:''This article deals with the Empire of Japan's Naval War College. For other war colleges, see: War college.'' The , Short form: 海大 Kaidai) was the

staff college Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...

of 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 surrender ...

, responsible for training officers for command positions either on

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, or in staff roles. In the 1880s, the Imperial Japanese Navy realized the need for post-graduate study by officer graduates of the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students st ...

. Naval Minister Saigō Tsugumichi authorized the formation of the Naval War College on 14 July 1888 in Tsukiji,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, and the College accepted its first class from 28 August 1888. The same year the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy moved from Tsukiji to Etajima in

Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...

. The Navy turned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

for assistance in modernizing and

Westernizing Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, econo ...

, and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

provided

military advisor Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations ...

s to assist in the development of the curriculum. The first director of the Naval War College was

Inoue Kaoru Marquess Inoue Kaoru (井上馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen ('' Genrō'') in J ...

and one of the foremost of the early foreign advisors was Captain

John Ingles John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, who lectured at the college from 1887 to 1893. Ingles not only introduced the elements of western tactics, but also stressed the importance of command officers in mathematics, physics, and the technologies necessary to operate steam warships.Peatty, ''Kaigun'', p. 13 The original facilities of the Naval War College were destroyed by the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

. On 27 August 1932, the Naval War College moved into new facilities located in

Kamiōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo is a district of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. The district is in the northern part of Shinagawa and borders Mita (Meguro-Mita) and Ebisuminami on the north, Shirokanedai on the east, Higashigotanda on the southeast, Nishigotanda on the southwest, ...

. In comparison with the Army War College, it took longer for navy officers to apply for admission to the Navy War College. A

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

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 ...

could apply only after ten years of active service after graduation from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. Within that ten-year period, most applicants also graduated from one or more specialized technical training schools, such as naval artillery or torpedo school, with courses lasting six months each. The Naval War College itself was a one-year course. The Naval War College was disestablished in May 1945, even before the end of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Its buildings were turned over to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases under the Ministry of Health, and were demolished in 1999. The

Japan Coast Guard Academy The (JCGA) is a university-level service academy established within the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for the purpose of training students to become Coast guard officers. It is located in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture ...

, located in Kure, inherited its library of some 8000 volumes.

References

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Notes

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1888 Educational institutions disestablished in 1945 Naval academies Imperial Japanese Navy Naval history of Japan Defunct Japanese military academies 1888 establishments in Japan Demolished buildings and structures in Japan Buildings and structures demolished in 1999

See also

References

Notes