Kaiten and Kotetsu cross several navies

The Ezo flagship Kaiten had begun as the Prussian vessel Danzig before dry rot helped push her into the international resale market. Kotetsu had an even more complicated path: built in France for the Confederacy as Stonewall, she passed through Danish, Confederate, Spanish, and American hands before reaching Japan. Ships built for one conflict could migrate between governments as diplomacy and wars changed. European and American decisions therefore directly shaped the balance between Japanese factions. At Hakodate, global arms trading became material to the outcome of a domestic civil war.