Chapter I: Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes:

Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
in the original text.
Equal signs “=” before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold=
in the original text.
Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals.
Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.
Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.

THE BATTLESHIP CHIN YEN.

(_The principal capture in the Chino-Japanese War._)]

THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY

BY
FRED. T. JANE

AUTHOR OF
“THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN NAVY”
“ALL THE WORLD’S FIGHTING SHIPS” (NAVAL ANNUAL), ETC.
INVENTOR OF THE JANE NAVAL WAR GAME (NAVAL KRIEGSPIEL)
ETC., ETC.

ASSISTED BY OFFICERS OF THE JAPANESE NAVY

WITH OVER 80 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS
BY JAPANESE ARTISTS AND FROM OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

LONDON
W. THACKER & CO., 2, CREED LANE, E.C.
CALCUTTA AND SIMLA: THACKER, SPINK & CO.
1904

_All rights reserved_

TO
MANY FRIENDS
NOW SERVING IN THE JAPANESE
FLEET, AND TO THE MEMORY OF
OTHERS WHO HAVE
DIED DOING THEIR DUTY
THIS VOLUME IS
DEDICATED

PREFACE

This book is uniform with my similar book on the Russian Navy, and is designed to have an exactly similar scope; that is to say, it traces the Japanese Navy from the earliest period up to the time of the outbreak of the war with Russia in February, 1904. It then deals with the dockyards of Japan, the armament and equipment of her Fleet, with her _personnel_, both officers and men, and finally with all those side issues and semi-political questions which have brought the modern Japanese Fleet into existence and governed the Japanese building programme. In an Appendix, certain matters that may seem to demand detailed attention are dealt with separately.

In preparing this book for the press—a task that I began so long ago as the year 1900—I have received the most kind and willing assistance of a great many personal friends in the Fleet of “Britain’s ally.” To them I would express my most cordial thanks. Especially would I mention my indebtedness in various—I might say innumerable—ways to Admirals Yamamoto Gombey, Dewa, Kamimura, Ito, and Ijuin; Captains Yamada, Uchida, Kawashima, and Kashiwabara; Commanders Kuroi, Takarabé, Hirose, Takeshita, Yamanaka; Lieut.-Commanders Nomaguchi, Hideshima, Sato, Horiuchi; Staff-Paymaster Minuma; Lieutenants Ishikawa, Yamamoto, Yamagi, Fukura, Matsui, Sasaki; Engineer-Lieutenant Kimura; Chief-Constructor Matsuo; Constructor Kondo; and a great many others—all personal friends, to whose suggestions it is due that I came to write this book at all.

I am neither pro-Japanese nor pro-Russian. As I write, disaster is thick upon the Russian Fleet, and to many close friends in it go those sympathies which, had things been the other way about, would have gone as surely to the Japanese Fleet. To write this book without bias has been my special aim; and in view of the enthusiastic admiration which the Japanese Fleet is now evoking in the Anglo-Saxon world, I have especially tried not to be blind to such defects as the Japanese Navy may exhibit. This, however, is obvious in the body of the book, and needs no mention here, any more than reference is required in this Preface to the courage and skill which Japanese sailors have shown.

Portions of some of the chapters have, in some form or other, appeared in the _Engineer_, _Daily Chronicle_, _Daily Mail_, _Fortnightly Review_, _Collier’s Weekly_, or _Forum_. To the editors of these papers I desire to make the usual acknowledgments,

F. T. J.
PORTSMOUTH.
1904.

CONTENTS

PAGE
PREFACE ix
I. EARLY HISTORY 1
II. THE OPENING OF JAPAN 13
III. EARLY WARSHIPS AND THE CIVIL WAR 21
IV. THE IMPERIAL NAVY 36
V. THE WAR WITH CHINA 101
VI. THE BATTLE OF YALU 115
VII. WEI-HAI-WEI 156
VIII. AFTER THE WAR WITH CHINA 168
IX. THE NEW PROGRAMME 218
X. THE JAPANESE DOCKYARDS 234
1. YOKOSUKA 234
2. TOKIO 236
3. KURÉ 237
4. SASSEBO 238
5. MAITZURU 241
XI. NAVAL HARBOURS 242
1. NAGASAKI 242
2. TAKESHIKI 244
3. OMINATO 245
4. KOBÉ 246
5. KURÉ 246
XII. THE MERCANTILE MARINE 249
XIII. THE JAPANESE ADMIRALTY 252
XIV. ENTRY AND TRAINING OF OFFICERS 257
XV. ENTRY AND TRAINING OF MEN 265
XVI. PAY, ETC. 267
XVII. FLAGS 275
XVIII. UNIFORMS, ETC. 276
XIX. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF OFFICERS 278
XX. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MEN 303
XXI. MESSING 309
XXII. THE ARMAMENT AND EQUIPMENT OF THE FLEET 313
1. GUNS 313
2. GUNNERY ACCESSORIES 322
3. TORPEDOES 325
4. ARMOUR 329
5. ENGINES AND BOILERS 330
XXIII. OTHER NAVIES AS SEEN BY THE JAPANESE 337
XXIV. THE WAR WITH RUSSIA 340

APPENDICES—
OFFICIAL REPORTS, CHINO-JAPANESE WAR 359
LIST OF JAPANESE WARSHIPS 394
JAPANESE SHIP-NAMES (MEANINGS) 398
HISTORICAL SHIP-NAMES 402
A JAPANESE “AT HOME” 403
INDEX TO SUBJECT-MATTER 407

