The were a class of three warships operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The vessels in the class were named after rivers according to the navy's light cruiser naming rule. They participated in numerous actions during the Pacific War and were mainly used as destroyer flotilla leaders.
The Sendai-class light cruisers were a development of the preceding . Their boilers were better located, and they had four funnels instead of three. Each ship was designed with a flying-off platform and hangar, but did not actually carry aircraft until a catapult system was installed in 1929.
Eight additional 5,500-ton cruisers were planned to be built under the Eight-eight fleet Program. Four Sendai-class light cruisers were authorised to be constructed in Japan in 1921 and were laid down, but the last — Kako — was scrapped on the slipway in accordance with the regulations of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. The other three were sunk during World War II. Another four units were authorised to be built to the same design in 1922, but were cancelled following the signing of the Treaty after Japan decided that future cruiser construction would focus on heavy cruisers (the heavy cruisers Furutaka and Kako were built in place of two of the five cancelled Sendai Class cruisers).
| Ship | Kanji | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese: [[:fr:Sendaigawa (Kyūshū)|川内]] | Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard | 16 February 1922 | 30 October 1923 | 29 April 1924 | Sunk during the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, 2 November 1943 | |
| Japanese: [[Jinzū River|神通]] | Kōbe-Kawasaki Shipbuilding Yard | 4 August 1922 | 8 December 1923 | 31 July 1925 | Sunk during the Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943 | |
| Japanese: [[Naka River (Tochigi Ibaraki)|那珂]] | Yokohama Dock Company | 10 June 1922 | 24 March 1925 | 30 November 1925 | Hull was burned by earthquake, later scrapped; Laid down once again, 24 May 1924; Sunk during Operation Hailstone, 17 February 1944 | |
| Kako | Japanese: [[:ja:加古川|加古]] | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 15 February 1922 | Discontinued by Washington Naval Treaty on 17 March 1922 and scrapped; naval budget was used for the of the same name | ||
| Ayase | Japanese: [[:ja:綾瀬川|綾瀬]] | Cancelled and re-planned as Furutaka in March 1922 | ||||
| Minase | Japanese: [[:ja:水無瀬川|水無瀬]] | Cancelled following the Washington Naval Treaty | ||||
| Otonase | Japanese: 音無瀬 | |||||
| (unnamed cruiser) |