Although the Shogun had embarked on the _Kaiyo Maru_ on the 27th January at Tempo-san, she did not immediately sail for the gulf of Tokio, but took part in the memorable sea-fight which occurred near Kobé shortly afterwards. Late on the 27th the dwellers in the newly opened foreign settlement saw from the esplanade that the _Kaiyo Maru_, together with the _Ban-riyo Maru_ (which was in reality the _Emperor_ yacht that Queen Victoria had presented to the Shogun), and _Fusiyama_, a steamer that the Shogunate had bought, arrived from Osaka, at a time when there were three vessels of the prince of Satsuma’s little fleet in Kobé harbour. When their adversaries steamed in the Satsuma ships were preparing to leave, but they waited until dawn, and then got under weigh. The _Kaiyo_ immediately sent two shots after them, and one of the Satsuma vessels, originally named the _Kiang-su_, turned and slowly steamed round the harbour, as a challenge, and then followed her consorts the _Scotland_ and the _Lotus_. The three Shogunate vessels instantly accepted the gage of battle, and all six ships disappeared below the horizon to the southward. The fight took place in Awa bay, which faces Kobé, on the Shikoku coast, about forty miles from that now well-known and flourishing port. The _Scotland_ was sunk, and another of the Satsuma ships took fire. No precise knowledge is obtainable as to what damages the remaining vessels received but the _Kaiyo Maru_, _Emperor_ yacht, and _Fusiyama_ were able to reach Shinagawa, close to Tokio, on the 4th of the ensuing month, exactly a week after they left Kobé. Immediately on his arrival there the Shogun landed and went to his castle, now the imperial residence.