is the

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

subsidiary of

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is ...

. It produces primarily specialized commercial vessels, including

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). History The first LNG carrier '' Methane Pioneer'' () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January ...

LPG carrier LPG may refer to: Science * Liquefied petroleum gas, a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases * Lipophosphoglycan, a class of molecule found on the surface of some eukaryotes, in particular protozoa Music groups * La Perdita Generacio, a Swedis ...

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

s, as well as high speed passenger

jetfoil The Boeing 929 Jetfoil are passenger-carrying, waterjet-propelled hydrofoils by Boeing. Boeing adapted many systems used in jet airplanes for hydrofoils. Robert Bateman led development. Boeing launched its first passenger-carrying waterjet-propell ...

s. In addition, it is also a producer of

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s for the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

, including submarines. Kawasaki also produces marine machinery, including marine engines, thrusters, steering gears, deck and fishing machinery.

History

Kawasaki's origins go back to April 1878, when Shozo Kawasaki established Kawasaki Tsukiji Shipyard in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

with the support of fellow

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

native and Vice Minister of Finance,

Matsukata Masayoshi Prince was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1891 to 1892 and 1896 to 1898. Early life Matsukata Masayoshi was born on 25 February 1835, in Arata, Kagoshima, Satsuma Province (present-day Shimoarata, Kagoshima, Kagosh ...

. In 1886, Kawasaki established a second shipyard in Kobe, Hyōgo prefecture. With the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ...

, the two shipyards were flooded with new orders and ship repair requests. The two shipyards were merged in 1896 as the Kawasaki Dockyard Company, Ltd. Realizing the limitation of private management, Kawasaki decided to take the company

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

, and (as he had no son) chose

Matsukata Kojiro Matsukata (written: 松方) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese actor *, 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Japan *, Japanese Scout leader See also * Haru Matsukata Reischauer, journalist, granddaughter of Matsuk ...

, the third son of Matsukata Masayoshi, as his successor. Matsukata remained president for the next 32 years until 1928. Matsukata expanded business into

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

, automobiles and shipping. He also implemented Japan's first eight-hour work day system in 1919, after a massive

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

by 30,000 workers threatened to bring down the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Takashi Hara was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1918 to 1921. Hara held several minor ambassadorial roles before rising through the ranks of the Rikken Seiyūkai and being elected to the House of Representatives. Har ...

. Under Matsukata, Kawasaki Dockyards expanded its Hyōgo operations with a large dry dock, completed in 1902. This dry dock is now listed as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. In 1906, after numerous technical difficulties, Kawasaki completed the first submarines made in Japan for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

. Kawasaki produced numerous warships for the Japanese navy, ranging from destroyers to aircraft carriers until the end of World War II.Spang, Japanese-German Relations. p. 45 Kawasaki started manufacturing

in 1907, and 4 years later produced its first steam locomotive, for the Japanese

Ministry of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

. Kawasaki manufactured 3,237 steam locomotives in total until 1971. This division was spun off in 1928 and incorporated as

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company is the rolling stock manufacturing subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Since beginning operations in 1906, the company has produced more than 90,000 railroad cars. Products As indicated by the company name, the company mainly produc ...

. In 1918, an Aircraft Division was established at the Hyōgo Works, only 15 years after the Wright brothers first flight. Kawasaki went on to build numerous innovative designs for the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and Navy air services prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1937, the Aircraft Division was spun off and incorporated as Kawasaki Aircraft Co., Ltd. In 1969, Kawasaki Dockyard, Kawasaki Rolling Stock Manufacturing and Kawasaki Aircraft merged to become

. However, in 2002, Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation reemerged as a wholly owned subsidiary company. It was converted back into a division in 2010.

Products

Oil Tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

s *

Bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...

s *

Container Ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

s * Ro/Ro Vessels *

Jetfoil The Boeing 929 Jetfoil are passenger-carrying, waterjet-propelled hydrofoils by Boeing. Boeing adapted many systems used in jet airplanes for hydrofoils. Robert Bateman led development. Boeing launched its first passenger-carrying waterjet-propell ...

s *

Warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s **''Fuyushio'', ''Natsushio''-class submarine **''Unryū'', ''Soryū''-class submarine **''Oyashio'', ''Uzushio'', ''Isoshio'', ''Kuroshio'', ''Yaeshio'', ''Mochishio'', ''Oyashio''-class submarine **''Natsushio'', ''Arashio'', ''Fuyushio'', ''Harushio''-class submarine ** ''Zuikaku'', ''Shōkaku''-class Aircraft Carrier ** ''Taiho'', ''Taiho''-class aircraft carrier ** ''Ise'',

Ise-class battleship The were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War I. Both ships carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. They were modernized in 1934–1937 with improvemen ...

** ''Haruna'', Kongō-class battlecruiser ** ''Thonburi''-class coastal defence ship *Marine steam turbines *Marine

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s *

Marine Thruster A marine thruster is a device for producing directed hydrodynamic thrust mounted on a marine vehicle, primarily for maneuvering or propulsion. There are a variety of different types of marine thrusters and each of them plays a role in the marit ...

s *Ship Control Systems

References

* * * *

Notes

External links

Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation
{{authority control Kawasaki Heavy Industries Shipbuilding companies of Japan Defense companies of Japan Imperial Japanese Navy Manufacturing companies based in Kobe Japanese companies established in 1878 Manufacturing companies established in 1878 Shipyards building World War II warships