The 　was the second vessel of the
''Matsushima'' class protected cruisers of the
Imperial Japanese Navy. Like its
sister ships, (the
''Itsukushima'' and
''Hashidate'') its name comes from one of the three most famous scenic spots in Japan, in this case, the
Matsushima archipelago near
Sendai in
Miyagi prefecture.
Background
Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the
First Sino-Japanese War, the ''Matsushima''-class cruisers were based on the principles of
Jeune Ecole, as promoted by French military advisor and naval architect
Emile Bertin.
The Matsushima was built by the
Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards in
France.
The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a large
battleship navy to counter the heavier vessels of the
Chinese navy; 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")
Canet gun. ''Matsushima'' differed from her two sister ships in that the 320 mm gun was mounted abaft the superstructure, rather than forwards. The design eventually proved impractical, as the recoil from the huge cannon was too much for a vessel of such small displacement, and the reloading time on the cannon was impractically long; however, the ''Matsushima''-class cruisers served their purpose well against the poorly-equipped and poorly-led Chinese fleet.
Service life
The Matsushima arrived in
Sasebo on
19 October 1892, As part of its shakedown cruise, from June - November 1893, the ''Matsushima'',
''Takachiho'' and
''Chiyoda'' made a 160-day, 7000
nautical mile cruise off the shores of
China,
Korea and
Russia.
After the start of the
First Sino-Japanese War, the ''Matsushima'' was the
flagship of Admiral
Ito Sukeyuki. It played a central role in the
Battle of the Yalu River, where an ammunition explosion killed 90 crewmen, more than half of the Japanese casualties during the battle. During the battle, the ''Matsushima'' got off only 4 rounds of her 320 mm cannon, the ''Itsukushima'' 5 rounds, and the ''Hashidate'' 5 rounds. Of these shots, it appears that only one was a direct hit on any ships in the Chinese fleet. The ''Matsushima'' saw subsequent action in the attack on
Weihaiwei.
After the end of the war, the ''Matsushima'' was reclassified as a 2nd class
cruiser on
21 March 1898.
Prince Arisugawa Takehito (1862-1913) was later appointed captain, followed by
Uryu Sotokichi.
From
3 May 1898 to
15 September 1898, the Matsushima was assigned to patrolling the sea lanes between Taiwan and
Manila, during the period of heightened tension between Japan and the
United States during the
Spanish-American War.
In 1900, the Matsushima escorted Japanese transports to China during the
Boxer Rebellion.
In 1902, the ''Matsushima'' was dispatched to
Minami Torishima, in response to
American claims that the island was US territory.
In 1903, the Matsushima made the first of its long distance navigational training voyages, visiting
Southeast Asia and
Australia. It would later repeat this voyage in 1906, 1907 and 1908.
During the
Russo-Japanese War, the hopelessly obsolete ''Matsushima'' and her sister ships were assigned to the 5th squadron of the reserve 3rd Fleet, together with the equally outdated
ironclad battleship
''Chin'en'' under the command of Admiral
Shichiro Kataoka. It was present at the blockade of
Port Arthur, the
Battle of the Yellow Sea and the final
Battle of Tsushima. Later assigned the Japanese 4th Fleet, it was part of the flotilla that provided protection for the Japanese invasion of
Sakhalin.
On
30 April 1908, while on a training cruise for the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, an accident in the ammunition storage locker of the ''Matsushima'' caused a massive explosion, which sank the vessel while in route in the
Pescadores islands off of
Taiwan, with loss of 207 of her 350 member crew.
A memorial to the ''Matsushima''-class ships in general, and the ''Matsushima'' in particular is located at the temple of Omido-ji in
Mihama,
Aichi prefecture. The memorial contains one of the ''Matsushima's'' 320 mm shells, weighing 450 kg, and standing 97.5 cm tall.
Gallery
References
★ Evans, David. ''Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941''. US Naval Institute Press (1979). ISBN: 0870211927
★ Howarth, Stephen. ''The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945''. Atheneum; (1983) ISBN: 0689114028
★ Jane, Fred T. ''The Imperial Japanese Navy''. Thacker, Spink & Co (1904) ASIN: B00085LCZ4
★ Jentsura, Hansgeorg. ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945''. Naval Institute Press (1976). ISBN: 087021893X
★ Schencking, J. Charles. ''Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922''. Stanford University Press (2005). ISBN: 0804749779
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