Itsukushima in 1904
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Itsukushima
Namesake	Itsukushima Shrine
Ordered	1886 Fiscal Year
Builder	Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée,La Seyne-sur-Mer,France
Laid down	7 January 1888
Launched	18 July 1889
Completed	3 September 1891
Stricken	12 March 1926
Fate	Scrapped 1926
General characteristics
Class & type	Matsushima-classcruiser
Displacement	4,278 long tons (4,347 t)
Length	91.81 m (301 ft 3 in)w/l
Beam	15.6 m (51 ft 2 in)
Draft	6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	2-shaftreciprocating; 6 boilers; 5,400 hp (4,000 kW), 680 tons coal
Speed	16.5knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h)
Complement	360
Armament	1 × 320 mm (12.6 in)Canet gun 11 ×QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IV guns 5 ×QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss guns 11 ×QF 1 pounder Hotchkiss 5 barrel rotary guns 4 × 356 mm (14.0 in)torpedo tubes
Armor	Deck: 50 mm (2 in) Gun Turret: 300 mm (12 in) Gun shield: 100 mm (4 in)

Itsukushima (厳島) was thelead ship in theMatsushima class ofprotected cruisers of theImperial Japanese Navy. Like hersister ships, (Matsushima andHashidate) the nameItsukushima comes from one of the traditionalThree Views of Japan, in this case, theItsukushima Shrine inHiroshima prefecture on theSeto Inland Sea, home to a famousShinto-Buddhist shrine dedicated to theBuddhist goddessBenzaiten.

Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during theFirst Sino-Japanese War, theMatsushima-class cruisers were based on the principles ofJeune Ecole, as promoted byFrench military advisor andnaval architectLouis-Émile Bertin.^[1] The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build abattleship navy to counter the various foreign powers active in Asia; instead, Japan adopted the radical theory of using smaller, faster warships, with light armor and small caliber long-range guns, coupled with a massive single 320 mm (12.6 in)Canet gun. The design eventually proved impractical, as the recoil from the huge cannon was too much for a vessel of such small displacement, and its reloading time was impractically long; however, theMatsushima-class cruisers served their purpose well against the poorly equipped and poorly led Imperial ChineseBeiyang Fleet.

Itsukushima was built by theSociété Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards atLa Seyne-sur-Mer, inFrance, and was launched on 18 June 1889.^[2] She underwent trials by the builder in September and October, and achieved an average maximum speed of 16.78knots on 15 October 1890.

Itsukushima differed from hersister shipHashidate primarily in that her windows were square instead of rectangular, and in thatHashidate had a stronger engine.

Itsukushima had a steel hull with 94 frames constructed of mild steel, and a double bottom, divided into waterproof compartments, with the area between the bulkheads and armor filled withcopra. The bow was reinforced with anaval ram. The vital equipment, including boilers andammunition magazines, were protected by hardened steel armor, as were the gun shields. The main armament consisted of one breech-loading 320 mm (13 in)Canet gun mounted in thebow of the ship, which could fire 450 kg (992 lb) armor-piercing or 350 kg (772 lb) explosive shells at an effective range of 8,000 meters (8,700 yd). The maximum rate of fire was two rounds per hour, and the ship carried 60 rounds. Secondary armament consisted of elevenQF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IVArmstrong guns, with a maximum range of 9,000 meters (9,800 yd) and maximum rate of fire of 12 rounds/minute. Ten were mounted on the gun deck, five to each side, with the eleventh gun located on the upper deck of thefantail. Each gun was equipped with 120 rounds. Tertiary protection was by sixQF 6 pounder Hotchkiss mounted insponsons on the upper deck, with a maximum range of 6,000 meters (6,600 yd) and rate of fire of 20 rounds/minute. Each gun had 300 rounds. In addition, elevenQF 3 pounder Hotchkiss were mounted at various locations, with range of 2,200 meters (2,400 yd) rate of fire of 32 rounds/minute and 800 rounds per gun. Each ship in the class also had four 356 mm (14 in)torpedo tubes, three in the bow and one in the stern, with a total of 20torpedoes carried on board. The weight of all of this weaponry led to the design becoming dangerously top-heavy, and armor was sacrificed in an effort to reduce weight.^[3]

The ship was driven by two horizontal triple expansion steam engines. However, the design had problems with seaworthiness, and the design speed was seldom attained in operation.^[3]

Itsukushima was accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy on 3 September 1891, and departedToulon for Japan on 12 November. However, during the voyage, her tube boilers began to leak profusely, and she had to be repaired inColomboCeylon by a repair team sent from France. She was only able to depart Colombo on 18 April 1892, arriving atKure Naval District on 21 May 1892.

As one of the most modern vessels in the Imperial Japanese Navy,Itsukushima became part of the main Japanese fleet under Vice AdmiralItō Sukeyuki, and participated in the 17 September 1894Battle of the Yalu River.^[4] Assigned third place in the Japaneseline of battle, behindMatsushima andChiyoda, the shortcomings of her design soon became evident. During the battle, she was able to fire her Canet gun only five times, hitting the Chinese flagshipDingyuan four times andZhenyuan once, without creating appreciable damage to either vessel.^[5] In return, she took eight hits, including one to her engine room, bow torpedo room and one which severed her main mast. In the encounter, she suffered 15 killed and 17 wounded.

Afterwards,Itsukushima was assigned to protect convoys transporting troops and equipment toManchuria and saw combat again at theBattle of Weihaiwei of 9 February 1895. During this battle, she was hit by a dud shell from one of the Chinese coastal batteries, which did not cause any significant damage.

