Yokosuka Naval District
Encyclopedia
was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy
. Its territory included Tokyo Bay
and the Pacific
coasts of central and northern Honshū
from the Kii Peninsula
to Shimokita Peninsula
.
at the entance to strategic Tokyo Bay
was recognized of critical importance by the Tokugawa shogunate
and early Meiji government. In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate
government established the Yokosuka Seisakusho, a military arsenal
and naval base
, with the help of foreign engineers
, including the French
naval architect Léonce Verny
. The new facility was intended to produce modern, western-style warship
s and equipment for the Tokugawa navy. After the Boshin War
and the Meiji Restoration
, the new Meiji government took over control of the facility in 1871, renaming it the Yokosuka Zosenjo (Yokosuka Shipyards). In August 1876, the Imperial Japanese Navy was organized into eastern and a western strategic zones, with the eastern zone based at Yokosuka, and the western zone based at Nagasaki
. However, for ease of communications with naval headquarters in Tokyo
, the Tōkai Naval District was relocated to Yokohama
in September 1876.
With the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Navy in April 1886, Japan was divided into five naval districts for recruiting and supply, and the headquarters for the Tokai Naval District was relocated back to Yokosuka, becoming the Yokosuka Naval District, and the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
was placed under its command. As with all naval districts, it was under the direction of the Navy Ministry during peacetime, and came under the command of the fleets stationed within the district in time of war.
A Bureau of Torpedo Warfare was established at Yokusuka in June 1885. In a further administrative re-organization of the Japanese Navy in 1889, Yokosuka was designated as the “First Naval District” (第一海軍区, dai-ichi kaigunku), and its harbor was dredged, a breakwater
extended and docking facilities for warship
s were increased. A Bureau of Mine Warfare was also established. In 1893, schools for naval mechanical engineering, torpedo warfare
and naval artillery
were established. Schools for naval engineering, and for mine warfare
followed in 1907 and a naval medical center in 1908. Naval aviation
facilities were established in June 1912, followed by a wireless communications facility in April 1913.
On January 14, 1917, the exploded and sank in Yokosuka port in an accident. The Naval Construction Department was established in 1921. In June 1930, a Naval Communications School was established, but the Naval Mine School was made independent of the naval district. A Naval Aviation School was established in April 1934.
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
in 1941, Yokosuka Naval District encompassed the following
Yokosuka was bombed by United States Navy
and United States Army Air Force aircraft in the final stages of the Pacific War
, most notably during the attack on Yokosuka
on 18 July 1945, but many of its facilities were captured intact by the Allied forces
. The Yokosuka area came under occupation by American forces during the occupation of Japan, and the facilities of the former Yokosuka Naval District were inherited by the United States 7th Fleet
. A small portion of the area continues to be used by the modern post-war Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which has preserved a portion of the original red brick gates.
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. Its territory included Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
and the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coasts of central and northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
from the Kii Peninsula
Kii Peninsula
The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...
to Shimokita Peninsula
Shimokita Peninsula
The Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. Administratively the area is a part of Aomori Prefecture....
.
History
The location of YokosukaYokosuka, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 419,067 and a population density of 4,160 people per km². It covered an area of 100.62 km²...
at the entance to strategic Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
was recognized of critical importance by the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
and early Meiji government. In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
government established the Yokosuka Seisakusho, a military arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
and naval base
Naval base
A naval base is a military base, where warships and naval ships are deployed when they have no mission at sea or want to restock. Usually ships may also perform some minor repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on the ships but are undergoing maintenance while...
, with the help of foreign engineers
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
, including the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
naval architect Léonce Verny
Léonce Verny
François Léonce Verny, was a French officer and naval engineer who directed the construction of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan, as well as many related modern infrastructure projects from 1865 to 1876, thus helping jump-start Japan's modernization.-Early life:Léonce Verny was born in Aubenas,...
. The new facility was intended to produce modern, western-style warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s and equipment for the Tokugawa navy. After the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
and the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, the new Meiji government took over control of the facility in 1871, renaming it the Yokosuka Zosenjo (Yokosuka Shipyards). In August 1876, the Imperial Japanese Navy was organized into eastern and a western strategic zones, with the eastern zone based at Yokosuka, and the western zone based at Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
. However, for ease of communications with naval headquarters in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, the Tōkai Naval District was relocated to Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
in September 1876.
