Kure Naval District (呉鎮守府, Kure chinjufu) was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern Kyūshū and Shikoku.

The area of the Kure Naval District encompassed Hashirajima Anchoring Area located at the south end of Hiroshima Bay, 30-40 kilometers southwest of Kure. When not in need of repairs ships usually anchored in this area to free up pier space at Kure. Hashirajima was also a major staging area for fleet operations.

Tokuyama port, was also part of Kure Naval District, and had the largest fuel depot in the Japanese Navy.

History

The location of Kure within the sheltered Inland Sea of Japan was recognized of strategic importance in controlling the sea lanes around western Japan by the Meiji government and early Imperial Japanese Navy. With the formation of the navy in 1886, Japan was divided into five naval districts for recruiting and supply. During the administrative re-organization of the Japanese Navy in 1889, Kure was designated as the "Second Naval District" (第二海軍区, dai-ni kaigunku), and its harbor was dredged, a breakwater constructed and docking facilities for warships were established. The following year, work began on the Kure Naval Arsenal, which would eventually expand to become one of the largest shipyards in Japan for the construction of large capital ships. The facilities of Kure Naval District included armories, production factories for torpedoes, naval mines and naval artillery (and associated ammunition), and also a naval hospital and training centers.

The Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and Naval Staff College were relocated from Tokyo to nearby Etajima, and thus also came within the borders of the Kure Naval District, but did not come under the command of Kure Naval District itself.

In 1920, the Imperial Japanese Navy established its main submarine base and submarine warfare training school in Kure. An air wing was established in 1932, and a telecommunications center in 1937.

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Kure Naval District encompassed the following[1]

Kure was heavily bombed by United States Navy and United States Army Air Forces bombers in the final stages of the Pacific War, and many of its facilities were destroyed. The Kure area came under occupation by Australian and British forces during the occupation of Japan, and was largely demilitarized. A small portion of the area continued to be occupied by the modern post-war Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which has preserved a portion of the original red brick gates and couple of buildings as commemorative museums.

List of commanders

Commanding officers

No. Name Portrait Rank Term of Office
Start End
1 Nagayoshi Maki Vice Admiral 26 September 1887 8 March 1889
2 Nakamuta Kuranosuke Vice Admiral 8 March 1889 12 December 1892
3 Arichi Shinanojō Vice Admiral 12 December 1892 12 May 1895
4 Abo Kiyoyasu Vice Admiral 12 May 1895 26 February 1896
5 Inoue Yoshika Vice Admiral 26 February 1896 20 May 1900
6 Shibayama Yahachi Vice Admiral 20 May 1900 6 February 1905
7 Arima Shinichi Vice Admiral 6 February 1905 2 February 1906
8 Yamanouchi Masuji Vice Admiral 2 February 1906 1 December 1909
9 Katō Tomosaburō Vice Admiral 1 December 1909 1 December 1913
10 Matsumoto Kazu Vice Admiral 1 December 1913 25 March 1914
11 Yoshimatsu Motarō Vice Admiral 25 March 1914 23 September 1915
12 Ijichi Suetaka Vice Admiral 23 September 1915 1 December 1916
13 Katō Sadakichi Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 2 July 1918)

1 December 1916 1 December 1919
14 Murakami Kakuichi Admiral 1 December 1919 27 July 1922
15 Suzuki Kantarō Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 3 August 1923)

27 July 1922 27 January 1924
16 Takeshita Isamu Vice Admiral 27 January 1924 15 April 1925
17 Abo Kiyokazu Vice Admiral 15 April 1925 10 December 1926
18 Taniguchi Naomi Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 2 April 1928)

10 December 1926 10 December 1928
19 Ōtani Koshirō Vice Admiral 10 December 1928 11 November 1929
20 Taniguchi Naomi Admiral 11 November 1929 11 June 1930
21 Nomura Kichisaburō Vice Admiral 11 June 1930 1 December 1931
22 Yamanashi Katsunoshin Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 1 April 1932)

1 December 1931 1 December 1932
23 Nakamura Ryōzō Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 30 March 1934)

1 December 1932 10 May 1934
24 Fujita Hisanori Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 1 April 1936)

10 May 1934 1 December 1936
25 Katō Takayoshi Vice Admiral 1 December 1936 15 November 1938
26 Shimada Shigetarō Vice Admiral 15 November 1938 15 April 1940
27 Hibino Masaharu Vice Admiral 15 April 1940 18 September 1941
28 Toyoda Soemu Admiral 18 September 1941 10 November 1942
29 Takahashi Ibō Vice Admiral 10 November 1942 21 June 1943
30 Nagumo Chūichi Vice Admiral 21 June 1943 20 October 1943
31 Nomura Naokuni Vice Admiral

Admiral (after 1 March 1944)

20 October 1943 17 July 1944
32 Sawamoto Yorio Admiral 17 July 1944 1 May 1945
33 Kanazawa Masao Vice Admiral 1 May 1945 30 November 1945

Chief of Staff

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 2nd (Kure) Naval District, Imperial Japanese Navy, 7.12.1941
  2. ^ a b c Senshi Sōsho Vol. 80, Combined Fleet #2, "Until June 1942", Asagumo Shimbun (Tokyo, Japan), 1975. appendix table "Battle order of the Combined Fleet on 10 December 1941".

References

Category