Where is Yokosuka?
Yokosuka is a core city that is part of the Kanagawa Prefecture, by the middle easternmost coast of Japan. Kanagawa Prefecture falls under the Kanto Region, which is located on the main island of Japan; Honshu.
Zooming back into the city: Yokosuka city is found on a peninsula called “Miura peninsula”. To the west of this peninsula the Pacific Ocean, and to its east is Tokyo Bay. Surrounding Yokosuka are municipalities, namely Miuria, Hayama, Kanazawa-ku Yokohama, and Hayama.
More Information About Yokosuka
Yokosuka city ranks in 12th place in terms of being the most populated in the Kanto region, and 11th when it comes to Greater Tokyo. As of the first of June 2012, Yokosuka was estimated to have a population of 414,960 people, with a density of 4,120 people per square kilometer. The total size of its area measures at 100.7 square kilometers.
The tree that represents Yokosuka is the Prunus speciosa, its symbolic flower is the Crinum asiaticum, and its representative bird is the Common gull. Its current mayor is Katsuaki Ueji.
The History of Yokosuka, Japan
As with many of the other parts of Japan, the area of modern-day Yokosuka was once inhabited by people thousands of years ago, as early as the Paleolithic period (~14,000 B.C.). Archaeologists could prove this from excavating shell middens from this age and found further evidence of the Jomon and Kofun eras from the indicating ceramic shards.
Fast forward a little less than a thousand years later to the Heian period, when trades between countries were becoming more frequent and the exchange of religions and cultures were at their peak. At this point, the feudal warlord or “daimyo” Muroka Tamemichi began to build his kingdom around Yokosuka which would continue for the next few centuries to govern the eastern Sagami Province. Muroka Tamemichi established the beginnings of the Miura clan.
The Nonstop Warring States
The Kamakura period, which occurred between 1185 A.D. to 1333 A.D.. The next periods leading up all the way to when Tokugawa Ieyasu was placed in power, were violent times for the different kingdoms of Japan. Due to the constant bloodshed from sieges, battles, and plots for Kingdom domination. Yokosuka was not spared from this. The Hojo and Miura clans would war neck and neck until Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s firm orders to keep Tokugawa Ieyasu in control over all the region of Kanto.
Being located at the vulnerable eastern coast of Japan and also being in proximity to Tokyo Bay, Yokosuka’s coast was turned into a post named “Uraga Bugyo” by the ruling Shogunate. This would mean that any vessel that was headed to Edo for any reason would first have to make a pit stop here to be inspected. They strengthened their military powers around that area because of the many foreign ships had come by in attempts to coax Japan into opening their doors.
The Opening Of Doors – or Rather, Ports
Eventually, Commodore Perry would come to convince (or rather, intimidate) Japan with his advanced machinery and weaponry to open its doors to exchange with foreigners. This would lead to Bakumatsu period, and eventually, the Meiji period, where Japan’s feudal warlord system and Tokugawa Shogunate was overturned.
War in Japan: The History Behind the Naval Base in Yokosuka
The Bakumatsu period is when Yokosuka was elected to be the site of a naval base. The layout and content of this naval base were engineered by Frenchman Leonce Verny, who included facilities that would construct ships, and everything needed to supply those facilities, such as an Iron Foundry. To prove that Japan was moving forward with the times, they built a Naval Arsenal, which would be known as the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. As the years would pass, other industrial developments (more foundries, the Hashirimizu waterway, and brick factories) would emerge around the naval base.
The entire Japan went through many drastic changes during the Meiji Period. The Imperial Japanese Navy had complete control of Japan, thus naval districts were strategically fortified, with its headquarters being in Yokosuka, in the Yokosuka Naval District. By 1889, Yokosuka was referred to as Dai-ichi kaigunku, or the “First Naval District”. Warships would dock here, and more establishments would propagate the development as the base, such as the creations of military schools, and the equipment and storage of arsenal for battle.
Yokosuka, during the second world war, saw many bombings placed by the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Navy. Many of its equipment and bases would be later taken over by the allied forces, once the Americans started occupying Japan. Because the United States had infiltrated their naval district and called it theirs in 1945, today, it is called “Shirei-kan kantai katsudo Yokosuka” or “United States Fleet Activities: Yokosuka”.
The U.S. Naval forces Japan still uses Commander Fleet Activities/United States Fleet Activities: Yokosuka as its base in partnership and support of the Naval Forces Japan. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force still uses a part of the Yokosuka Naval District, however not the entire base.
