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Description
After the 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) proposed a "6+6 Fleet" of six battleships and six "first-class" armored cruisers to counter the threat of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Pacific Ocean and give Japan greater reach and power. The two Asama-class cruisers were followed by two Izumo-class cruisers: HIJMS Izumo, named for the historical Izumo Province in southwestern Honshu home to Izumo Taisha Shrine (now in Shimane Prefecture) and HIJMS Iwate, named for the recently-established Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Honshu that was created from part of the historical Mutsu Province.

Like most Japanese capital ships of this time, HIJMS Izumo was imported in Britain; it was built by Vickers Armstrong at the Elswick shipyard in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and commissioned in September 1900. Its main weapons were four 8-inch guns, which were backed up by dozens of 6-inch, 3-inch, and Hotchkiss/Yamauchi guns, as well as four torpedo tubes. HIJMS Izumo would eventually become involved in four major wars: the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II.

HIJMS Izumo was one of the first ships involved in the Russo-Japanese War, forming part of Admiral Togo's fleet during the surprise attack on Port Arthur that started the war in February 1904. It escorted Imperial Guard troopships to Korea, but failed to protect SS Hitachi Maru from a Russian squadron under the command of Admiral Jessen. HIJMS Izumo had more success that August in the naval battle near Ulsan, Korea, in which Admiral Kamimura chased off Admiral Jessen in a duel of cruiser squadrons. During the climactic Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, HIJMS Izumo attacked the Russian battleship Oslyabya, but was surprised by the arrival of Knyaz Suvorov, and tried without success to attack some Russian cruisers instead.

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, HIJMS Izumo aided in the invasions of Korea and Sakhalin, and patrolled the west coast of Mexico during the 1913 revolution. It protected Allied shipping in the Pacific from German raiders during World War I, and was stationed in Shanghai, China from 1932 to 1942. The old cruiser was sunk in July 1945 during the American air raid on Kure, and was scrapped in 1947. A model of HIJMS Izumo, which served Japan for nearly half a century, is on display aboard the museum battleship HIJMS Mikasa in Yokosuka.

Description
After the 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) proposed a "6+6 Fleet" of six battleships and six "first-class" armored cruisers to counter the threat of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Pacific Ocean and give Japan greater reach and power. The two Asama-class cruisers were followed by two Izumo-class cruisers: HIJMS Izumo, named for the historical Izumo Province in southwestern Honshu home to Izumo Taisha Shrine (now in Shimane Prefecture) and HIJMS Iwate, named for the recently-established Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Honshu that was created from part of the historical Mutsu Province.

Like most Japanese capital ships of this time, HIJMS Izumo was imported in Britain; it was built by Vickers Armstrong at the Elswick shipyard in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and commissioned in September 1900. Its main weapons were four 8-inch guns, which were backed up by dozens of 6-inch, 3-inch, and Hotchkiss/Yamauchi guns, as well as four torpedo tubes. HIJMS Izumo would eventually become involved in four major wars: the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II.

HIJMS Izumo was one of the first ships involved in the Russo-Japanese War, forming part of Admiral Togo's fleet during the surprise attack on Port Arthur that started the war in February 1904. It escorted Imperial Guard troopships to Korea, but failed to protect SS Hitachi Maru from a Russian squadron under the command of Admiral Jessen. HIJMS Izumo had more success that August in the naval battle near Ulsan, Korea, in which Admiral Kamimura chased off Admiral Jessen in a duel of cruiser squadrons. During the climactic Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, HIJMS Izumo attacked the Russian battleship Oslyabya, but was surprised by the arrival of Knyaz Suvorov, and tried without success to attack some Russian cruisers instead.

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, HIJMS Izumo aided in the invasions of Korea and Sakhalin, and patrolled the west coast of Mexico during the 1913 revolution. It protected Allied shipping in the Pacific from German raiders during World War I, and was stationed in Shanghai, China from 1932 to 1942. The old cruiser was sunk in July 1945 during the American air raid on Kure, and was scrapped in 1947. A model of HIJMS Izumo, which served Japan for nearly half a century, is on display aboard the museum battleship HIJMS Mikasa in Yokosuka.