was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war

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 surrender ...

. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

, the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yon ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

, as well as patrols in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated ...

and the Pacific Sasebo also contained the

Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...

, specializing mostly in

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

s and smaller warships; and its anchorage was one of the largest in Japan. The District encompassed anchorages at

Imari is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Imari is most notable because of Imari porcelain, which is the European collectors' name for Japanese porcelain wares made in the town of Arita, Saga Prefecture. The porcelain ...

and Hirado ports as well as the designated third echelon naval ports of Takeshiki ( Tsushima),

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

, Kuji ( Amami-Ōshima), and Wakamatsu ( Gotō Islands)

History

The location of Sasebo facing China and

, and near the foreign treaty port of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

was recognized of strategic importance by the leaders of the early

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

and early Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1883, the then

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

nominated what was a tiny fishing village as the ideal location for a naval base. With the formation of the navy in 1886, Japan was divided into five each with a headquarters . Sasebo was designated as the "Third Naval District" (第三海軍区, ''dai-san kaigunku''), and its harbor was dredged, a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...

constructed and docking, coaling and repair facilities for

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 were established, and the military base was officially opened in 1889. To stress the importance of the base,

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

made a personal inspection tour in 1890. The base was connected to the rest of Japan by rail in 1898, and the

, which would eventually expand to become one of the largest

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

s in Japan for the construction of smaller warships, began operation in 1903. As with the other Naval Districts, Sasebo was intended to operate as independently as possible, and facilities included armories, production factories for

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

es,

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an ...

s and naval artillery (and associated ammunition), and also a naval hospital and training centers. In concept, the Naval District was similar to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Sea Frontiers concept. the Naval District maintained a small

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

force of ships and Naval Land Forces which reported directly to the Guard District commander, and hosted detachments of the numbered fleets on a temporary assignment basis. Sasebo was the closest ship repair facility for the Imperial Japanese Navy to the combat zones of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

and saw considerable activity during that conflict. In 1920, the Japanese navy established an air wing and a wireless communications center in 1922. In 1934, the ''Tomozuru'' capsized off Sasebo with loss of most of its crew, and leaving behind serious questions about the basic design of many Japanese warships. In 1941, base facilities were expanded considerably for the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vas ...

. The base also hosted a major portion of the Japanese

Special Naval Landing Forces The Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF; ja, 海軍特別陸戦隊, Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai) were naval infantry units of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and were a part of the IJN Land Forces. They saw extensive service in the Second Sino ...

. The Imperial Japanese Navy had some 60,000 people working in the dock yard and associated naval stations at the peak of World War II, outfitting ships,

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and aircraft. Most of the base was destroyed by American

air raids on Japan Air raids conducted by Allied forces on Japan during World War II caused extensive destruction to the country's cities and killed between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pacific War these attacks were limited to the ...

on June 28, 1945. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

, Sasebo was occupied by the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

' Fifth Division, and the Sasebo Naval District was formally abolished on November 30, 1945. Part of the former base facilities is still in use by the

as the United States Fleet Activities Sasebo and by 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 (IJ ...

. One of the former base structures is now a museum.

Order of Battle at time of the attack on Pearl Harbor

* Third Naval District (Admiral Tanimoto) **AO ''Sata'' **Sasebo Naval Base ***Base HQ ***Communications ***Supply ***Accounting ***Construction ***Ports & Docks ***Navy Yard ***Navy Hospital ***Navy Prison ***Naval Fuel Depot ***Base Garrison ***Special Naval Landing Forces **Sasebo Submarine Base **Sasebo Air Group ***16x Mitsubishi A5M Claude ***6 x Aichi E13A Jake ***15 x Kawanishi H6K Mavis **Sasebo Guard Force ***Sasebo Coastal Defense Squadron ****PM ''Kozan Maru'' *** Sasebo Local Defense Squadron ****PG ''Shinkyo Maru'' (2672 tons) **** PG ''Shinkyo Maru #5'' *** Minesweeper Division 42 **** AMc ''Seki Maru'' (297 tons) **** AMc ''Toshi Maru #7'' (297 tons) **Oshima Guard Force (based at Naze, Oshima Island) ***AMc ''Chuon Maru'' #8 ***AMc ''Hakata Maru #7'' (257 tons) ***AMc ''Himejima Maru'' ***Minesweeper Division 41 ****AMc ''Kyo Maru #1'' ****AMc ''Kyo Maru #3'' ****AMc ''Kyo Maru #5''

