Historic Yokosuka

Historic Museum Ship Mikasa and Statue of Togo Heihachiro - Yokosuka, Japan

Yokosuka 横須賀市is my favorite navy town. The city itself traces its roots back thousands of years, and was an important location from the earliest records of record Japanese history. Uraga, a subdivision of Yokosuka, was home to the Tokugawa fleet due to its strategic location at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. In 1720, the Shogunate established the Uraga bugyo 浦賀奉行, officials tasked with administering the port of Uraga and policing the waterways surrounding it, primarily to ensure that Japan remained closed off to foreign influence.

With the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and Meiji Restoration in 1868, control of Uraga passed to the new Imperial government, and the following year saw the Uraga port and shipyard became the Uraga Dock Company 浦賀船渠株式会社, owned by a founding father of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Enomoto Takeaki 榎本 武揚. Uraga Dock Company was the most successful private shipyard in Japan for many years and remained in business under various ownership until 2003; in that time it produced more than 1,000 vessels, including 40 for the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1906 and 1944. You can tour the old Uraga shipyard here. 

As Japan’s modernization sped up in the late 19th century, the Imperial Japanese Navy日本海軍divided established two spheres of influence in August 1876. Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was the hub in the east, (Tokai Chinjufu, 東海鎮守府) and Nagasaki Naval Arsenal for the west (Saikai Chinjufu 西海鎮守府).  The shipyards at the center of these zones were designed by the French naval engineer Leonce Verny, who has a museum here. . 

The construction of these Naval Arsenals helped jump-start Japanese modernization in the early Meiji Era; a crucial step toward getting out from under the unequal treaties. Three drydocks built in this era at Yokosuka are still in use today. Although Tokai was moved to Yokohama 横浜 in September 1876, Yokosuka remained a critical piece of naval infrastructure. In 1886 when the Imperial Japanese Navy was reorganized into five naval districts, Yokosuka regained this HQ role. Today, it is the home to the headquarters of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force 海上自衛隊, and the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet.

Historic Yokosuka is full of fascinating bits of history from one end to the other. A barrel from the battleship Mutsu is here. I've written about the Mikasa Historic Memorial Warship before, that's in Yokosuka also. Finally, you should not miss the ambience and deep history of Kannozaki Park. If you’re one of the many who have been stationed in Yokosuka, share your experiences below! If you call Yokosuka home, please visit some of the historic sites listed here, and enjoy the best navy town in Japan, maybe even the world!