Japanese Battleship Mikasa sits in Mikasa Park, Yokosuka, Japan.

Japan and Russia are at war.  Russian incursions into Manchuria and Korea in search of natural resources and warm-water ports in the Pacific angered the Japanese Empire, who saw the attempts as Russia encroaching on their sphere of influence and disrespecting Japan’s place on the world stage.  In 1904, these tensions blew up and after negotiations failed, Japan declared war on Russia.   At first Russia didn’t take Japanese threats seriously, but the stunning failure of the Russian fleets in Port Arthur and Vladivostok to escape anchorage and break the Japanese blockade, taking heavy damage in the process, led the Tsar Nicholas II to send a large part of the Baltic fleet around Africa, across the Indian Ocean, and into the Sea of Japan to relieve the Pacific fleet.   It was a long, difficult trip, but these Japanese upstarts couldn’t possibly stand against a full Russian battleship fleet.  Right?

A statue of Admiral Togo, commander of the fleet at Tsushima Strait, stands tall in front of his flagship in the battle, Battleship Mikasa.

And so, early in the morning on May 27^th, 1905, Admiral Togo, leading the Japanese fleet from his new flagship, the Battleship Mikasa, got his fleet underway in the early morning fog.  The Russian relief fleet was sighted overnight steaming toward Tsushima Strait.  They had hoped to slip through in the night and reach the remains of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok, but intercepted Japanese wireless messages let them know that they had been found and had Japanese cruisers shadowing them.  Battle was inevitable.  By early afternoon, the two fleets were in sight of each other and Admiral Togo crossed the Russian “T”, bringing the full firepower of his five battleships and numerous cruisers to bear.  The Russians, while having more twice the number of battleships, were still greatly outnumbered and after such a long voyage around the horn of Africa, their ships were ill-supplied and in poor condition.  And after so much time at sea without any friendly ports, Russian morale was also in very poor condition.  By nightfall, Mikasa and her comrades sent four Russian battleships to the bottom with only light damage in return.  After nightfall, Japanese destroyers and torpedo boats moved in to finish the job.  By the morning of the morning of the 28^th, all but a few Russian ships were either sunk or heavily damaged and surrounded while the Japanese had lost only three small torpedo boats.  They had no choice but to surrender.  Of the 38 Russian ships that started the battle, only two small destroyers and a large armed yacht arrived in Vladivostok.  The rest were either sunk or captured by the Japanese.  The Japanese Navy, with Mikasa in the lead, had almost completely destroyed the navy of one of the great Western powers.  The Russians were forced to concede defeat and end the war and Japan was left as the dominant power in the Far East.

The side of Mikasa, bristling with guns. Before HMS Dreadnought and the advent of the modern battleship, these old battlewagons were designed with as many guns as possible, all of varying calibers.

The battle of Tsushima isn’t that well known outside of Japan and Russia, but it is historically significant for a few reasons.  It was the first major battle between two modern steel hulled battleship fleets and the Russian Battleship Oslyabya was the first all-steel battleship to be sunk by naval gunfire.  It also further established and emboldened Japan’s colonial ambitions in Asia while showing the west that they weren’t the only ones playing the naval power game.  While most Japanese ships at the time were built and designed by the British, Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese war clearly showed that, given access modern technology and tactics, non-European nations could equal or defeat the western powers.  Today, most people would never question that fact – nor would I.  In 1904, however, it was a different world and the idea that non-Europeans (or the U.S.) could match the might of Europe was a scary thing.  And Battleship Mikasa was front and center in all of this.

