Maizuru Naval District Explained

was 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

The strategic importance of the location of Maizuru and its potential for development into a military port for operations in the Sea of Japan towards Korea, Russia and even China was recognized early by the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the administrative re-organization of the navy in 1889, Maizuru was designated as the headquarters of the Fourth Naval District (Japanese: 第四海軍区, dai-yon kaigunku), and its harbor was dredged, a breakwater constructed and docking facilities for warships established.

With the First Sino-Japanese War, the port was fortified with the addition of heavy coastal artillery. However, the naval bases at Sasebo and Kure were geographically more convenient for the navy during the war, and received the bulk of the navy's attention and funding. Although naval repair facilities and shipyards Maizuru Naval Arsenal were opened in 1903, the mountainous terrain around Maizuru port proved an impediment to expansion, and the area languished as somewhat of a backwater. This continued even through the Russo-Japanese War, despite Maizuru's more convenient location to the center of that conflict. In the post-war period, with Korea in Japanese hands, and the threats from Russia and China very much diminished, there were discussions about closing the military port. Although Maizuru was one of the largest military shipyards in Japan (specializing in destroyer construction), the Washington Naval Treaty of 1923 also considerably reduced the demand for warship construction, and its facilities were largely mothballed until 1936.

With the Pacific War, Maizuru was reactivated as a recruiting, training, and logistical support district. It was also a base for one of Japan's Special Naval Landing Forces, and a Naval Air Station. Maizuru was also the location of the Imperial Japanese Navy Engineering Academy.

The area today is occupied in part by facilities of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which has preserved a portion of the original red-brick gates and a couple of buildings as commemorative museums.

List of commanders

Commanding Officers

NamePortraitRankTerm of Office
StartEnd
1Tōgō HeihachirōVice Admiral1 October 190119 October 1903
2Hidaka SōnojōVice Admiral Admiral (after 7 August 1908)19 October 190328 August 1908
3Kataoka ShichirōVice Admiral Admiral (after 1 December 1910)28 August 190818 January 1911
4Misu SotarōVice Admiral18 January 191125 September 1913
5Yashiro RokurōVice Admiral25 September 191317 April 1914
6Sakamoto HajimeVice Admiral17 April 191413 December 1915
7Nawa MatahachirōVice Admiral13 December 19151 December 1917
8Takarabe TakeshiVice Admiral1 December 19171 December 1918
9Nomaguchi KaneoVice Admiral1 December 19181 December 1919
10Kuroi TeijirōVice Admiral1 December 191916 August 1920
11 Satō TetsutarōVice Admiral16 August 19201 December 1921
12Oguri KozaburōVice Admiral1 December 19211 April 1923
13Saitō HanrokuVice Admiral1 April 19231 June 1923
14Hyakutake SaburōVice Admiral1 June 19234 October 1924
15Nakazato ShigejiVice Admiral4 October 19241 June 1925
16Furukawa ShinzaburōVice Admiral1 June 192510 December 1926
17Ōtani KoshirōVice Admiral10 December 192616 May 1928
18Iida NobutarōVice Admiral16 May 192810 December 1928
19Tosu TamakiVice Admiral10 December 192811 November 1929
20Kiyokawa JunichiVice Admiral11 November 19291 December 1930
21Suetsugu NobumasaVice Admiral1 December 19301 December 1931
22Ōminato NaotarōVice Admiral1 December 19311 December 1932
23Imamura NobujirōVice Admiral1 December 193215 September 1933
24Hyakutake GengoVice Admiral15 September 193315 November 1934
25Matsushita HajimeVice Admiral15 November 19342 December 1935
26Shiozawa KōichiVice Admiral2 December 19351 December 1936
27Nakamura KamezaburōVice Admiral1 December 19361 December 1937
28Idemitsu ManbeeVice Admiral1 December 193715 November 1938
29Katagiri EikichiVice Admiral15 November 193815 November 1939
30Hara GorōVice Admiral15 November 193815 April 1940
31Kobayashi SōnosukeVice Admiral15 April 194014 July 1942
32Niimi MasaichiVice Admiral14 July 19421 December 1943
33Ōkawachi DenshichiVice Admiral1 December 19431 April 1944
34Makita KakusaburōVice Admiral1 April 19441 March 1945
35Tayui MinoruVice Admiral1 March 194530 November 1945

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References

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