The Imperial Japanese Navy

Nagasaki

Nagasaki is not a dockyard town, though it is generally supposed to be outside Japan, on account of its being a naval harbour.

It is the oldest port in Japan, its history dating from the Dutch trading days. It contains two docks, as follows:—

There is also a patent slip, of which the rails are 750 ft. long, the breadth 30 ft., and the lifting power in tons 1200.

It has already been mentioned that Nagasaki was an old Dutch station; but the present Tategami yard was established about the time of the Crimean War, by the Tokugawa Government, with the assistance of Dutch engineers. After the civil war it was taken over by the Imperial Government, who in 1884 sold it to the Mitsu Bishi Company, to which it now belongs.

This company built the present granite dry docks. In 1889 they had begun to build ships—a tug of 206 tons gross being their first effort. Since then quite large vessels have been constructed, not always with success; but, as an invariable rule, the failures on one have led to successes on another, and the yard is now a very going concern, employing about 4000 men.

The harbour and docks are extensively used by men-of-war.

As yet, judged by European standards, no really excellent work has been turned out at Nagasaki. The main trouble has been with riveting; but this is being steadily overcome, and it is purely a question of time before ocean greyhounds will be turned out at this yard.

The work is not entirely Japanese; “stand-by” Westerners still exist. These are kept in the background, in case their services are needed. So far as I can gather, they are not requisitioned unless a difficulty occurs, which is another way of saying that they are less and less in demand. The majority of these stand-by men have Japanese wives, and have adopted Japan as their country; as often as not they are naturalised Japanese subjects.

Takeshiki.

Takeshiki, on the island of Tsushima, is the advanced coaling station of Japan. There are two approaches, on the west and on the south-east, but only the first is possible to big ships. In the centre of the western entrance is a large shoal, three and a half fathoms below low-water mark, leaving very deep channels close inshore on either side. As the whole entrance is only some two thousand yards wide, flanked by high hills, it will be seen that it is impregnable. Inside is a large and very deep harbour, where the whole Japanese Fleet could lie.

The coaling station of Takeshiki lies six miles from the entrance by water, and five as the crow flies. It is, however, only some three thousand five hundred yards from a fourteen-fathom bay on the south-east, and so susceptible to a long-range bombardment from this quarter. It is to be bombarded also from several other east-coast inlets.

The port is very strongly fortified with Canet 9.4’s on disappearing mountings.

Ominato.

Ominato, on the north coast of the principal island, is a torpedo-boat base. The town lies in a huge bay (Rikuoko Bay) that runs out of the Tsuguru Straits, on the opposite shores of which Hakodate stands.

The country is very mountainous, the highest peak being 3264 feet high, and the lower ones seldom less than a thousand feet.

In the war the Russians once passed through the Tsuguru Straits, but it was a risky proceeding.

Kobé.

Kobé, on the Gulf of Osaka, on the Inland Sea, is a fine roadstead, with western and southern entrances twenty miles apart, the island between them being nearly two thousand feet high in places.

There is a yard here, where all the Japanese-built torpedo craft are constructed.

Kuré.

At Kuré, no great distance away, the Japanese armour-plate plant is being laid down; but at the time of writing things are still in an elementary stage, and it will be some years yet before Japan is able to armour plate her own battleships. Probably, as Russia did, Japan will begin by building her own battleships and importing the armour plates.