20 October 1896: Newcastle upon Tyne, Elswick, England. Laid down at Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd's shipyard as an "Elswick" Armored Cruiser for the Empire of Japan..
6 July 1897:
A formal contract is awarded under Japan's 96-7 second stage naval expansion plan No. 3.
1 December 1897:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Shimazaki Yoshitada (2) is appointed Chief Bringing Officer (CBO) and travels to Great Britain.
21 March 1898:
Launched and named ASAMA.
24 June 1898:
Captain Shimazaki is appointed CO.
10 Februry 1899:
Tyne estuary. In sea trials, 9,885 ton ASAMA makes 22.1 knots and achieves 18,278 i.h.p.
18 March 1899:
Completed. Rated a first-class cruiser and registered in the Yokosuka Naval District.
19 March 1899:
Departs Newcastle.
17 May 1899:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
17 June 1899:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Mukaiyama Shinkichi (5) is appointed CO.
30 April 1900: 3rd Imperial Naval Review:
Kobe. The Meiji Emperor aboard ASAMA conducts his annual review of the fleet. 49 vessels participate in the review.
20 May 1900:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hosoya Sukeuji (5) is appointed CO.
13 March 1901:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Nakao Yu (5) is appointed CO.
August 1902: British Coronation Naval Review:
Spithead, Great Britain. ASAMA is part of a delegation dispatched for the Coronation Review for King Edward VII. During the outward leg of this voyage between Malta and Britain, ASAMA tests some advanced British radio technology.
12 January 1903:
Captain later Vice Admiral) Teragaki Izo (6)Nakao Yu (5) is appointed CO.
1 April 1903:
Arrives at Malta.
4 April 1903:
Departs Malta.
17 May 1903:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
6 July 1903:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Taketomi Kunikane is appointed CO.
8 February 1904: The Russo-Japanese War:
Without waiting for a declaration of war, Japan opens hostilities with a surprise attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet spread among Port Arthur (Lushun), Manchuria,. Vladivostok and Chemulpo Bay (now part of Inchon, Korea).
Chemulpo Bay, Korea:
Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Uryu Sotokichi’s (USNA ‘81) Second Squadron with cruisers ASAMA, AKASHI, CHIYODA, NANIWA, NIITAKA and TAKACHIHO, torpedo boats, dispatch boat CHIHAYA, three transports and 2,500 ground troops attack Chemulpo, the main port for the Korean capital of Seoul. The battle resulted in the destruction of Russian cruiser VARYAG and old gunboat KORIETZ.
10 August 1904: The Battle of the Yellow Sea:
Yellow Sea, off Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula, China. ASAMA participates in a battle to prevent the Russian fleet at Port Arthur from breaking out and joining the Russian fleet from Vladivostok. The Russians are forced to return to port.
October 1904:
Russian Admiral Zinovi P. Rozhdestvenski’s Baltic fleet departs on an eight-month journey to the Far East.
May 1905:
Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov's Third Pacific Squadron joins Rozhdestvenski's fleet
26 May 1905:
The 45-ship Russian fleet is sighted entering Japanese waters.
27 May 1905:
The Combined Fleet under Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) the Marquis, Togo Heihachiro's sorties from Chinhae, Korea to engage the Russians.
27-28 May 1905: The Battle of Tsushima:
In a running gun battle off Okinoshima, Admiral Togo Heihachiro's fleet of battleships, cruisers, including ASAMA, and smaller ships battle Rozhdestvenski. Thirty-four Russian vessels are sunk, scuttled or captured. Only two Russian destroyers and a light cruiser reach Vladivostock, Siberia. Six other smaller ships reach neutral ports and are interned. 4,830 Russian officers and men are KIA and 5,917 captured. Togo loses three torpedo boats and several capital ships are damaged.
23 October 1904: 5th Imperial Naval Review
Yokohama. The Meiji Emperor aboard ASAMA conducts his annual review of the fleet. 166 vessels participate in the review.
12 December 1905:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Koizumi Kotaro (8) is appointed CO.
18 November 1906: 6th Imperial Naval Review:
Kobe. The Meiji Emperor aboard ASAMA conducts his annual review of the fleet. 123 vessels participate in the review.
22 November 1906:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Miyaji Sadatatsu (9) is appointed CO.
28 September 1907:
Captain (later Admiral) Nomaguchi Kaneo (13) is appointed CO.
10 December 1906:
Captain (later Admiral) Ito Otojiro (13) is appointed CO.
15 May 1908:
Captain Yamakiyoshi Taro (11) is appointed CO.
18 November 1908: 6th Imperial Naval Review:
Kobe. The Meiji Emperor conducts his annual review of the fleet. 123 vessels participate in the review including ASAMA.
10 December 1908:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Tanaka Morihide (13) is appointed CO.
22 May 1909:
Captain Yamamoto Takesaburo (13) is appointed CO.
9 April 1910:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Tanaka Morihide (13) again is appointed CO.
12 April 1911:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Tanaka Morihide (13) again is appointed CO with additional duty as Equipment Officer of Kure Naval Yard.
23 May 1911:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Matsuoka Shuzo (14) is appointed CO.
25 October 1911:
Captain Isobe Ken (14) is appointed CO.
4 August 1914:
World War 1 begins.
23 August 1914:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yoshioka Hansaku (18) is appointed CO.
October 1914:
The Imperial Japanese Navy sends ASAMA and other ships on an unsuccessful search for German commerce raiders in the Central Pacific including the German protectorate of Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands.
