View source for Japanese cruiser Kasagi

{{other ships|Japanese ship Kasagi}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Japanese_cruiser_Kasagi_at_Kobe_1899.jpg
|Ship caption= Japanese cruiser ''Kasagi'' at Kobe in 1898
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Empire of Japan]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Kasagi''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=1896 Fiscal Year
|Ship builder=[[William Cramp & Sons]], [[Philadelphia]], [[United States|USA]]
|Ship laid down=13 February 1897
|Ship launched=20 January 1898
|Ship completed=24 October 1898
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship yard number=291
|Ship out of service=10 August 1916 
|Ship struck=5 November 1916
|Ship homeport=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Wrecked in the [[Tsugaru Strait]] 
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Kasagi|cruiser}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|4979|t|LT|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|114.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length at the waterline|w/l]]
|Ship beam={{convert|14.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|5.41|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power={{convert|11600|kW|hp|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[Triple expansion steam engine|vertical triple expansion]] reciprocating engines
*12 × boilers
*2 × [[Propellor|screw]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|22.5|kn|km/h mph|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship range={{convert|4000|nmi|km mi|lk=on|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h mph|abbr=on}}  
|Ship complement=405
|Ship armament=*2 × [[20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun|{{convert|20.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}/45 Type 41 naval gun]]s
*10 × [[QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IV|{{convert|12|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}/40 Type 41 naval gun]]s
*12 × [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun]]s
*6 × [[QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss]] guns
*5 × {{convert|356|mm|in|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armor=*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|112|mm|in|abbr=on}} (slope), {{convert|62|mm|in|abbr=on}} (flat)
*[[Gun shield]]: {{convert|114.3|mm|in|abbr=on}} (front), {{convert|62|mm|in|abbr=on}} (sides)
*[[Conning tower|Conning Tower]]: {{convert|115|mm|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

{{nihongo|'''''Kasagi'''''|笠置}} was the [[lead ship]] in the {{sclass|Kasagi|cruiser|0}} [[protected cruiser]]s in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. The vessel was the [[sister ship]] to the {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Chitose||2}}. She was named after [[Kasagi, Kyoto|Mount Kasagi]], a holy mountain outside [[Kyoto]].

==Background==
''Kasagi'' was ordered as part of the 1896 Emergency Fleet Replenishment Budget, funded by the [[War reparations|war indemnity]] received from the [[Qing dynasty|Empire of China]] as part of the settlement of the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] ending the [[First Sino-Japanese War]].

==Design==
''Kasagi'' was designed and built in [[Philadelphia]], in the [[United States]] by [[William Cramp & Sons]] (who had also built the cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Varyag|1899|2}} for the [[Imperial Russian Navy]]). ''Kasagi'' was the first major capital warship to be ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy from an American shipbuilder. Her specifications were very similar to that of the British-built {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Takasago||2}}, but with slightly larger displacement and overall dimensions, but with identical gun armament (and without the [[Bow (ship)|bow]] [[torpedo tube]]s). However, internally the ships were very different, with ''Kasagi'' having 142 watertight compartments, compared with 109 in ''Takasago''.<ref name=Conway>Chesneau, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921''. Page 230</ref>
[[File:Kasagi 1898 in UK.jpg|thumb|left|''Kasagi'' without guns, before sailing to the UK]]

==Service record==
The day after she was formally commissioned, the yet-unarmed ''Kasagi'' participated in a [[naval review]] at Philadelphia celebrating the end of the [[Spanish–American War]]. For her [[shakedown cruise]] in November 1898, ''Kasagi'' was sailed from Philadelphia directly to [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]], where her armament was installed. She arrived at [[Yokosuka Naval District]] on 16 May 1899. Future [[admiral]] [[Yamashita Gentarō]] served as [[executive officer]] on ''Kasagi'' between 1899 and 1900.

In April 1900, while participating in maneuvers in [[Kagoshima Bay]], ''Kasagi'' collided in a fog bank with a commercial steamer, forcing the steamer to beach itself to avoid sinking. Damage to ''Kasagi'' did not prevent her from completing the maneuvers. The first overseas deployment of ''Kasagi'' was in 1900, to support Japanese [[naval landing forces]] which occupied the port city of [[Tianjin]] in northern China during the [[Boxer Rebellion]], as part of the Japanese contribution to the [[Eight-Nation Alliance]]. From her crew, 52 sailors were dispatched on a landing operation.

''Kasagi'' participated in maneuvers in July 1901, simulating an attack by foreign powers on the port of [[Sasebo, Nagasaki|Sasebo]]. The following month, she accompanied {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Iwate||2}} on a good-will visit to the Russian port of [[Vladivostok]].