List of commanders

Commanding officers

Chief of Staff

*Captain Tameo Nakamizo (April 25, 1889 – May 15, 1890) *Rear-Admiral Koreyoshi Ogata (May 15, 1890 – February 18, 1891) *Rear-Admiral Masanaga Matsumura (February 18, 1891 – July 23, 1891) *Rear-Admiral Tadashi Nomura (July 23, 1891 – May 20, 1893) *Vice-Admiral Nagataka Uemura (May 20, 1893 – December 5, 1894) *Vice-Admiral Tomomichi Onomoto (December 5, 1894 – December 27, 1897) *Vice-Admiral Yoshitomo Inoue (December 27, 1897 – May 23, 1898) *Captain Masaki Hashimoto (May 23, 1898 – March 22, 1899) *Rear-Admiral Ichiro Nijima (March 22, 1899 – June 19, 1900) *Rear-Admiral Tasuku Serata (June 19, 1900 – July 4, 1900) *Admiral Motaro Yoshimatsu (July 4, 1900 – July 6, 1901) *Vice-Admiral Hikohachi Yamada (July 6, 1901 – October 19, 1903) *Rear-Admiral Shinjiro Uehara (November 21, 1903 – June 6, 1904) *Vice-Admiral Baron Toshiatsu Sakamoto (June 6, 1904 – November 2, 1905) *Admiral Motaro Yoshimatsu (November 2, 1905 – February 2, 1906) *Rear-Admiral Ichiro Nijima (February 2, 1906 – April 7, 1906) *Vice-Admiral Koshi Saito (April 7, 1906 – October 21, 1907) *Rear-Admiral Genzaburo Ogi (October 21, 1907 – May 15, 1908) *Vice-Admiral Baron Shinrokuro Nishi (May 15, 1908 – May 26, 1908) *Vice-Admiral Tamotsu Tsuchiya (May 26, 1908 – December 10, 1908) *Admiral Baron Gentaro Yamashita (December 10, 1908 – March 4, 1909) *Rear-Admiral Genzaburo Ogi (March 4, 1909 – December 1, 1909) *Vice-Admiral Yasutaro Egashira (December 1, 1909 – March 11, 1911) *Admiral Kaneo Nomaguchi (March 11, 1911 – September 21, 1911) *Vice-Admiral Rinroku Eguchi (September 21, 1911 – April 20, 1912) *Vice-Admiral Otojiro Ito (April 20, 1912 – December 1, 1913) *Rear-Admiral Ichitaro Nakajima (December 1, 1913 – March 25, 1914) *Vice-Admiral Tomojiro Chisaka (March 25, 1914 – December 1, 1914) *Vice-Admiral Hiromi Tadakoro (December 1, 1914 – December 1, 1916) *Vice-Admiral Hanroku Saito (December 1, 1916 – December 1, 1917) *Vice-Admiral Nobutaro Shimomura (December 1, 1917 – November 10, 1918) *Admiral Saburo Hyakutake (November 10, 1918 – December 1, 1919) *Vice-Admiral Kenzo Kobayashi (December 1, 1919 – May 1, 1922) *Rear-Admiral Kametaro Muta (May 1, 1922 – December 1, 1923) *Vice-Admiral Shiro Furukawa (December 1, 1923 – December 1, 1925) *Vice-Admiral Yukichi Shima (December 1, 1925 – December 1, 1927) *Vice-Admiral Togo Kawano (December 1, 1927 – December 10, 1928) *Vice-Admiral Akira Fujiyoshi (December 10, 1928 – December 1, 1930) *Vice-Admiral Giichiro Kawamura (December 1, 1930 – December 1, 1931) *Vice-Admiral Yoshiyuki Niiyama (December 1, 1931 – November 15, 1933) *Vice-Admiral Eikichi Katagiri (November 15, 1933 – November 15, 1934) *Rear-Admiral Hiroyoshi Tabata (November 15, 1934 – March 1, 1935) *Vice-Admiral Ibō Takahashi (March 1, 1935 – October 31, 1935) *Vice-Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu (October 31, 1935 – November 16, 1936) *Vice-Admiral Hidesaburo Koori (November 16, 1936 – September 1, 1938) *Vice-Admiral Masami Kobayashi (September 1, 1938 – November 15, 1939) *Vice-Admiral

Kakuji Kakuta , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He is noted for his role in commanding Japanese naval aviation units in the Pacific War. Biography Kakuta was a native of rural Minamikanbara, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He gr ...

(November 15, 1939 – October 15, 1940) *Vice-Admiral Shigenori Horiuchi (October 15, 1940 – October 10, 1941) *Vice-Admiral Gisaburo Yamaguchi (October 10, 1941 – December 2, 1942) *Vice-Admiral Masaki Ogata (December 2, 1942 – November 15, 1943) *Vice-Admiral Shigeji Kaneko (November 15, 1943 – January 29, 1945) *Rear-Admiral Keishi Ishii (January 29, 1945 – November 30, 1945)

References

*
Order of Battle at start of Pacific War
{{Japanese Naval Districts Imperial Japanese Navy Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force bases