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
THE BATTLESHIP CHIN YEN (_photograph_) _Frontispiece_
MAP OF JAPAN 3
THE TSUKUBA 20
THE FUJI YAMA 23
THE ADSUMA 27
JAPANESE OFFICERS IN 1866 30
THE MOISSHIN 31
THE ASAMA 33
BATTLE OF HAKODATE (_from a Japanese print_) 37
THE SEIKI 41
JAPANESE FLEET AT MANŒUVRES (_photograph_) 45
THE CHIN YEN AT EVOLUTIONS (_photograph_) 51
THE TSUKUSHI (_photograph_) 55
THE ESMERALDA (NOW IDZUMI) (_plan_) 58
THE NANIWA (_photograph_) 61
THE NANIWA (_plan_) 63
THE SAI YEN (_photograph and plan_) 65
THE FUSO AT SEA (_photograph_) 69
THE TAKAO (_photograph_) 73
THE UNEBI 75
THE TSCHICHIMA 79
THE HASHIDATE (_photograph_) 83
THE MATSUSHIMA (_photograph_) 83
THE HEI YEN (_photograph_) 87
THE CHIYODA (_photograph_) 89
THE CHIYODA (_plan_) 91
THE AKITSUSHIMA (_photograph_) 93
THE AKITSUSHIMA (_plan_) 95
THE YOSHINO (_plan_) 96
THE YOSHINO (_photograph_) 97
THE TATSUTA (_plan_) 100
THE JAPANESE FLEET IN LINE ABREAST OFF CHEMULPO
DURING THE WAR 107
ADMIRAL ITO (_photograph_) 117
A JAPANESE PICTURE OF YALU 133
SINKING OF THE KING YUEN
(_sketch by a Japanese Officer_) 137
PLANS OF BATTLE OF YALU 121, 125, 129, 141
THE CHEN YUEN AFTER ACTION 145
MAP OF WEI-HAI-WEI 157
CELEBRATING SURRENDER OF CHINESE FLEET AT
NAVAL CLUB, TOKIO 161
JAPANESE FLEET BOMBARDING WEI-HAI-WEI 165
THE SUMA (_photograph_) 169
THE FUJI (_plan_) 173
THE YOSHIMA (_plan_) 173
THE FUJI (_photograph_) 175
THE SHIKISHIMA (_plan_) 177
THE HATSUSE (_photograph_) 179
THE MIKASA (_plan_) 183
THE MIKASA (_photograph_) 187
THE IDZUMO (_photograph_) 193
THE ASAMA (_plan_) 196
THE YAKUMO (_photograph_) 197
THE AZUMA (_plan_) 200
THE NISSHIN (_photograph_) 201
THE KASUGA (_plan_) 204
THE NISSHIN (_plan_) 204
THE KASUGA (_photograph_) 205
THE KASAGI (_photograph_) 209
THE TAKASAGO (_plan_) 211
THE NIITAKA (plan) 212
THE CHIHAYA (_plan_) 214
THE MIYAKO (_plan_) 214
THE FIRST JAPANESE TORPEDO BOAT 216
THE KASHIMA (_plan_) 221
YOKOSUKA (_map_) 235
SASSEBO (_map_) 238
SASSEBO NAVAL CLUB (_photograph_) 239
MAITZURU (_map_) 241
TAKESHIKI (_map_) 244
KOBÉ HARBOUR (_photograph_) 247
ADMIRAL GOMBEY (_photograph_) 253
JAPANESE FLAGS 274
THE SHIKISHIMA ENTERING PORTSMOUTH DOCKYARD 287
“AT HOME” ON BOARD THE KASAGI 291
SCHNEIDER-CANET GUN 24-CM. FOR COAST SERVICE
(_photograph_) 312
12-IN. GUNS OF THE MIKASA (_plan_) 314
CANET GUNS 24-CM. FOR COAST SERVICE (_photograph_) 315
VICKERS 6-IN. GUN (_plan_) 318
VICKERS 6-IN. GUN (_photograph_) 319
CANET 27-CM. GUN (_photograph_) 323
ELSWICK SUBMERGED TUBE (_plan_) 326
CANET 15-CM. GUN (_photograph_) 327
ELSWICK SUBMERGED TUBE (_photograph_) 331
BELLEVILLE BOILER 333
NICLAUSSE BOILER 335
THE VARIAG 341
ADMIRAL TOGO 344

THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY

I EARLY HISTORY

The earliest Japanese history, like that of all other nations, is a mass of myths and legends. But out of this one solid fact has been evolved: the Japanese were a race who invaded the island kingdom by way of Korea, much as the Saxons and other Teutonic tribes invaded Britain. They therefore used the sea at a very early period of their history.

They found aboriginal tribes when they came, and of these the Ainu still exist in the north, a race as distinct as our Celts in the north of Scotland. The immigrant race are always spoken of and accepted as Mongolians, though in Japanese legend the invaders had, as in similar Western myths, a divine origin. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that a Japanese, with kindred tastes to those Western _savants_ who have found the cradle of the human race in Lapland or in Central Africa, has built a theory by which ancient Egypt was the early home of the Japanese. To support this theory numerous small similarities were brought forward; but it does not seem to have made headway in Japan, or to be known in the Western world. It is, as regards plausibility, about on a par with the Anglo-Israelite theory that had once quite a vogue in this country, and is by no means without disciples to-day.

Whence they came, however, is a matter of no moment here. Japanese national history begins with the expedition led by the Emperor Jimmu, at a date which a loose chronology fixes at 660 B.C. This is the earliest over-sea operation unconnected with deities and myths.

Jimmu, who, according to the legends, was the grandson of the Sea Deity’s daughter, led an expedition eastward from Mount Takachiho, and eventually found himself on the shores of the Inland Sea, and here built a fleet, by means of which he reached Naniwa (Osaka), and consolidated the empire.

For the next seven or eight centuries the nation was forming; but beyond a legend, suggestive of the story of Jonah, nothing is heard of ships or boats till 202 A.D., when the Empress Jingo equipped a great fleet for the invasion of Korea. As an early instance of the use of “sea-power,” this expedition has laid great hold on Japanese imagination; but since the transportation of the flagship by legions of fishes, with which the Empress has made an alliance, is the central point of the story, its nautical details can hardly be seriously considered. What is of more moment is the undoubted fact that the expedition took place, that it was a complete success for Japan, and laid the foundations of that Japanese interest in Korea which is to-day so potent a factor in the Far Eastern problem.

Korea paid tribute without question for some three hundred years. About the year 520, however, the Emperor Keitai Tenno collected a fleet, and conducted some operations against the Koreans that served to tighten Japan’s hold on her over-sea possessions. From this time onward for the next two or three hundred years Japan grew as a trading nation, and intercourse with both Korea and China became common. As in those days every merchant ship became a warship when required, Japan must have ranked as a considerable naval power.

As for the ships, these may have been either mere boats or small coasting junks, probably differing very little from the boats and junks of the present day.

About the year 650 Japanese garrisons were driven out of Korea by hostile tribes, assisted by the Chinese, and with the expelled Japanese came many Koreans, an immigration that continued for some considerable period.

In the middle of the ninth century the Samaurii, or military caste, whose descendants to-day provide the bulk of naval officers, first began to arise. The Shoguns, afterwards to become such a power, were originally generals, there being one in command of each of the four military districts into which the Emperor Sujin had divided Japan. A Shogun with any special powers did not arise till the year 1200 or so, when Yoshinaka made himself _Sei-i-Shogun_ (Chief Shogun).

