Tokyo Bay Fortress (東京湾要塞, Tokyo-wan yosai) was the name of a group of coastal fortifications built to guard the entrance to Tokyo Bay and thus the city of Tokyo from attack from the sea. These gun batteries and fortifications ceased to be used after the end of World War II.
A series of six island fortresses (daiba) constructed in 1853 by Egawa Hidetatsu for the Tokugawa shogunate in order to protect Edo from attack by sea, the primary threat being Commodore Matthew Perry's Black Ships which had arrived in the same year to force Japan to end its centuries-old national isolation policy[1] Of the originally planned 11 batteries, seven were started construction but only six were ever finished, one of which was the artificial island of Odaiba.[2]
An important feature of the Tokyo Bay Fortress was a series of three artificial islands built between Cape Futtsu and Cape Kannonzaki at the entrance to Tokyo Bay in the 1910s. Equipped with 15-cm guns, this enabled the Tokyo Bay Fortress to cover the entire span of Tokyo Bay within firing ranges and provided a second line of defense against any ships which might have breached the gun emplacements at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. The third of these islands (the one closest to Cape Kannonzaki) was rendered unusable by land subsidence caused by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. It remnants posed an ongoing threat to navigation, and were removed from 2000 to 2007.
All fortifications were dismantled at the end of World War II; however, the remains of the Sarushima Battery[3] and Chiyogasaki Battery[4] were designated as National Historic Sites of Japan on March 10, 2015. This was the first instance of post-Meiji period military-facilities receiving this designation.
^Ishizaki, Masakazu (1992). "Bunken kara mita Shinagawa daiba" [A Study on Sinagawa Daiba through Literatures]. Dobokushi Kenkyu (Historical Studies in Civil Engineering) (in Japanese). 12: 403–408. doi:10.2208/journalhs1990.12.403.
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May 04, 2024
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Tokyo Bay Fortress 東京湾要塞 Tokyo wan yosai was the name of a group of coastal fortifications built to guard the entrance to Tokyo Bay and thus the city of Tokyo from attack from the sea These gun batteries and fortifications ceased to be used after the end of World War II Tokyo Bay FortressTokyo Bay JapanNo 1 Kaiho 1974 TypeDefensive fortificationSite informationControlled by Empire of JapanConditionruinsSite historyBuilt1884 1945MaterialsConcrete Wood SteelDemolished1946Battles warsWorld War IIGarrison informationOccupantsImperial Japanese Army No 2 Kaiho 1988 No 3 Kaiho 1983 Kenzaki Battery 2010 Cape Ofusa Battery 2007 Contents 1 History 2 Components of the Tokyo Bay Fortress 2 1 Around Yokosuka 2 2 Miura Peninsula 2 3 Boso Peninsula 3 See also 4 Further reading 5 References 6 External linksHistory editA series of six island fortresses daiba constructed in 1853 by Egawa Hidetatsu for the Tokugawa shogunate in order to protect Edo from attack by sea the primary threat being Commodore Matthew Perry s Black Ships which had arrived in the same year to force Japan to end its centuries old national isolation policy 1 Of the originally planned 11 batteries seven were started construction but only six were ever finished one of which was the artificial island of Odaiba 2 After the Meiji restoration the primary threats to the new Empire of Japan were perceived to be Qing China s Beiyang fleet followed by the Russian Empire s Pacific Fleet The Meiji government ordered the construction of a new set of coastal fortifications starting in 1884 The main facilities were constructed on the western coast of the Boso Peninsula from Cape Susaki in Tateyama to Cape Futtsu in Futtsu Chiba Prefecture and from Jogashima at the southern tip of the Miura Peninsula to the Uraga Channel at the mouth of Tokyo Bay and extending to Natsushima in the city of Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture The Tokyo Bay Garrison Command was established in 1894 It was renamed the Tokyo Bay Fortress Command in 1895 and was headquartered at Yokosuka Many of the 28 cm howitzers installed in the gun emplacements around Tokyo Bay Fortress were removed during the Russo Japanese War and were deployed to the Siege of Port Arthur where they were deployed to devastating effect against the Russian Pacific Fleet From the 1920s and 1930s many surplus guns of the Imperial Japanese Navy such as the 12 in main battery of the battleship Aki which had been made available due to the reduction of capital warships per the London Naval Treaty and the Washington Naval Treaty were reused in these coastal artillery installations An important feature of the Tokyo Bay Fortress was a series of three artificial islands built between Cape Futtsu and Cape Kannonzaki at the entrance to Tokyo Bay in the 1910s Equipped with 15 cm guns this enabled the Tokyo Bay Fortress to cover the entire span of Tokyo Bay within firing ranges and provided a second line of defense against any ships which might have breached the gun emplacements at the entrance to Tokyo Bay The third of these islands the one closest to Cape Kannonzaki was rendered unusable by land subsidence caused by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake It remnants posed an ongoing threat to navigation and were removed from 2000 to 2007 All fortifications were dismantled at the end of World War II however the remains of the Sarushima Battery 3 and Chiyogasaki Battery 4 were designated as National Historic Sites of Japan on March 10 2015 This was the first instance of post Meiji period military facilities receiving this designation Components of the Tokyo Bay Fortress editAround Yokosuka edit Natsushima Battery Sasayama Battery Hakozaki Battery Hashima Battery Yonegahama Battery Sarushima Battery National Historic Site No 3 Kaiho Miura Peninsula edit Jogashima Battery Sendasaki Battery Chiyogasaki Battery National Historic Site Kannonzaki Battery Misaki Battery Tsurugizaki Battery Kinugasa Ammunition Main Magazine Oyabe Magazine Boso Peninsula edit No 1 Kaiho No 2 Kaiho Futtsu Motosu Fort Battery Kanaya Battery Cape Taifusa Battery Susaki 1st Battery Suzaki 2nd Battery Tateyama Navy Air CorpsSee also editArmy of Tokyo Bay Eastern District Army Japan First General Army Japan Further reading editNess Leland 2014 Rikugun Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937 1945 Helion amp Company ASIN B00SLVGP2M References edit The architecture of Tokyo Hiroshi Watanabe p 143 Ishizaki Masakazu 1992 Bunken kara mita Shinagawa daiba A Study on Sinagawa Daiba through Literatures Dobokushi Kenkyu Historical Studies in Civil Engineering in Japanese 12 403 408 doi 10 2208 journalhs1990 12 403 Yokosuka City official site Yokosuka City official home pageExternal links edit nbsp Media related to Tokyo Bay Fortress at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tokyo Bay Fortress amp oldid 1210912594, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