3 December 1914:
An unknown Captain is appointed CO.
31 January 1915:
Baja California peninsula, off the central west coast of Saint-Bartolome, Mexico. ASAMA runs aground and is severely damaged on a reef not listed on her charts.
8 May 1915:
Refloated.
21 June 1915:
Undergoes emergency repairs in San Diego, CA.
18 December 1915: Arrives at Yokosuka and undergoes further repairs.
15 July 1916:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Shiraishi Naosuke (17) is appointed CO.
1 December 1916:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Uchida Kosaburo (22) is appointed CO.
March 1917:
Repairs are completed.
2 March 1918:
ASAMA and IWATE depart Yokosuka for the West Coast of North America on a training cruise with the 45th class.
6 July 1918:
Returns to Yokosuka.
17 July 1918:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Furukawa Hiroshi (22) is appointed CO.
1 March 1919:
AZUMA and TOKIWA depart Yokosuka for South Asia and Australia on a training cruise with the 46th class.
27 March 1919:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Aoki Tohei (27) is appointed CO.
14 July 1919:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Imaizumi Tetsutaro (25) is appointed CO.
26 July 1919:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
20 November 1919:
Captain (later Vice Admiral)Oyamada Shigezo (27) is appointed CO.
24 November 1919:
AZUMA and TOKIWA depart Yokosuka for Southeast Asia, Suez and the Mediterranean on a training cruise with the 47th class.
20 May 1920:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
21 August 1920:
ASAMA and IWATE depart Yokosuka for South America and the South Seas islands on a training cruise with the 48th class.
2 April 1921:
Returns to Yokosuka.
April 1921:
Re-rated a First Class Coastal Defense Ship.
20 November 1921:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Shiraishi Nobunari (28) is appointed CO.
26 June 1922:
ASAMA, IWATE, IZUMO and the Training Squadron depart Yokosuka with the 50th class of Etajima bound for Honolulu, Los Angeles, the Panama Canal, Rio de Janeiro (to attend a naval review commemorating the 100th anniversary of Brazil’s independence), Buenos Aires, Argentina, Capetown and Durban, S Africa. Lays over at Colombo, Ceylon, Singapore and Hong Kong.
8 February 1923:
Arrives back at Yokosuka.
1 March 1923:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yonemura Sueki (29) is appointed CO.
7 November 1923:
ASAMA, IWATE and YAKUMO depart Yokosuka for Southeast Asia and Australia on a training cruise with the 51st class.
5 April 1924:
Arrives back at Yokosuka.
15 April 1924:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hitsuda Kesaichi(29) is appointed CO.
10 November 1924:
ASAMA, IZUMO and YAKUMO depart Yokosuka for the west coast of North America with the cadets of the 52nd class.
4 April 1925:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
20 April 1925:
captain Imagawa Magane (31) is appointed CO.
30 June 1926:
ASAMA, IZUMO and YAKUMO depart Yokosuka the Mediterranean with the cadets of the 54th class.
1 December 1926:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Fujiyoshi Akira (31) is appointed CO.
17 January 1927:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
30 June 1927:
ASAMA and IWATE depart Yokosuka for Australia on a training cruise with the 55th class.
19 July 1927:
Arrives at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
22 July 1927:
Departs Pearl Harbor.
6 August 1927:
Arrives at Los Angeles.
25 September 1927:
ASAMA and IWATE arrive at Boston, MA.
26 September 1927:
Depart Boston for New York.
26 December 1927:
Arrives back at Yokosuka.
28 December 1927:
Captain Shoji Hibino (34) is appointed CO.
1 July 1929:
ASAMA and IWATE depart Yokosuka for the Mediterranean Sea on a training cruise with the 57th class.
27 December 1929:
Returns to Yokosuka.
15 November 1930:
An unknown Captain is appointed CO.
1 February 1931:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Kasuya Soichi (35) is appointed CO.
1 February 1932:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Ota Taiji (37) is appointed CO.
1 March 1932:
ASAMA and IWATE depart Yokosuka for the West Coasts of North and Central Americas on a training cruise with the 59th class.
14 July 1932:
Returns to Yokosuka.
15 February 1934:
ASAMA and IWATE depart Yokosuka for the Southeast Asia and Australia on a training cruise with the 61st class.
26 July 1934:
Returns to Yokosuka.
20 August 1934:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Okawach, Denshichi (37) is appointed CO.
1 August 1935:
14 October 1935: Near Hiroshima Shiraishi lighthouse. Returning to Kure after an air defense exercise, ASAMA runs aground and is wrecked. She is later refloated by a crane ship.
6 March 1936:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Kawashima Yoshio (48) is appointed Division Commander of ASAMA.
1937:
Removed from the Navy List.
1937:
Kure. ASAMA is converted to a training ship for midshipmen. Registered in the Kure Naval District as a training vessel.
1944:
Towed to Mojiko outside Mutsurejima and used as barracks ship.
15 August 1945:
Japan is defeated by the Allied Powers.
30 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List again.Towed to the Hitachi Zosen Innoshima factory in Eda.
August 1946:
Dismantling begins.
March 1947:
Scrapping is completed.
Author's Notes:
[1] Thanks go to J-air reader Richard for posting the 1927 Leslie Jones photos of Iwate and Asama at Boston.
- Bob Hackett