As he was driven to suicide soon afterwards in the civil war then desolating the empire, the post did not convey any great advantage to him; but Yaritomo whose troops had defeated him, became after a time _Sei-i-tai-Shogun_ (great barbarian compelling Shogun). This civil war—between the Taira and the Minamoto clans—culminated in a naval battle. The former are credited with 500 junks, which, in addition to the soldiers, were crowded with women and children and the fugitive emperor. At Dan-no-ura, on the Inland Sea, these were overtaken by the Minamoto with 700 vessels, and the smaller fleet was annihilated. This decisive action ended the civil war, but it created the system of Shogun rule, whereby all the governing of the country was in the hands of Yoritomo, the Emperor being a mere figure-head and puppet in his hands.

The descendants of Yaritomo, as Shoguns _de jure_, did not exercise much power _de facto_, for regents (the Hojo) acted for them. In time, too, tutors came to act for the regents, and under this condition of government, plunged into a species of anarchy, Japan faced the great Chinese invasion of 1281.

Having resolved on the capture of Japan, the Chinese sent envoys demanding its surrender. These, after being sent from pillar to post in a search for the real governing power, were eventually killed by the populace. The Chinese then prepared a fleet of 300 of their own and Korean ships, added the Japanese sun to the consuming dragon on the Chinese flag, and invaded to consummate the capture. On the water they encountered no opposition, but on landing they were met and defeated by the Japanese, united in the presence of a common danger. A great storm at the same time destroyed the hostile fleet, and the invasion was at an end.

It was followed by more internal strife, till in 1333 the Hojo were finally put down. Shortly afterwards the chief power came into the hands of the Shoguns.

Despite the civil warfare, Japan still made headway as a maritime State. Trade and piracy were conducted not only with Korea and China, but Japanese vessels sailed regularly to the distant shores of Siam.

In 1542 the Portuguese first came into touch with Japan. Three cannon were presented to the Shogun, and a little later Pinto arrived on the scene, and taught the manufacture of gunpowder. Jesuits followed, and made such headway that in the next civil war the Christian Japanese, to the number of 600,000 or more, were a strong political factor.

In 1587 Hideyoshi the _Taikio_, the _de facto_ ruler of Japan, issued an edict against the Christians, many missionaries were expelled, and the ports open to foreign vessels were finally limited to one only, Nagasaki, as at that time the suspicion first began that soldiers would presently follow the missionaries.

About the same period Hideyoshi, who had designs upon China and Korea, began to prepare warships. He also endeavoured to create a fleet of European-built ships, but the traders whom he approached on the matter refused to sell their vessels. He had, therefore, to content himself with a junk navy, which was raised much as fleets were raised in England at the same period, by levies upon the coast districts. The princes of these districts were required to furnish sailors to man the ships that they provided.

The invasion of Korea was carried out by two divisions, the first of which, under Konishi, reached Fusan on April 13, 1592. The town, which had for some two hundred years been used as a Japanese trading port, was easily captured, and the army then marched to the capital. The fleet lay inactive at Fusan for some time, but Konishi, in the midst of a victorious career on land, presently conceived the idea of using his fleet also. It was, therefore, sent round to the westward, where it met a Korean fleet.

The Koreans, whose ships were constructionally superior, made out to sea, and the Japanese following, sustained a defeat that caused them to retire to Fusan again.

After this Chinese troops appeared in large numbers, and, though the invaders won a few battles, they were checked, and compelled to fall back.

Peace negotiations were opened in 1596, but these fell through, and in 1597 130,000 fresh Japanese troops were sent to Korea.

In the latter part of this same year the Korean fleet attempted to signally defeated by the Japanese vessels. Most of the attacking fleet were destroyed. No headway was, however, made by the Japanese land force, and in 1598 the expedition withdrew.

In the year 1600 William Adams, an Englishman, reached Japan, and, though for a time imprisoned at the instigation of the Jesuits, he eventually gained liberty and consideration from Ieyasu, the Shogun. He built for the Shogun, first a small 18-tonner, and then, in 1609, a ship of 120 tons. In this ship some Spaniards who had been wrecked on the east coast of Japan were sent to Acapulco. They appear to have navigated themselves, and the vessel was kept, but a much larger ship was sent to the Shogun as a present in return for his kindness.

In 1611, owing to Adams’s partiality for the Dutch, these secured from the Shogun permission to trade with any port in the country. A little later the British East India Company secured the same advantages, but, owing to the outbreak of war between England and Holland, a good deal of isolated fighting took place between the traders, till it ended in the withdrawal or destruction of the English.

In 1614 the Japanese ruler began to be thoroughly alarmed at the progress of Christianity, and the expected advent of Portuguese soldiers to take possession of the land. All foreign Christians were ordered to leave the country, all native ones to renounce their creed. In 1616 the majority of Christians who still held to their faith were disposed of by the same means that in Europe were used to ensure conversion to Christianity.

In 1637 a revolution broke out amongst some of the Samaurai, or soldier class, who had been compelled to become farmers. Such Christians as had survived the massacres joined these.

After some defeats, the rebels were shut up in a large deserted castle at Hara, where 160,000 men besieged them. A tremendous defence was made, and the besiegers, failing to make much headway, applied for and secured aid from the Dutch factory at Hivado. Guns were lent, and finally a Dutch warship, the de Ryp, 20 guns, bombarded the castle from the bay, without, however, effecting its reduction. Eventually the castle was taken, and practically the whole garrison executed.

In 1640 the rivalry between the Dutch and Portuguese, of which the Dutch assistance against the rebellious Jesuit converts was probably an incident, came to a head. It ended in the expulsion of the Portuguese, and the establishment of the Dutch at Nagasaki as the sole Western nation having dealings with Japan.

Here for two hundred years the Dutch traded unmolested. The civil commotion quieted down, and with her seclusion from the outside world Japan entered upon an era of domestic peace. There were no more great civil wars, and, save for the conflicts of the Samaurai against each other, the nation grew ignorant of the art of war.

As these Samaurai were the ancestors of modern Japanese naval officers, some account of their methods of training may be worthy of study, for to them it is undoubtedly due that Japan exists as one of the great Powers to-day. Otherwise she would assuredly have sunk to the Chinese level of an ultra-high civilisation in which courage has no place, and in which the military profession is lower than the meanest civil calling. From all this the Samaurai saved Japan.

