurai suffered heavy losses in ships and men from cannon fire and withdrew.