Mikasa

Battleship Mikasa stands proud in Mikasa Park, Yokosuka, Japan

Battleship Mikasa was ordered from the Vickers shipyard by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1898 and was based on the Royal Navy Formidable class ship with two extra 6 inch guns crammed onto her decks.  These days, it is easy to think of emerging navies buying retired warships from other countries, but the Japanese in the late Meiji were buying brand new, bleeding edge ships and paying cash.  So Mikasa was almost brand new and top of the line when she went into battle that early May morning.  She didn’t say new and pristine for long though.  She only took minor damage in the Russo-Japanese war, but shortly after the war, while in port in Sasebo, a fire broke out and detonated one of her powder magazines.  The crippled ship settled onto the bottom of the harbor and 251 men were killed.  She was still the flagship and pride of the Japanese fleet, so she was quickly raised and while she was being repaired, she also had her guns upgraded.  She served the Japanese in WWI and supported Japan’s attempted intervention in the Russian Civil War, but these conflicts passed without incident for the grand warship.  Meanwhile, Britain had launched the HMS Dreadnaught and changed the face of battleships forever, leaving older style battleships like Mikasa far behind.  Following the restrictions placed on the naval powers by the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, the young, but now obsolete, battleship was scheduled for the scrap yard.  But Japan’s memory is long, and the flagship of Tsushima was too important to throw away, so the Japanese petitioned the other treaty countries to allow the Japanese to preserve the ship as a museum.   The other naval powers agreed, but only if Mikasa was permanently berthed with her hull encased in concrete, ensuring she could never sail again.  And so Mikasa still rests today, encased in concrete along the water’s edge on the Yokosuka waterfront.

A replica six inch gun on the deck of Battleship Mikasa. Following WWII, the ship was stripped of almost all structures above the deck and guns of this style and age are very rare, so replicas had to be made.  All of the guns on board, from the main armament and turrets to these smaller caliber guns had to be completely remade when the ship was restored.

Mikasa’s retirement hasn’t been kind to her though.  After WWII, all of her superstructure and guns were stripped away and scrapped, leaving only a bare hulk.  For a short time, a dance hall and a small aquarium were built on top of her main deck and she fell into disrepair.  Eventually, those businesses failed, and Mikasa was left abandoned.  Then, in the late 50s, the Japan Times with the support of American Admiral Chester Nimitz launched a successful campaign to see Mikasa restored as a proper museum ship, open to all.  In 1961, she reopened with much fanfare and a visit from Prince Masahito.  Today the ship is well maintained and open to the public, with much of her decks, guns, and rigging accurately reproduced from photos and schematics of her in her heyday.  The guns are, of course, non-functional replicas, and only one deck is open below the main weather deck.  Even so, she is the only battleship of her era left in existence, and that really is something.

One of the larger caliber broadside guns with hammocks strung next to it. There are several displays around the ship intent on showing what life on board was like in 1905.

The Mikasa’s museum is fairly good considering the limited area of the ship open to the public.  There are displays in the various spaces with mannequins showing activities such as firing the guns.  The Admiral’s quarters at the stern of the first deck are fully refurnished as they would have been and are open to walk through.  There are many signs in English and a lot of good information about the Battle of Tsushima Strait, including an interactive V/R experience.  There are a few claims made in the museum, though, that are a bit of a stretch.   The biggest claim is that the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese war directly led to freedom for all colored people and inspired non-whites to push for more freedom and equality –especially in Asia.  While the battle, and the war, had implications on the international stage, most people outside of Japan, Russia, and the European ruling classes really didn’t know much about it.  So, while I can’t say it had no bearing, the museum makes a pretty big claim with no real way to back it up.

The bridge of Battleship Mikasa, restored with fittings bought from other scrapped ships of the same era or recreated from old plans.

The second big claim the Mikasa museum makes is that Mikasa is one of the “Three World-Renowned Historic Memorial Warships”, alongside USS Constitution and HMS Victory.  They claim that these three ships are the most important preserved warships in the world as each helped establish and maintain their native countries.  The issue here is, how do you say there are only three great memorial warships?  Mikasa is definitely a good museum ship, and her historical significance is unquestionable.  But the same can be said about a dozen other museum ships around the world.  Once again, this is a pretty broad claim with no real way to objectively support it.

Looking back toward the gangway from the Admiral’s gallery.

All that aside, if you do find yourself in Yokosuka with an afternoon free, Mikasa is definitely worth the time and money needed to visit.  You can see most of the ship in a couple hours, and the 600 yen entrance fee is worth it considering that there are no other ships of her type in existence, and only two other ships from her era left in the world.  For that reason alone, she is worth the trip to pay her a visit.