The country was then under a feudal system. The Emperor, the nominal head of the State, was a mere figure-head, too sacred to concern himself with mundane affairs—a condition of mind which generations of clever tutelage at the hands of various Shoguns had produced. More often than not the Shogun’s rule was of a similar nature, a regent being the real head of the State. Under the Shogun or his regent were the governors of provinces; under these the great feudal lords, each of whom maintained his Samaurai, or fighting men. The soldier-ant is the nearest natural equivalent to these Samaurai, who only very partially resembled our knights of the Middle Ages. Below the Samaurai, and cordially despised by them, were the lower classes, engaged in trade and agriculture. The exact social equivalent of the Samaurai in our society system does not exist, but probably the old “squireens,” a now almost extinct class of small country gentry, would most nearly occupy the same social status. The Samaurai might be richer or poorer than the working class, but in all cases they cordially despised them, and were in turn respected or feared.

These Samaurai lived in a constant state of killing and being killed. If one of them left his house, he took his life in his hand from that moment. Duels were frequent, murders common, and the fearful form of suicide known as hari-kari was performed by them without a shudder at the slightest hint of an insult that could not be avenged. Vendettas, too, were everlasting, so that altogether the Samaurai were by heredity inured to a callous disregard of life and suffering. In all their crimes and vices they cultivated the grand Spartan virtues, and Japan will yet, perhaps, reap the benefit of those centuries of training.

II THE OPENING OF JAPAN

The knowledge of the Dutch hold upon Japan inspired other nations with a desire to secure similar benefits. Russia, in particular, strove to secure a footing, but all her attempts were unavailing. British and Americans met with a like fate; there was no Government that would deal with them, the law of isolation had gone forth, and isolated Japan remained. So greatly, too, did the nation esteem its state, that a law long existed whereby the building of a ship of any size was a crime punishable by death.

At last, in 1848, the United States, which had deep interests in the whale fisheries in Far Eastern waters, and was also concerned in establishing a line of steamers between California and the recently opened free ports in China, took official instead of merely individual measures to open up communication with Japan. A coaling station in Japan was an absolute necessity if the projected line of steamers was to be realised; but the reaching of any governing body with power to grant such a station was the difficulty. However, in 1852, Commodore Perry was sent with a squadron to Japan, and reached the Bay of Yeddo in July, 1853, bearing a friendly letter from the President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan.[1] The commodore had orders to use force, if necessary, as a last resort;[2] but the thousands of troops that were gathered to meet him made no attack. Having managed to deliver his message and impress the authorities with the fact that an answer would be required, the commodore left.

[1] The message was to the Shogun, whom all foreigners regarded as the Emperor.

[2] “Official Narrative of the Japan Expedition.”

So soon as he had gone the Shogun’s Government found itself on the horns of a dilemma. If a treaty were made with the foreigners, internal trouble from a people already permeated with a desire to restore to power the real Emperor might be expected to a certainty; if they refused, the American show of force convinced them that grave trouble would lie ahead, trouble which the Japanese, with their old-fashioned fighting methods, could never successfully combat.

The most prominent personage in Japan at that moment was the Daimio of Mito. He advocated absolute refusal of the American demands, and the exclusion of all foreigners by force of arms, if necessary. He recalled the famous wars of the past, and nearly every Daimio in the country followed his lead. Forts were erected on the shore, the bells of temples melted and made into cannon, and as many Samaurai as possible were drilled with the most modern fire-arms procurable. They got these through the Dutch at Nagasaki.

In the midst of this a Russian squadron appeared, also demanding a treaty and the opening up of the country, but again no force was used. Seven months after his first visit, Commodore Perry returned for his answer, and the war fever having evaporated to some extent, a treaty was actually signed on March 31, 1854.

This treaty provided for peace and goodwill between the United States and Japan, the opening of Shimoda as a treaty port, and the similar opening of Hakodate after an interval, the Americans agreeing that their ships should visit no other ports except from necessity. The other articles dealt with the care of shipwrecked mariners and the like, and “the most favoured nation” clause. England, Russia, and Holland soon secured similar treaties, Russia having the same ports as America, England and Holland having Nagasaki instead of Shimoda.

All this split Japan into two hostile parties, the _Jo-i_ and the _Kai-koku_. The former, under the leadership of the Daimio of Mito, were bitterly anti-foreign, and also desirous of restoring the Emperor. The _Kai-koku_, on the other hand, supported the Shogun action, and had as their watchword the words spoken by one of them at the debate over Commodore Perry’s demands: “As we are not the equals of the foreigners in the mechanical arts, let us have intercourse with foreign lands, let us learn their drill and tactics. Then, when we shall have made our nation united as one family, we shall be able to go abroad, and give lands in foreign countries to those who have distinguished themselves in battle.”

For a time this party had the upper hand. Commercial treaties were made, and by 1860 Ni-igata, Hyogo, and Yokohama had been opened, with the Consuls of most nations established there. Ii-Kamon-no-kami, head of the _Kai-Koku_ party, imprisoned the Daimio of Mito, and executed several Samaurai who had killed his adherents. Then, in 1860, on March 23, Ii-Kamon-no-kami was assassinated, and his party, no longer with a powerful head, made isolated preparations for civil war. Ships were purchased and manned by the retainers of the local governors of provinces, and troops raised. Meanwhile the foreign Legations were attacked, an American secretary was murdered, and other foreigners injured. Other murders, notably that of an English merchant named Richardson, followed, and an indemnity was refused. This led to the arrival of Admiral Kuper with seven ships at Kagoshima, August 11, 1863. He bombarded the forts and city, and also sank or burned three steamers belonging to the Daimio of Satsuma, whose men had committed the murder. After this the indemnity was forthcoming, but the Daimio promptly ordered more warships, and sent many of his naval officers to Holland to learn European methods.

In this same year the Daimio of Choshu, a member of the Jo-i, who had also secured a small fleet for himself, fired upon an American steamer, and afterwards upon the French gunboat Kienchang, which latter he damaged severely. The Dutch frigate Medusa was also roughly handled by his shore batteries at Shimonoseki, but replying, silenced them.

Both these acts led to reprisals. The United States warship Wyoming at once proceeded to Shimonoseki, where she blew up one Japanese steam warship, and sank a second, a small brig. The French warships Sémiramis and Tancrède followed, and subjected Shimonoseki to a bombardment that did considerable damage.

