Maizuru Naval District (舞鶴鎮守府, Maizuru chinjufu) was one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō.
Maizuru Naval District (舞鶴鎮守府, Maizuru chinjufu) was one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō.
The strategic importance of the location of Maizuru and its potential for development into a military port for operations in the Sea of Japan towards Korea, Russia and even China was recognized early by the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the administrative re-organization of the navy in 1889, Maizuru was designated as the headquarters of the Fourth Naval District (第四海軍区, dai-yon kaigunku), and its harbor was dredged, a breakwater constructed and docking facilities for warships were established.
With the First Sino-Japanese War, the port was fortified with the addition of heavy coastal artillery. However, the naval bases at Sasebo and Kure were geographically more convenient for the navy during the war, and received the bulk of the navy's attention and funding. Although naval repair facilities and shipyards Maizuru Naval Arsenal were opened in 1903, the mountainous terrain around Maizuru port proved an impediment to expansion, and the area languished as somewhat of a backwater. This continued even through the Russo-Japanese War, despite Maizuru's more convenient location to the center of that conflict. In the post-war period, with Korea in Japanese hands, and the threats from Russia and China very much diminished, there were discussions about closing the military port. Although Maizuru was one of the largest military shipyards in Japan (specializing in destroyer construction), the Washington Naval Treaty of 1923 also considerably reduced the demand for warship construction, and its facilities were largely mothballed until 1936.
With the Pacific War, Maizuru was reactivated as a recruiting, training, and logistical support district. It was also a base for one of the Japan's Special Naval Landing Forces, and a Naval Air Station. Maizuru was also the location of the Imperial Japanese Navy Engineering Academy.
The area today is occupied in part by facilities of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which has preserved a portion of the original red brick gates and a couple of buildings as commemorative museums.
| No. | Name | Portrait | Rank | Term of Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | ||||
| 1 | Tōgō Heihachirō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 October 1901 | 19 October 1903 |
| 2 | Hidaka Sōnojō | 
|
Vice Admiral
Admiral (after 7 August 1908) |
19 October 1903 | 28 August 1908 |
| 3 | Kataoka Shichirō | 
|
Vice Admiral
Admiral (after 1 December 1910) |
28 August 1908 | 18 January 1911 |
| 4 | Misu Sotarō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 18 January 1911 | 25 September 1913 |
| 5 | Yashiro Rokurō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 25 September 1913 | 17 April 1914 |
| 6 | Sakamoto Hajime | 
|
Vice Admiral | 17 April 1914 | 13 December 1915 |
| 7 | Nawa Matahachirō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 13 December 1915 | 1 December 1917 |
| 8 | Takarabe Takeshi | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1917 | 1 December 1918 |
| 9 | Nomaguchi Kaneo | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1918 | 1 December 1919 |
| 10 | Kuroi Teijirō | Vice Admiral | 1 December 1919 | 16 August 1920 | |
| 11 | Satō Tetsutarō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 16 August 1920 | 1 December 1921 |
| 12 | Oguri Kozaburō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1921 | 1 April 1923 |
| 13 | Saitō Hanroku | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 April 1923 | 1 June 1923 |
| 14 | Hyakutake Saburō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 June 1923 | 4 October 1924 |
| 15 | Nakazato Shigeji | 
|
Vice Admiral | 4 October 1924 | 1 June 1925 |
| 16 | Furukawa Shinzaburō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 June 1925 | 10 December 1926 |
| 17 | Ōtani Koshirō | Vice Admiral | 10 December 1926 | 16 May 1928 | |
| 18 | Iida Nobutarō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 16 May 1928 | 10 December 1928 |
| 19 | Tosu Tamaki | Vice Admiral | 10 December 1928 | 11 November 1929 | |
| 20 | Kiyokawa Junichi | Vice Admiral | 11 November 1929 | 1 December 1930 | |
| 21 | Suetsugu Nobumasa | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1930 | 1 December 1931 |
| 22 | Ōminato Naotarō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1931 | 1 December 1932 |
| 23 | Imamura Nobujirō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1932 | 15 September 1933 |
| 24 | Hyakutake Gengo | 
|
Vice Admiral | 15 September 1933 | 15 November 1934 |
| 25 | Matsushita Hajime | 
|
Vice Admiral | 15 November 1934 | 2 December 1935 |
| 26 | Shiozawa Kōichi | 
|
Vice Admiral | 2 December 1935 | 1 December 1936 |
| 27 | Nakamura Kamezaburō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1936 | 1 December 1937 |
| 28 | Idemitsu Manbee | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1937 | 15 November 1938 |
| 29 | Katagiri Eikichi | 
|
Vice Admiral | 15 November 1938 | 15 November 1939 |
| 30 | Hara Gorō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 15 November 1938 | 15 April 1940 |
| 31 | Kobayashi Sōnosuke | 
|
Vice Admiral | 15 April 1940 | 14 July 1942 |
| 32 | Niimi Masaichi | 
|
Vice Admiral | 14 July 1942 | 1 December 1943 |
| 33 | Ōkawachi Denshichi | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 December 1943 | 1 April 1944 |
| 34 | Makita Kakusaburō | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 April 1944 | 1 March 1945 |
| 35 | Tayui Minoru | 
|
Vice Admiral | 1 March 1945 | 30 November 1945 |