Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (大日本帝國海軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) was the navy of Japan before 1945. It was administered by the Ministry of the Navy of Japan and controlled by the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff at Imperial General Headquarters.

Modernization

Bakumatsu period (1840-1868)

The study of Western shipbuilding resumed in the 1840s, and intensified together with the increased activity of Western shipping along the coasts of Japan, due to the China trade and the development of whaling. In 1852, the government of the Shogun, the Bakufu, fearing further foreign incursions, started the construction of the first post-seclusion Japanese Western-style warship, the Shōhei Maru.

Related Topics:
Shipbuilding - China - Whaling - 1852 - Shogun - Bakufu - ''Shōhei Maru''

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In 1854, Commodore Perry of the United States Navy, obtained the opening of the country to international trade and the establishment of foreign concessions. From that time, the Tokugawa shogun government enforced an active policy of assimilation of Western naval techniques. A naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto, Admiral Togo, and later on Admiral Yamamoto. The French naval engineer Léonce Verny was hired to build Japan's first modern naval arsenals, at Yokosuka and Nagasaki.

Related Topics:
1854 - Commodore Perry - United States Navy - Tokugawa - Shogun - Nagasaki - Enomoto - Togo - Yamamoto - Léonce Verny - Yokosuka

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By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru (other ships included the Jho Sho Maru, the Ho Sho Maru and the Kagoshima, all built by Thomas Blake Glover in Aberdeen), which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. The conflict culminated with the Naval Battle of Hakodate in 1869, Japan's first large-scale modern naval battle.

Related Topics:
Tokugawa - 1867 - Shogun - ''Kaiyō Maru'' - Jho Sho Maru - Ho Sho Maru - Thomas Blake Glover - Aberdeen - Boshin war - Enomoto - Naval Battle of Hakodate - 1869

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Meiji restoration onward (1868-)

From 1868, the restored Meiji Emperor continued with massive reforms to industrialize and militarize Japan in order to prevent it from being overwhelmed by the United States and European powers. During the Meiji period, Japan built up its new navy and broadly based it on the British Royal Navy, they also relied heavily on British and French expertise and bought many ships from British and French shipyards. In 1869, Japan acquired its first ocean-going ironclad warship, the Kotetsu, barely ten years after such ships were first introduced in the West with the launch of the French La Gloire.

Related Topics:
1868 - Meiji Emperor - Royal Navy - 1869 - Kotetsu - La Gloire

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Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895)

Japan continued the modernization of its navy, especially as China was also building a modern fleet with foreign assistance. In 1886, the French Navy engineer Emile Bertin was hired to reinforce the Japanese Navy, and to directs the construction of the arsenals of Kure and Sasebo. The Sino-Japanese war was officially declared on August 1, 1894, though some naval fighting had already taken place. The Japanese navy devastated Qing's northern fleet off the mouth of the Yalu River at the Battle of Yalu on September 17, 1894, in which the Chinese fleet lost 8 out of 12 warships.

Related Topics:
1886 - Emile Bertin - Kure - Sasebo - Sino-Japanese war - August 1 - 1894 - Yalu River - Battle of Yalu - September 17

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Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905)

Following the Sino-Japanese War, and the forced return of the Liaotung peninsula to China under Russian pressure, Japan began to build up its military strength in preparation for further confrontations.

Related Topics:
Liaotung peninsula - China - Russia - Japan

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Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up program, under the slogan "Perseverance and determination" (????, Gashinsh?tan), in which it commissionned 109 warships, for a total of 200,000 tons, and increased its Navy personnel from 15,100 to 40,800. The new fleet consisted of:

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• 6 battleships (all British-made)
• 8 armored cruisers (4 British, 2 Italian, 1 German, and 1 French-made)
• 8 cruisers (5 Japanese, 2 British and 2 US-made)
• 24 destroyers (16 British and 8 Japanese-made)
• 63 torpedo boats (26 German, 10 British, 17 French, and 10 Japanese-made)

One of these battleships, Mikasa, the most advanced ship of her time, was ordered from the Vickers shipyard in the United Kingdom at the end of 1898, for delivery to Japan in 1902.

Related Topics:
Vickers - United Kingdom

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These dispositions culminated with the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). At the Battle of Tsushima, the Mikasa led the combined Japanese fleet into what has been called "the most decisive naval battle in history". The Russian fleet was almost completely anihilated: out of 38 Russian ships, 21 were sunk, 7 captured, 6 disarmed, 4,545 Russian servicemen died and 6,106 were taken prisoner. On the other hand, the Japanese only lost 116 men and 3 torpedo boats.

Related Topics:
Russo-Japanese War - Battle of Tsushima

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Towards an autonomous national Navy

After the conflict, Japan endeavoured to built up a strong national naval industry. The last major purchase was in 1913 when the battlecruiser Kongo was purchased from the Vickers shipyard. By 1920 it was the world's third largest navy, and was a leader in many aspects of naval development:

Related Topics:
1913 - ''Kongo'' - Vickers - 1920

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• The Japanese Navy was the first in the world to have a wireless communication system, used during the Battle of Tsushima.
• In 1909 it launched the battleship Satsuma, at the time the largest ship in the world by displacement.
• In terms of armament, it was the first navy to mount 14-, 16- and 18.1-inch guns.
• In 1922 it launched the Hosho, the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier in the world.