An indemnity was demanded and paid by the Shogun’s Government for these attacks of foreign shipping, while the suppression of the Daimio of Choshu at Shimonoseki was also promised. This, however, was a task beyond the power of the Government, and finally the Powers interested decided to take action. A combined fleet, consisting of nine British, four Dutch, three French, and one hired United States steamer, went to Shimonoseki to reduce this bar to passage on the Inland Sea.

The attacking vessels were:—

British Tartar (screw corvette), 20 guns.
Barrosa (screw corvette), 22 guns.
Leopard (paddle frigate), 18 guns.
Conqueror (two-decker), 101 guns.
Euryalus (screw frigate), 51 guns.
Perseus, 4 guns.
Bouncer (screw gunboat), 4 guns.
Coquette (screw gunboat), 4 guns.
Argus (paddle sloop), 6 guns.

French Dupleix (screw corvette), 24 guns.
Sémiramis (frigate), 36 guns.
Tancrède (gunboat), 4 guns.

Dutch Amsterdam.
Djambi.
Metal Cruyis.
Medusa (frigate), 36 guns.

United States Takiang, no guns.

The United States ship was merely chartered to indicate American interest; all American vessels were then busy sinking each other in the civil war.

This fleet left Yokohama on August 28, 1864, and from September 5th to 9th it bombarded all the new forts that the Daimio had erected. At the end of that time Shimonoseki surrendered unconditionally, and an indemnity of three million dollars was claimed from the Shogun, and eventually paid.

For the next two years the Shogun’s Government was busy trying conclusions with the Daimio, but as he had raised a large force of the common people, and drilled these in Western fashion, he easily held his own. British and French troops meanwhile were permanently stationed at Yokohama to guard foreign interests. Friction between these and the _Jo-i_ party was common, and more than one assassination took place, but no naval demonstrations followed.

THE FIRST SHIP OF THE JAPANESE NAVY, THE TSUKUBA.]

III EARLY WARSHIPS AND THE CIVIL WAR

As already recounted, the sight of foreign ships had gradually put ideas of sea-power into the minds of the various governors of Japanese provinces. One of the first, if not the first, ships to be acquired was the Tsukuba, which still survives as a hulk. Her first name was the Malacca, and she was launched in the United States in 1851. She was, in her time, a fine-looking screw frigate of 1950 tons, carrying 20 guns, and able to steam at the then satisfactory speed of 8 knots.

The Riaden, a small screw yacht of 370 tons, and the Chiyoda-nata (Chiyoda type), of less than 140 tons, both schooner rigged, were enrolled about the same time, and then followed by the Kasuga, a two-funnelled, three-masted paddler, originally the Kiang-tse. She carried six guns, and for some time served as the Shogun’s yacht.

Following this, the Fuji Yama, a full-rigged ship—a sailing frigate of about 1010 tons and 24 guns—and the 523-ton barque-rigged sailing-ship Ken-he were purchased.

To learn how to work this naval militia, Japan imported instructors of various kinds from the Western world. In response to applications, the present Admiral Tracy was sent out by the British Government, and with him a small host of other Westerners. With their natural aptitude, the Japanese rapidly acquired the rudiments of sea service, while on shore the beginnings of a shipbuilding yard were made at Yokosuka. The British naval uniform was adopted with some slight differences. Officers were sent to Europe—chiefly to Holland—to study the principles of naval warfare, and at once a desire to possess ironclads arose.

Out of this came the purchase of Japan’s first ironclad, the Adsuma.

The dimensions, etc., of the Adsuma were as follows:—

Displacement 1387 tons.
Material of hull Iron.
Length 157 ft.
Beam 30 ft.
Draught (maximum) 13¼ ft.
Armament One 9-in. 12½ M.L. Armstrong.
Four 6½-in. Parrot M.L. rifled.
Horse-power (nominal) 700.
Screws Two.
Speed 9 knots.

The armour was 4½ to 4¾ ins. thick, and distributed on a complete water-line belt and over both of the raised batteries. Though a very famous vessel as the Stonewall Jackson, her war services under that name were not extensive. She was built in France, and at the end of 1864, when ready for sea, carried one large 13-in. 300-pounder (smooth bore) in the bow, and the two 70-pounders (rifled) in the main battery. No ship like her had ever been constructed before, and the Confederates, to whom she then belonged, spread alarming reports as to her power. Putting to sea, she reached Corunna in February, 1865, and was there blockaded by the unarmoured Federal ships Niagara and Sacramento. The former was a famous vessel in her way, of 5013 tons, 345 ft. long, 12-knot speed, and armed with twelve 11-in. smooth bores, throwing a 135-lb. shell each. These guns were not able to fire shot apparently, and the Sacramento was a weaker vessel. The Stonewall Jackson challenged these two to a duel _à la_ Kearsarge and Alabama, but Craven, the Federal commodore, declined—wisely enough, for he could not have done anything against the ironclad with his few heavy pieces, while the ironclad would certainly have disabled and then rammed him.[3] Consequently, the Stonewall Jackson did not smell powder on that occasion, and the war ended very soon afterwards.

[3] He was, however, court-martialled and punished for refusing to fight.

In 1866 a mysterious Japanese deputation came to America. Its object was long unknown, but the curiosity it excited was sufficient to cause telegraphic reports of its movements, and surmises as to its intentions, to appear in the London _Times_ every now and again. Finally came the news that “the Japanese deputation have come to buy ironclads”—a statement at first treated as a joke.

The Japanese do not, however, appear to have been large bidders for the forty odd ironclads that America then had to dispose of. Few of these “on sale” craft were fit for a sea voyage—they were merely hastily constructed monitors intended more often than not for river service. The Stonewall Jackson, however, being a sea-going ship, was purchased for the Shogun, and re-named Adsuma.

A gunboat or two changed hands at this period, and altogether the various Japanese governors collected between them a small, heterogeneous fleet, the very existence of which was scarcely known outside their own country. Indeed, twenty years later comparatively few people knew, and still fewer cared, that Japan possessed a navy at all.

The Adsuma has long been removed from the effective list and relegated to hulk duty. On account of her enormous ram, she was somewhat of a curio to naval visitors for many years, and the most vivid memory retained by some of our people of the harbour in which the Adsuma lay was the fashion in which the Japanese sailors used her ram. They walked down over it into the water when bathing.

Of the smaller vessels previously referred to the following may be mentioned:—

No. 1 Tébo was a swan-bow, three-masted, schooner-rigged screw steamer of 250 tons only. Two or three other ships like her existed.

