Battleship Mikasa

1. Facing Tokyo bay and located at the base of Miura peninsula in the south-east of Kanagawa prefecture, Yokosuka has always developed as a military harbor guarding Tokyo bay, since Edo shogunate built a western style shipyard in 1865. Owing bases of Japanese self defense agency and of Americans as well as Japanese military academy, it continues to keep a military character even now You can get to Mikasa park, where the battle ship Mikasa is anchored, in 10 minutes on foot from Yokosuka central station of Keihin express line.
2. Togo Heihachiro was born in 1847 in Kagoshima. After having participated in the wars against England and Tokugawa shogunate, he studied in naval academy of England between 1870 and 78. Then he played an active part by commanding the battle ship, Hayanami, during Sino-Japanese war in 1895. He was nominated to the supreme commander of Japanese fleet in 1903. The great victory of the battle of Tsushima 2 years later made his name unforgettable.
3. Built by Vickers shipyard in England, Battleship Mikasa was the flag ship of Japanese fleet during the battle of Tsushima in 1905. Owing the following characteristics, displacement: 15,140 tons, speed: 18 knots, main armament: 4 x 30 cm, it was one of the most advanced battleships of that epoch. After the treaty of Washington in 1922, it was disarmed and became a commemorative ship: it is now anchored at Yokoshuka harbor.
4. In order to control the naval supremacy around Japan and to isolate Japanese troops in the continent, Russians sent Baltic fleet of 38 battle ships all the way to Japan. Japanese combined fleet led by Admiral Togo intercepted it near Tsushima island and succeeded to sink or capture most of Russian ships. Togo pronounced the famous sentence, "The fate of the Empire depends on this battle", in order to encourage officers and men before the battle began.