Itsukushima was among warships anchored in theSeto Inland Sea offNagahama,Shikoku,Japan, when a stronggale struck on 29 October 1897. Thecentral battery ironcladFusō's anchor chain broke, andFusō drifted across the harbor, collided with theram ofItsukushima'ssister shipMatsushima and then struckItsukushima before sinking in shallow water on areef.^[6][7][8]Fusō later was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.^[8]

Itsukushima was reclassified as a second-class cruiser on 21 March 1898. She suffered persistent problems with her boilers, which were de-rated in pressure by February 1900, limiting her speed to less than 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph). Her 37 mm guns were also replaced by sixMaxim guns in 1900.

During theBoxer Rebellion,Itsukushima was assigned toShanghai to help protect Japanese civilians and interests.

On 25 February 1901,Itsukushima andHashidate departedYokosuka on a training tour which took them toManila,Batavia,Hong Kong,Chelumpo,Pusan,Gensan, andVladivostok, returning to Yokosuka on 14 August 1901. On her return, she was overhauled, with her boilers replaced by more reliableBelleville boilers, and her smaller armament replaced by two76 mm guns and 18QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss 47 mm guns.^[3]

In March 1903 it was announced thatItsukushima, together withHashidate (flagship) andMatsushima had departedYokosuka 15 February 1903 on a further training tour which would take them toHong Kong,Singapore,Batavia,Perth,Adelaide,Melbourne,Sydney,Wellington,Auckland,Sydney,Townsville,Thursday Island,Manila,Amoy, andFusan. This tour was of great significance in Australia, being the first visit of the Japanese fleet since the 1887 visit for the jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, further the ships were now fitted with Marconi wireless telegraphy equipment and its use there was amongst the earliest in Australia.^[9] The ship's crew included Captain K. Matsumoto, vice-captain Tetsutaro Sato, paymaster Koshi Tomchiro and assistant paymaster Tsuruyo Furusawa.^[10] Captain Matsumoto was comprehensively interviewed by a Perth journalist while awaiting the arrival of the flagship.^[11]

Further training cruises were undertaken in 1906, 1907, and 1914.

During theRusso-Japanese War, the obsoleteItsukushima and her sister ships were assigned to the 5th squadron of the reserveIJN 3rd Fleet, together with the equally outdatedironclad battleshipChin'en under the command of AdmiralKataoka Shichirō. Despite the limited capability of his ships, Admiral Kataoka was assigned to support the blockade ofPort Arthur by patrols and escorts in theKorea Strait starting in February 1904 based out of theTakeshiki Guard District onTsushima island. During May,Itsukushima covered the landings of theJapanese First Army andJapanese Second Army in Manchuria. From June through July,Itsukushima supported theBattle of Port Arthur by patrols of the harbor mouth, andshore bombardment of Russian positions, skirmishing with the Russian cruiserNovik on 26 June and with the cruiserBayan on 9 July, and withBayan,Askold andPallada on 26 July.^[12]

On 10 August 1904,Itsukushima was under repairs and could not take part in theBattle of the Yellow Sea, but was in position to monitor the return of the Russian fleet to Port Arthur.Itsukushima remained stationed at the entrance to Port Arthur until the Russian surrender in January 1905. After the fall of Port Arthur, on 8 February,Itsukushima returned toKure Naval Arsenal for repairs, which took until 22 March. On 5 April, she was back on station in theKorea Strait.

At the time of theBattle of Tsushima on 27 May 1905,Itsukushima was the flagship for Vice Admiral Kataoka's 3rd Squadron.Itsukushima opened fire on the Russian cruisersOleg andAurora at around 1630 at a distance of 8,000 meters (8,700 yd). Fighting continued past sundown, with the Japanese squadron sinking the repair shipKamchatka and thebattleshipKnyaz Suvorov. During the first day of the battle,Itsukushima took no damage. After participating in accepting the surrender by RussianAdmiral Nebogatov of the remaining ships in the Russian formation on 28 May,Itsukushima began a search for any stragglers who might attempt an escape towardsVladivostok. She returned to patrols in the Korea Strait on 30 May.

On 14 June,Itsukushima was assigned to the force assembled for the invasion ofSakhalin, which took place in July. Afterwards, she was assigned to patrols ofTsugaru Strait and returned to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for repairs on 26 August. She participated in thenaval review celebrating the Japanese victory inYokohama on 23 October.

On 28 August 1912,Itsukushima was re-classified as a second-classcoastal defense vessel, and later used as asubmarine tender. She was demilitarized on 1 September 1920 and re-classified as a training hulk. She was struck from thenavy list and scrapped on 12 March 1926 atKure Naval Arsenal.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toItsukushima (ship, 1891).

• Chesneau, Roger (1979).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
• David C. Evans; Mark R. Peattie (1997).Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-0-87021-192-8.
• Howarth, Stephen (1983).The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum.ISBN 978-0-689-11402-1.
• Jane, Fred T. (1904).The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co.
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976).Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-0-87021-893-4.
• Paine, S.C.M. (2003).The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perception, Power, and Primacy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-61745-1.
• Roberts, John (ed). (1983).'Warships of the world from 1860 to 1905 - Volume 2: United States, Japan and Russia. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz.ISBN 978-3-7637-5403-8.
• Roksund, Arne (2007).The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak. Leiden: Brill.ISBN 978-90-04-15723-1.
• Schencking, J. Charles (2005).Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press.ISBN 978-0-8047-4977-0.

• Matsushima-class cruisers
• Ships built in France
• 1889 ships
• Naval ships of Japan
• First Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan
• Russo-Japanese War cruisers of Japan
• Maritime incidents in 1897

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2020
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• Commons category link is on Wikidata