was a 2nd class protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 of the Imperial Japanese Navy

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...

, designed and built by 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...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The name Akitsushima comes from an ancient name for Japan, as used in the ancient chronicle Kojiki

Kojiki

is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...

. It should not be confused with the later 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...

 era seaplane tender

Seaplane tender

A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

  of the same name.

Background

The Akitsushima was the sole cruiser for the Japanese navy planned under the 1889 fiscal year budget. Originally intended as a domestically-built fourth vessel in the of cruisers under the Jeune École

Jeune Ecole

The Jeune École was a strategic naval concept developed during the 19th century. It advocated the use of small, powerfully equipped units to combat a larger battleship fleet, and commerce raiders capable of ending the trade of the rival nation...

 philosophy promoted by Louis-Émile Bertin

Louis-Émile Bertin

Louis-Émile Bertin was a French naval engineer, one of the foremost of his time, and a proponent of the "Jeune École" philosophy of using light, but powerfully armed warships instead of large battleships.-Early life:...

, opposition by the pro-British faction within the navy, and growing concerns on the effectiveness and operational utility of the Matsushima-class, led to a new design with multiple guns rather than a single, huge Canet gun. Bertin was outraged by the new design and threatened to return to France

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...

.

The armaments of the Akitsushima were initially based on the , but the navy felt that this was too light, and demanded the inclusion of an additional four 152 mm, rapid firing Armstrong cannons, twin mounted fore and aft. The rapid rate of fire of these guns gave the Akitsushima a large advantage over the more heavily armed Matsushima-class.

Service Life

After the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

, Kamimura Hikonojo was assigned command of the new cruiser Akitsushima and won distinction at the Battle of the Yellow Sea

Battle of Yalu River (1894)

The Battle of the Yalu River , also called simply 'The Battle of Yalu' took place on September 17, 1894. It involved the Japanese and the Chinese navies, and was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War...

 on 17 September 1894.

Akitsushima was among the Japanese fleet units that took part in the invasion of Taiwan

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)

The Japanese invasion of Taiwan was a conflict between the Empire of Japan and the armed forces of the short-lived Republic of Formosa following the Qing Dynasty's cession of Taiwan to Japan in April 1895 at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War...

 in 1895, and saw action on 13 October 1895 at the bombardment of the Chinese coastal forts at Takow

Cihou Fort

Qihou Fort or Qihou Battery – 19th century fort, formerly guarding northern entrance to Kaohsiung harbour.- History :First fortifications were built in 1720, during Kangxi's reign. After Japanese expedition in 1874 Chinese authorities constructed a modern fort, which in 1880 had new Armstrong's...

 (Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...

).

During the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

, the Akitsushima (which was then based at Makung

Makung

Makung is the county seat of Penghu, in Taiwan Province, Taiwan . Makung is on the western part of the main Penghu Island....

 in the Pescadores Islands, was sent to Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 to safeguard Japanese interests and citizens.

On 21 March 1898, the Akitsushima was re-designated as a 3rd class protected cruiser. It was called upon for escort duties for Japanese troops and supplies during the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

.

Considered underpowered, poorly armored, and outgunned by the time of the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

, the Akitsushima was largely assigned to rear line duties. It was based in the Tsushima islands

Tsushima, Nagasaki

is a city governed by Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the only city of Tsushima Subprefecture and it encompasses all of Tsushima Island Archipelago, which lies in the Tsushima Strait north of Nagasaki on the western side of Kyūshū, the southernmost mainland island of Japan. the city has an...

, and patrolled the sea lanes between Tsushima and Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....

. It was in the Japanese 3rd Fleet during the Battle of Tsushima

Battle of Tsushima

The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...

.

The Akitsushima was re-classified as a Second Class Coastal Defense Vessel on 28 August 1912, and despite its antiquated equipment and age was called upon again during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, to serve in the 2nd Fleet during the Battle of Tsingtao

Battle of Tsingtao

The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China during World War I by Imperial Japan and the United Kingdom....

 against the Imperial German Navy

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

. During the remainder of the war, it patrolled the sea lanes between Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Manila, and Saigon against German raiders, as part of Japan’s contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance

Anglo-Japanese Alliance

The first was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club, on January 30, 1902, by Lord Lansdowne and Hayashi Tadasu . A diplomatic milestone for its ending of Britain's splendid isolation, the alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921...

.

After the war, it was re-designated a training ship on 30 April 1921. The Akitsushima was scrapped on 10 January 1927.