With the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Navy in April 1886, Japan was divided into five naval districts for recruiting and supply, and the headquarters for the Tokai Naval District was relocated back to Yokosuka, becoming the Yokosuka Naval District, and the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama...
was placed under its command. As with all naval districts, it was under the direction of the Navy Ministry during peacetime, and came under the command of the fleets stationed within the district in time of war.
A Bureau of Torpedo Warfare was established at Yokusuka in June 1885. In a further administrative re-organization of the Japanese Navy in 1889, Yokosuka was designated as the “First Naval District” (第一海軍区, dai-ichi kaigunku), and its harbor was dredged, a breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
extended and docking facilities for warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s were increased. A Bureau of Mine Warfare was also established. In 1893, schools for naval mechanical engineering, torpedo warfare
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
and naval artillery
Naval artillery
Naval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...
were established. Schools for naval engineering, and for mine warfare
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
followed in 1907 and a naval medical center in 1908. Naval aviation
Naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by navies, including ships that embark fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role under the command of non-naval forces such as the former RAF Coastal Command or a...
facilities were established in June 1912, followed by a wireless communications facility in April 1913.
On January 14, 1917, the exploded and sank in Yokosuka port in an accident. The Naval Construction Department was established in 1921. In June 1930, a Naval Communications School was established, but the Naval Mine School was made independent of the naval district. A Naval Aviation School was established in April 1934.
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
in 1941, Yokosuka Naval District encompassed the following
- Yokosuka Naval District HQ
- Yokosuka Naval Base
- Yokosuka Naval Base HQ
- Yokosuka Communications Center
- Yokosuka Supply Department
- Accounting Department
- Construction Department
- Ports & Docks Unit
- Yokosuka Naval ArsenalYokosuka Naval Arsenalwas one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama...
- Naval Hospital
- Naval Prison
- Naval Fuel Depot
- Yokosuka Base Garrison
- Yokosuka Naval Infantry Unit
- Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Forces
- Yokosuka Submarine Base
- Yokosuka Naval Guard Force
- Auxiliary Cruiser Noshiro Maru
- Yokosuka Coastal Defense Squadron
- Minesweeper Division 25
- Minesweeper Division 26
- Destroyer
- Yokosuka Naval Air Group (Oppama)
- Tateyama Naval Air Group
- Kisarazu Naval Air GroupKisarazu Air Groupwas an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific campaign of World War II.-History:...
- 11th Naval Air Flotilla (Training)
- Hyakurigahara Air Group (Ibaraki Pref)
- Kashima Air Group
- Kasumigaura Air Group
- Suzuka Air Group
- Tsuchiura Air Group
- Tsukuba Air Group
- Yatabe Air Group
- Yokosuka Naval Base
Yokosuka was bombed by United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and United States Army Air Force aircraft in the final stages of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, most notably during the attack on Yokosuka
Attack on Yokosuka
The attack on Yokosuka was an air raid conducted by the United States Navy on 18 July 1945 during the Pacific War. The Japanese battleship Nagato was the raid's main target, though anti-aircraft positions and other warships at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal were also attacked. Other U.S. Navy and...
on 18 July 1945, but many of its facilities were captured intact by the Allied forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. The Yokosuka area came under occupation by American forces during the occupation of Japan, and the facilities of the former Yokosuka Naval District were inherited by the United States 7th Fleet
United States 7th Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
. A small portion of the area continues to be used by the modern post-war Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which has preserved a portion of the original red brick gates.
See also
- Kure Naval DistrictKure Naval Districtwas the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern Kyūshū and Shikoku....
- Sasebo Naval DistrictSasebo Naval Districtwas the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and the Pacific...
- Maizuru Naval DistrictMaizuru Naval Districtwas one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō.-History:...
- Ōminato Guard DistrictOminato Guard DistrictThe was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay, The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay, The was the major navy base for...
- United States Fleet Activities YokosukaUnited States Fleet Activities YokosukaU.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...