===Russo-Japanese War===
[[File:Japanese cruiser Kasagi.png|thumb|left|''Kasagi'' in 1899]]
During the [[Russo-Japanese War]], ''Kasagi'' was active from its base in [[Korea]] in the [[Battle of Port Arthur]]. On 9 February 1904, she was part of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron under the overall command of Admiral [[Dewa Shigetō]] which engaged the Russian fleet at the entrance to [[Lüshunkou|Port Arthur]], taking some minor damage. In March, ''Kasagi'' and {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Yoshino||2}} were reassigned to assist Admiral [[Kamimura Hikonojō]]'s forces in the [[shore bombardment|bombardment]] of Vladivostok. On 14 May, ''Kasagi'' assisted in efforts to save the crew of the [[battleship]] {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Hatsuse||2}} after that ship struck a [[naval mine]], rescuing 134 survivors, and firing on Russian destroyers.

During the [[Battle of the Yellow Sea]] on 10 August, ''Kasagi'' engaged the {{ship|Russian battleship|Poltava|1894|2|up=yes}}, and participated in the unsuccessful pursuit of the cruisers {{ship|Russian cruiser|Askold|1900|2}} and {{ship|Russian cruiser|Novik|1900|2}}.

At the crucial final [[Battle of Tsushima]], ''Kasagi'' was the [[flagship]] of the 3rd Division under Admiral Dewa and was commanded by Captain [[Yamaya Tanin]]. ''Kasagi'' made the first shot of the battle by firing on the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Oryol||2}}. At around 14:30, together with the other cruisers in the 3rd Division, she engaged the Russian cruisers {{ship|Russian cruiser|Oleg||2}}, {{ship|Russian cruiser|Aurora||2}}, and {{ship|Russian cruiser|Zhemchug||2}}. However, ''Kasagi'' was hit below the waterline by a Russian shell, which flooded a boiler room and coal bunker, killing one crewman and injuring nine others, and was forced to withdraw from combat to address the damage.<ref name= Willmont >Willmont, ''The Last Century of Sea Power''.</ref>

===Final years===
In October 1908, ''Kasagi'' participated in the first large-scale post-war fleet maneuvers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. From 1910, she was assigned training duties, and made a long-distance navigational training voyage from 16 October 1910 to 6 March 1911 to [[Hawaii]]. She underwent extensive overhaul in 1912, with her cylindrical boilers replaced by more reliable Miyabara boilers.<ref name=Conway/>

During [[World War I]], ''Kasagi'' was assigned to the [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Japanese 1st Fleet]], but was still primarily used as a training vessel.

''Kasagi'' ran aground in heavy weather in the [[Tsugaru Strait]] between [[Honshū]] and [[Hokkaidō]] en route to [[Akita, Akita|Akita]] on 20 July 1916, suffering a major hull breach in the vicinity of her second smoke stack. After salvage of some equipment, she sank on 10 August and was formally written off the [[navy list]] on 5 November of the same year.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last= Chesneau |first= Roger|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. |publisher= Naval Institute Press |year=1985|isbn=0-87021-907-3 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Evans|first1=David C.|author-link2=Mark Peattie|last2=Peattie |first2=Mark R.|title=Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1997|isbn=0-87021-192-7|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book| last = Jentschura| first = Hansgeorg| first2 = Dieter |last2=Jung|first3=Peter |last3=Mickel| year = 1977| title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945| publisher = United States Naval Institute| location = Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 978-0-87021-893-4|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book |last1=Milanovich|first1=Kathrin|title=Warship 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |pages=65–80 |isbn=978-1-4728-5713-2 |chapter=''Takasago'', ''Kasagi'' and ''Chitose'': The IJN's First 8in-Gun Protected Cruisers|editor-first=John|editor-last=Jordan|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|last= Roberts |first= John (ed). |title='Warships of the world from 1860 to 1905 - Volume 2: United States, Japan and Russia  |publisher= Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz |year=1983|isbn=3-7637-5403-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Schencking|first=J. Charles|title=Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2005|isbn=0-8047-4977-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Willmont|first=H. P.|title=The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894-1922 |publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2009 |isbn=978-0-253-35214-9 }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Kasagi (ship, 1898)}}

{{coord missing|Japan}}

{{Kasagi class cruiser}}
{{July 1916 shipwrecks}}
{{August 1916 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasagi}}
[[Category:Kasagi-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Ships built by William Cramp & Sons]]
[[Category:1898 ships]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Russo-Japanese War cruisers of Japan]]
[[Category:World War I cruisers of Japan]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1916]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Sea of Japan]]