THE ADSUMA (_ex_ STONEWALL JACKSON).]

The Unyo, built at Amsterdam, was little larger—295 tons only. She was a brig-rigged and ram-bowed screw steamer, carrying three pivot guns (Krupp’s), disposed in the centre line, as were the three big guns in the French Baudin and Formidable till these ships were reconstructed. The Unyo was wrecked many years ago.

The Moisshin, screw gunboat of 357 tons, is worthy of more attention, as she was the first ship ever built in Japan since the days of Adams. She was an enlarged edition of No. 1 Tébo, and exactly like her in appearance. Between the funnel and foremast a single Long Tom was carried. She was launched somewhere about the year 1865. Her construction was not, of course, purely Japanese—she was a craft upon which the Islanders practised and learnt construction with important material.

The Setsu, 935 tons, 8 guns, a sailing frigate, and the Chio-bin, a barque of 650 tons, originally used for trading purposes, also belong to this early period.

So also does a ship with more history, the Asama, a composite sailing-ship of 1445 tons and 14 guns. Her exact early history is shrouded in some mystery, but just previous to her entry into the Japanese fleet she was the property of a too-confiding pirate, who went into a Japanese harbour to refit, and had his ship taken possession of by the Japanese in consequence. The ship still exists as a gunnery hulk, and carries, or did till recently, eight 7-in. breech-loaders and four 4½-in. muzzle-loaders.

With these ships, built and building, Japan found herself engaged in that civil war of which the Mikasa, Asama, and other ships of to-day are the direct outcome. The officers had had some years of Western training, chiefly in Holland and Denmark. The accompanying illustration, from a Japanese photograph, indicates the uniform of the period. There were in the Navy in those days two schools—the party of progress and those opposed to change—by no means necessarily identical with the same political parties. Indeed, of the two, the _Jo-i_ seem to have chiefly availed themselves of the war-training to be secured from the foreigners whose expulsion was one of their political tenets. This, perhaps, was due in part or in great measure to the other factor in the dispute—the question as to whether the Emperor or the Shogun and his representatives should be ruler of the country. This became eventually the sole question.

THE EX-PIRATE SHIP ASAMA.]

In 1867 the Emperor Kōmei died, and was succeeded by his son, the present Emperor, Mutsohito, then a boy. His advisers had by now concluded that the anti-foreign agitation was a mistake, and thence forward it was only carried on by a few isolated Daimios. The real problem was one of ruling, and this culminated in 1867 by the Shogun resigning his power, and becoming a species of minister.

The adherents of neither party were favourably disposed towards this middle course; and ultimately civil war, in which the ex-Shogun’s party were continually defeated, resulted.

The ironclad Adsuma was in the hands of the Imperialists, as also were most of the other warships; but the ex-Shogun had owned seven ships, mounting between them 83 guns, and these Yenomoto, his admiral (one of the Dutch-trained officers) absolutely refused to surrender. Chased by Nahamoto, the Imperial admiral, he took refuge in Hakodate, where the remnants of the rebels had collected. A naval action resulted disastrously for Yenomoto. In July, 1869, the rebels finally surrendered, and Japan entered upon a new era, in which much of the power hitherto wielded by the Daimios passed into the hands of the Samaurai, whose descendants now supply the bulk of naval and military officers, retaining all the courage of their fierce ancestors, and more of their exclusiveness than is generally supposed. But further particulars under this head will be found in a later chapter.[4]

[4] See Personal Characteristics.

IV THE IMPERIAL NAVY

With the sea fight off Hakodate the civil war ended. The feudal fleets were abolished, and all ships were enrolled in an Imperial Navy—a proceeding that, of course, increased its strength. Some reorganisation of _personnel_ was also effected, bringing the Navy more into line with the Western model.

Naval advisers came and went. They included, during the period 1865-1885, the present British admirals Tracy and Hopkins, the eminent French naval architect M. Bertin, and finally Captain Ingles, R.N., of whom more will be found in the Appendix.

The same year in which the Adsuma was launched the Riu Jo[5] was set afloat at Aberdeen. She, too, was possibly originally destined to fly the Confederate flag, but about this details are hard to procure. Particulars are:—

Displacement 2530 tons.
Material Composite.
Length 213 ft.
Beam 41 ft.
Draught (extreme) 19 ft.
Armament One 6½-in. Krupp.
Six 70-pdrs.

[5] Pronounced “Dēēn-Jho,” but the exact sound cannot be rendered.

[_By a Japanese artist._

BATTLE OF HAKODATE.]

The horse-power was 975 nominal, the speed 9 knots. She was single-screwed, and carried 350 tons of coal. Like all the early sea-going ironclads, she had a 4½-in. iron armour belt, and 4 inches over the amidship battery. The heaviest gun was carried in the bow on a pivot. The ship still exists as a hulk. She did not reach Japan till the Civil War was over.

The he-sho, launched in England in 1867, is also retained as a gunnery tender at the present day. She is a small gunboat of 320 tons, carrying one 7-in. Armstrong M.L. and one 5½-in. Krupp B.L.

Some other early Japanese ships may now be referred to.

The Nisshin was built at Amsterdam, and ordered, probably, previously to the Civil War.

Tonnage 1470.
Material of hull Wood.
Armament One 7-in. M.L.
Six smaller M.L.
Speed on trial 11 knots.
Single screw, swan-bow, barque-rigged corvette.

The Amagi of the same period was built in Japan. Particulars of her are:—

Tonnage 526.
Material of hull Wood.
Armament One 6-in. 2½-ton Krupp.
Four 4¾-in. Krupp.
Horse-power (nominal) 720.
Speed 11 knots.
Screws One.

In appearance she more or less resembles the foregoing.

She was followed by the Seiki, also built in Japan, and famous in her way, because she was the first Japanese ship to make a voyage to England. Particulars:—

Tonnage 857.
Material of hull Wood.
Length 200 ft.
Beam 30 ft.
Draught 13 ft.
Armament One 6-in. 2½-ton Krupp.
Four 4¾-in. Krupp.
Horse-power 1270.
Speed 11 knots.

Save that her stern was sharper, she was, to look at, much like the Amagi. She is now removed from the Japanese Navy list.

A sailing training brig of 153 tons, the Ishikawa, and a larger brig, the Tateyama, of 543 tons, were built or acquired prior to 1877.

