Kuma: "Wounded Valley", a river in higo province Tatsuta: "Dragon Field", a river in Yamato (q.v.) province Tenryu: "Heaven's Dragon", a river rising at Lake Suwa, in Shinano (q.v.) province - has famous rapids. Light, Small, or "Type B" cruisers were generally named after rivers & streams. Tone: "Land Possessor", the river between Musashi (q.v.) and Shimosa provinces Mogami: A river, divides the Ugo and Uzen provinces Takao: "High Hero", a mountain NW of KyotoĬhokai: "Bird Sea", a volcano in Ugo province Large, Heavy or "Type A" Cruisers were named mostly after mountains, but Mogami-class were named after rivers as they were originally laid down as Type-B (light) cruisers. Unryu: "Cloud of a Heaven-flying dragon", "Dragon in Clouds"Ĭhitose: "1000 Years," or, "Long Life", a cityĬhiyoda: "That which will live 1000 years or 1000 generations", "Like the Fields" (also the name of the Imperial palace in Tokyo) Shinano: A province, containing Nagano City ( Shinano was originally laid down as a battleship) also the longest river in Japan
Zuikaku: "Lucky or Fortunate or Auspicious Crane" Shokaku: "Crane Flying in Heaven" (also "Happy Crane") Ryujo: "Such as a dragon builds", "Sacred Dragon" Kaga: "Increased Joy", a province name ( Kaga was originally laid down as a battleship)Īkagi: "Red Castle", a volcano in the Kanto area ( Akagi was originally laid down as a battlecruiser) Hosho: "How a phoenix dives", implies power Also, an ancient name for JapanĪircraft carriers and seaplane carriers were mostly named after mythical flying creatures. Yamato: A province, contains Nara and points south. Kii: A province, contains Wakayama, Owari Mutsu: A province, the northern tip of Hokkaido Hiei: "The Cold" - a monastery and mountain, NE of Kyotoįuso: "Land of Divine Mulberry Trees" (an old name forJapan) Kongo: "Stability" - "The invincibility of Buddhism" And if anybody out there has a hankering for Japanese calligraphy and wants to conjure up a few of these for me,Ĭapital ships were mostly named after provinces, although Kongo-class, being battlecruisers, were named after mountains. It is arranged in order of date of launching of the vessel in question, class by class.Ĭomments or corrections are welcome. The partial list below was transcribed by Brooks Rowlett. The Japanese language is highly poetical in nature, and it is not surprising that even Japanese warships carried names which were very lyrical. Japanese Ship Names | Nihon Kaigun Japanese Warship Names
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