Japanese cruiser Itsukushima

Itsukushima was accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy on 3 September 1891, and departed Toulon for Japan on 12 November. However, during the voyage, her tube boilers began to leak profusely, and she had to be repaired in Colombo Ceylon by a repair team sent from France. She was only able to depart Colombo on 18 April 1892, arriving at Kure Naval District on 21 May 1892.

As one of the most modern vessels in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Itsukushima became part of the main Japanese fleet under Vice Admiral Itō Sukeyuki, and participated in the 17 September 1894 Battle of the Yalu River.^[4] Assigned third place in the Japanese line of battle, behind Matsushima and Chiyoda, the shortcomings of her design soon became evident. During the battle, she was able to fire her Canet gun only five times, hitting the Chinese flagship Dingyuan four times and Zhenyuan once, without creating appreciable damage to either vessel.^[5] In return, she took eight hits, including one to her engine room, bow torpedo room and one which severed her main mast. In the encounter, she suffered 15 killed and 17 wounded.

Afterwards, Itsukushima was assigned to protect convoys transporting troops and equipment to Manchuria and saw combat again at the Battle of Weihaiwei of 9 February 1895. During this battle, she was hit by a dud shell from one of the Chinese coastal batteries, which did not cause any significant damage.

Itsukushima was among warships anchored in the Seto Inland Sea off Nagahama, Shikoku, Japan, when a strong gale struck on 29 October 1897. The central battery ironclad Fusō's anchor chain broke, and Fusō drifted across the harbor, collided with the ram of Itsukushima's sister ship Matsushima and then struck Itsukushima before sinking in shallow water on a reef.^[6][7][8] Fusō later was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.^[8]

Itsukushima was reclassified as a second-class cruiser on 21 March 1898. She suffered persistent problems with her boilers, which were de-rated in pressure by February 1900, limiting her speed to less than 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph). Her 37 mm guns were also replaced by six Maxim guns in 1900.

During the Boxer Rebellion, Itsukushima was assigned to Shanghai to help protect Japanese civilians and interests.

On 25 February 1901, Itsukushima and Hashidate departed Yokosuka on a training tour which took them to Manila, Batavia, Hong Kong, Chelumpo, Pusan, Gensan, and Vladivostok, returning to Yokosuka on 14 August 1901. On her return, she was overhauled, with her boilers replaced by more reliable Belleville boilers, and her smaller armament replaced by two 76 mm guns and 18 QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss 47 mm guns.^[3]

In March 1903 it was announced that Itsukushima, together with Hashidate (flagship) and Matsushima had departed Yokosuka 15 February 1903 on a further training tour which would take them to Hong Kong, Singapore, Batavia, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Sydney, Townsville, Thursday Island, Manila, Amoy, and Fusan. This tour was of great significance in Australia, being the first visit of the Japanese fleet since the 1887 visit for the jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, further the ships were now fitted with Marconi wireless telegraphy equipment and its use there was amongst the earliest in Australia.^[9] The ship's crew included Captain K. Matsumoto, vice-captain Tetsutaro Sato, paymaster Koshi Tomchiro and assistant paymaster Tsuruyo Furusawa.^[10] Captain Matsumoto was comprehensively interviewed by a Perth journalist while awaiting the arrival of the flagship.^[11]

Further training cruises were undertaken in 1906, 1907, and 1914.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the obsolete Itsukushima and her sister ships were assigned to the 5th squadron of the reserve IJN 3rd Fleet, together with the equally outdated ironclad battleship Chin'en under the command of Admiral Kataoka Shichirō. Despite the limited capability of his ships, Admiral Kataoka was assigned to support the blockade of Port Arthur by patrols and escorts in the Korea Strait starting in February 1904 based out of the Takeshiki Guard District on Tsushima island. During May, Itsukushima covered the landings of the Japanese First Army and Japanese Second Army in Manchuria. From June through July, Itsukushima supported the Battle of Port Arthur by patrols of the harbor mouth, and shore bombardment of Russian positions, skirmishing with the Russian cruiser Novik on 26 June and with the cruiser Bayan on 9 July, and with Bayan, Askold and Pallada on 26 July.^[12]

On 10 August 1904, Itsukushima was under repairs and could not take part in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, but was in position to monitor the return of the Russian fleet to Port Arthur. Itsukushima remained stationed at the entrance to Port Arthur until the Russian surrender in January 1905. After the fall of Port Arthur, on 8 February, Itsukushima returned to Kure Naval Arsenal for repairs, which took until 22 March. On 5 April, she was back on station in the Korea Strait.

At the time of the Battle of Tsushima on 27 May 1905, Itsukushima was the flagship for Vice Admiral Kataoka's 3rd Squadron. Itsukushima opened fire on the Russian cruisers Oleg and Aurora at around 1630 at a distance of 8,000 meters (8,700 yd). Fighting continued past sundown, with the Japanese squadron sinking the repair ship Kamchatka and the battleship Knyaz Suvorov. During the first day of the battle, Itsukushima took no damage. After participating in accepting the surrender by Russian Admiral Nebogatov of the remaining ships in the Russian formation on 28 May, Itsukushima began a search for any stragglers who might attempt an escape towards Vladivostok. She returned to patrols in the Korea Strait on 30 May.

On 14 June, Itsukushima was assigned to the force assembled for the invasion of Sakhalin, which took place in July. Afterwards, she was assigned to patrols of Tsugaru Strait and returned to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for repairs on 26 August. She participated in the naval review celebrating the Japanese victory in Yokohama on 23 October.

On 28 August 1912, Itsukushima was re-classified as a second-class coastal defense vessel, and later used as a submarine tender. She was demilitarized on 1 September 1920 and re-classified as a training hulk. She was struck from the navy list and scrapped on 12 March 1926 at Kure Naval Arsenal.

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• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-689-11402-1.
• Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co.
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-893-4.
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• Roksund, Arne (2007). The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15723-1.
• Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4977-0.