The Banjo was built by the Japanese on the same model as the Amagi. Particulars are:—

Displacement 667 tons.
Material of hull Wood.
Length 154 ft.
Beam 25 ft.
Draught (mean) 12 ft.
Armament One 6-in. 2½-ton Krupp.
Two 4¾-in. Krupp.
I.H.P. 590.
Speed 10.5 knots.
Screws One.
Coal supply 107 tons.
She is swan-bow, barque-rigged, and has one funnel.

This ended this particular period of Japanese shipbuilding.

(_The first Japanese warship to visit England._)]

In the year 1875, or thereabouts, the Japanese finally decided to embark upon a war navy, and laid the foundations of that fleet which some twenty years later was to vindicate its existence at Yalu and Wei-hei-wei. In that year a then modern ironclad, up-to-date ironclad, and two armoured cruisers, on what was then the best accepted model, were ordered.

Of these the Fu-So,[6] designed by Sir E. J. Reed, and launched at Samuda’s Yard, Poplar, England, in 1877, was then a powerful second-class battleship. In design she resembles the French Rédoutable, though of only half her size. Particulars are:—

Material of hull Iron.
Displacement 3718.
Length 220 ft.
Beam 48 ft.
Draught 18⅓ ft.
Original armament Four 9.4-in. Krupps in the main deck,
central-armoured battery.
Two 6.6-in. Krupps in unarmoured
barbettes above the armoured battery.
Horse-power 3500.
Nominal speed 13 knots.
Screws Two.
Coal 360 tons.
Nominal radius 3500 miles at 10 knots.

[6] Pronounced Fōō-Só.

The armour is distributed in a complete belt of iron from 9 to 4 ins. in thickness. The battery armour is 8 ins., with 7-in. bulkheads forming a redoubt. The engines, by Penn, are horizontal compound trunk. She was then barque-rigged, with a single funnel. She carried no torpedo tubes, but these were added later. Just previous to the war with China the Japanese reconstructed and re-armed her, removing the mainmast, and fitting military tops to the fore and mizzen; 6-in. Q.F. were mounted in the barbettes in place of the old 6.6-in. Either immediately before or directly after the war, two additional 6-in. Q.F. (as shown in the photograph of her at sea) were mounted, one on the forecastle and one on the poop behind shields; and subsequently four further 6-in. Q.F. replaced the old guns in the battery, these having been found well-nigh useless for modern warfare. This by no means exhausts the history of the Fu-So, but her subsequent adventures will be found on a later page.[7]

[7] See Chino-Japanese War.

THE JAPANESE FLEET IN LINE ABREAST. NAVAL MANŒUVRES.]

Russia with the General Admiral would appear to have inspired the idea of the Hi-Yei[8] and Kon-go. The former of these was launched early in 1878 at Milford Haven, the latter at Hull towards the end of 1877. The ships are sisters. Details are:—

Material of hull Composite.
Displacement 2250 tons.
Length 231 ft.
Beam 40¾ ft.
Draught 17½ ft.
Armament Three 6.6-in. Krupp.
Six 6-in. 2½-ton Krupp.
Four Nordenfelts.
Two torpedo tubes.
Horse-power Hi-Yei, 2270.
Kon-go, 2035.
Screws One.
Speed (nominal) Hi-Yei, 13 knots.
Kon-go, 13.7 knots.
Engines (by Earle) Horizontal compound.

[8] Pronounced “Hēē-Yey.”

The armour is a mere iron strip on the water-line, varying from 4½ to 3 ins. in thickness.

In 1876 a new Imperial yacht, the Jin-Jei, was launched. She is a paddler, with swan-bow, two funnels, and two high pole masts—a pretty-looking vessel.

Displacement 1464 tons.
Material of hull Wood.
Length 249 ft.
Beam 32 ft.
Draught 14½ ft.
Armament Two 4¾-in. Krupp.
Horse-power 1430.
Speed 12 knots.

In 1879 began what later events constituted the supplementary Japanese shipbuilding programme. In 1879 Elswick built for China those once famous “alphabetical gunboats,” a series of “flat-irons” of the Rendel type, to carry one gun. Like a good many other Chinese vessels, they were destined to fly the Japanese flag at a later period of their existence. Altogether there were eleven of these craft, named after letters of the Greek alphabet, but re-named by the Chinese. They were named Lung-shang (Alpha), he-wei (Beta), Fei-ting (Gamma), Tche-tien (Delta), the first two of 340 tons, the other two of 420 tons, and which the Chinese still own. The remainder are a little larger, four, Cheng-tung (Epsilon), Chen-Sei (Zeta), Chen-nan (Eta), Chen-pei (Theta), of 490 tons, and Chin-pen (Kappa), Hai-chang-ching (Lambda), and Chen-chung (Iota) of 500 tons. Japan now owns all of this last batch, except the Hai-chang-ching.

Gamma and Delta carry a 38-ton Armstrong M.L.; all the others are armed with the 11-in. 25-ton gun. Horse-power varies from 235 in the smaller craft to 472 in the larger. There are slight differences in dimensions, but the largest only runs to 125 ft. long by 29 ft. broad. Two other rather smaller gunboats once existed, but these the French sunk at Foochow in the early eighties. The development of small guns has long since rendered this type of gunboat useless; but, apart from that, the bad care taken of them by the Chinese would have made them of no service.

China in 1881 was making some considerable efforts towards being a naval power, efforts that continued till 1889, when they suddenly died out, or resolved themselves into the building of small craft by Chinamen. A Chino-Japanese war was a possibility in 1881 as much as in 1890. Neither side was, however, ready for the conflict, and in the early eighties Japan’s energies were concentrated on training _personnel_, China’s on acquiring _materiel_. In 1881 the latter had launched for her the big ironclad Ting Yuen at Stettin, followed a little later by the Chin Yuen, now in the Japanese service. From the time China first had them, Japan coveted these ironclads; by the irony of fate, she did not secure them (or rather the one that was left) till far superior ships of her own were on the stocks.

The Tung Yuen sank at Wei-hai-wei during the war; the Chen Yuen, her sister, was taken at the same time. Her details are:—

Displacement 7350 tons.
Material of hull Steel.
Length 308 ft.
Beam 59 ft.
Draught 23 ft.
Armament (originally) Four 12-in. 20 cals. Krupp.
Two 6-in. Krupp.
Eight machine guns.
One torpedo tube in the stern;
one on each beam forward of barbettes.
Horse-power 6200.
Screws Two.
Speed (on first trials) 14.5 knots.
Engines Two sets, three-cylinder horizontal
compound.
Coal 1000 tons.

