Yamate

Yamate (山手^?) is the name of a historic neighbourhood in Naka-ku, Yokohama often referred to in English as The Bluff. The neighbourhood is famous as having been a foreigners' residential area in the Bakumatsu, Meiji and Taisho periods. The neighborhood still maintains a reputation as an exclusive residential district today, along with the Motomachi neighborhood located at the foot of the Yamate hill.

When the Port of Yokohama first opened to foreign trade under the terms of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1859, the foreigner's settlement was initially confined to a low-lying area known as Kannai. As commercial activity in the Kannai settlement rapidly outgrew the available space, construction on the elevated Yamate Bluff started in 1862. Initially a residential area for the foreign diplomatic community, one of the first structures to be built on the Bluff was the residence of the British Consul-General, Sir Rutherford Alcock.

From 1862 until 1875, British diplomatic and commercial interests were protected by a troop garrison stationed at Yamate at the crest of the hill overlooking the harbour, a location that now serves as Harbour View Park. After a series of attacks on the British Legation at Yedo a military guard for British diplomats stationed at Yokohama was first established in 1860. In 1861 this small detachment was supplemented by Royal Marines from HMS Renard. Much larger numbers of troops of the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of the Foot arrived on troopship HMS Vulcan in January 1864, together with two companies of the 2nd Baloochees from the Bombay Native Infantry. A Marine Battalion arrived on May 25, 1864 aboard HMS Conqueror bringing garrison troop numbers in that year to 1,700. In subsequent years these units were replaced by members of the 9th (East Norfolk),11th, 67th and the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot.

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