Alloy Steel Manufacture at Naval Arsenal of Meiji Period and Tatara Ironproduct

Abstract

The traditional steel manufacturing (Tatara) of Japan which developed in the early modern times fell into the decline in the Meiji Period. On the other hand, because it is being made by reducing iron sand with charcoal, the amount of phosphorus and sulfur of Tatara iron is low. Therefore it was adopted as a raw material of the alloy steel at Naval Arsenal of the Meiji latter period. The purpose of the main subject is to explain that process.
The quality which the navy demanded was limited to the speck of the low phosphorus. Then, the navy never tried to admit the cost which corresponded with that quality. The makers of Tatara iron had efforts to cope with a naval requirement. But, they had to give up their Tatara business suddenly. That was because naval warship manufacture stopped observing Washington disarmament treaty. They advanced all together to charcoal industry after that.