The arrangement of the heavy armament is upon the system that in 1880 was held to be the system of the future—four big guns able to fire end-on or on the broadside. The ideal warship of those days was to fight in line abreast. The advantages of that disposition were seen, while its disadvantages were ignored. It was not realised how easily an enemy could get round upon either flank and mask the fire of nearly all the units in this cumbersome formation, the advantages of which lie only in going into action against an enemy right ahead.

When the Chin Yen was the Chinese Chen Yuen she carried thin shields over her big guns. The 6-in. pieces were in the extreme bow and stern, each in a 3-in. turret. The big gun shields were removed before the war. The Japanese captured these with Port Arthur, and have since replaced them. They have also mounted a 6-in. Q.F. in the bow turret, substituted a 6-in. Q.F. behind a shield for the after turret, and mounted two additional Q.F.’s upon sponsons specially built near the mainmast. Two 6-pounder Q.F. and a number of 3- or 2½-pounders have also been added on the upper deck. The photograph shows the ship as she now is.

The armour of the Chin Yen is distributed as follows: Amidships for 150 ft. is a 14-in. compound belt. Under-water and at the end of it this belt thins to 10 ins. Forward and aft of it is a protective deck 3 ins. thick. The ends of the belt are joined by flat bulkheads of 14 ins. Rising from this redoubt are the barbettes, 12 ins. compound. The starboard one is forward, the port somewhat aft of it.[9] The big gun hoods are quite thin, 4 ins. or less; between the big guns in the conning-tower, 8 ins. in thickness.

[9] In the plans generally published of these ships this order is, in error, reversed.

THE CHIN YEN AT EVOLUTIONS WITH THE JAPANESE FLEET. 1902.]

The ship, it will be seen, is of the British Ajax or Colossus type—very much a “soft ender.” She is, however, given a good deal of protection in the way of specially arranged watertight compartments, and there is also a species of cofferdam.

In 1881 Elswick set afloat the Arturo Prat, a small cruiser originally intended for Chili, but subsequently purchased by Japan and re-named Tsukushi. China had two sisters built at the same time, the Tchao Yong and Yang-wei, both of which were sunk at Yalu. Particulars of the Tsukushi are as follows:—

Displacement 1350 tons.
Material of hull Steel.
Length 210 ft.
Beam 32 ft.
Draught (maximum) 16½ ft.
Armament Two 10-in. 32 cals. Elswick.
Four 4.7 in. Q.F.[10]
Four 1-pdr. Q.F.
Two torpedo tubes.
Horse-power 2887.
Screws Two.
Speed on trial 16.4 knots.
Sea speed (_circa_) 12 knots.
Coal 250 tons.

Engines (by Hawthorn Leslie) Horizontal compound.

[10] These replaced four non-quickfiring guns.

The ship has no armour deck, or protection of any sort.

In 1882 the construction of wooden ships was still proceeding in Japan. In that year they launched at Yokosuka the Kaimon, of which the measurements are:—

Displacement 1367 tons.
Material of hull Wood.
Length 211 ft.
Beam 32 ft.
Draught (mean) 16½ ft.
Armament Eight 4¾-in. Krupp.
Two 3-pdr. Q.F.
Horse-power 1125.
Trial speed 12 knots.
Screws One.
Coal 180 tons.
Complement 230.

The engines were constructed in Japan at the Yokosuka Dockyard, and are of the horizontal compound type. This was the first ship put together by them of which they constructed the engines also.

The following year they launched the Tenriu at Yokosuka. Details are:—

Displacement 1547 tons.
Material of hull. Wood.
Length 212 ft.
Beam 32½ ft.
Draught (mean) 16½ ft.
Armament Eight 4¾-in. Krupp.
Two Nordenfelts.
Horse-power 1165.
Trial speed 12 knots.
Screws One.
Coal 256 tons.
Complement 214.

JAPANESE CRUISER TSUKUSHI AT SEA.]

The ship is practically a sister to the Kaimon. The engines of both were made at Yokosuka, and are of the same type. Both ships have swan bows, one funnel, and are barque-rigged. The sterns are rather square.

In 1884 Elswick suddenly sprang the deck-protected cruiser on the world. In that year was launched the famous Esmeralda. She was, like the Arturo Prat, built for Chili, and as a Chilian cruiser bore a share in the Chilian revolution. When the Chino-Japanese war broke out Japan made overtures for this ship, and in 1895 purchased her through the agency of Ecuador. The war was over before the cruiser could be employed, but she was probably purchased against possible eventualities with Russia, France, and Germany. Being now obsolete, she has not proved a valuable acquisition, and the Japanese speak of her as a very bad sea boat. Particulars of this once famous vessel are:—

Displacement 3000 tons.
Material of hull Steel.
Length 270 ft.
Beam 42 ft.
Draught (maximum) 19½ ft.
Armament (originally) Two 10-in. 32 cals.
Six 6-in. 32 cals.
Two 6-pdr. Q.F.
Five 1-pdr. Q.F.
Two Gardners.
Three torpedo tubes, one of them
in the bow.

The six 6-in. B.L. have been removed by the Japanese, and six 4.7-in. Q.F. of 40 calibres substituted.

When new the Esmeralda was one of the swiftest ships afloat. Her I.H.P. natural draught was 6500, with an 18.5-knot speed on her trials in 1885. She carries 400 tons of coal, with provision for 200 tons more.

Protection is afforded by a steel deck 1 in. thick on the slopes and ½ in. on the flat. Over the loading stations of the big guns a 1-in. steel skin is carried.

News of the Esmeralda’s fame soon reached Japan, and two glorified editions of her, the Naniwa and Takachiho, were promptly ordered. Japanese home construction was not, however, affected, and three composite vessels, Yamato, Katsuragi, and Mushashi, were put in hand, and launched in 1885-86. Details of these are as follows:—

Displacement 1502 tons.
Material of hull Composite.
Length 207 ft.
Beam 36 ft.
Draught (mean) 15 ft.
Armament Two 6.6-in. Krupp.
Six 4¾-in. Krupp.
Four Nordenfelts.
Two torpedo tubes.
Horse-power 1600.
Trial speed 13.5 knots.
Complement 231.

As before, Yokosuka made the horizontal compound engines, and in the Katsuragi twin screws were attempted for the first time. These ships are now employed for training squadron duties. They have clipper bows, and are, generally speaking, small editions of the British Raleigh. They are all three barque-rigged. The Mushashi is distinguished by a red band, the Katsuragi a yellow one.