Historic Uraga "Brick" Dock

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/original/perspectives/20250112-232616/

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== Former Shipbuilding Site Conveys History, Heritage of Japan’s Shipbuilding Industry; Uraga Brick Dock in Yokosuka, Rare Dry Dock in Japan

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa — An open-air performance of the play “The Japanese Ideology Chapter 7” was recently held at Uraga Brick Dock in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The play, which lasted for about an hour, was performed by a group of artists called Olta and is a continuation of the group’s previous “The Japanese Ideology” shows. Japan’s modernization was the theme of the play.

The performers from Olta moved from stairs to puddles at the dock, while the audience walked around them, enjoying the show at a variety of distances and angles.

“It was a performance that effectively made use of the unique location,” said a male company worker in his 40s from Yokosuka.

Uraga is the birthplace of modern shipbuilding in Japan. It is where the Edo shogunate built the first Western-style sailing warship Ho-o Maru, after a U.S. fleet led by Commodore Matthew Perry appeared on the seas off the coast of Uraga in 1853.

The dock was built in 1899, and more than 1,000 ships were constructed and repaired at the dockyard where the dock is located until its closure in 2003. Destroyers for the Imperial Japanese Navy were among the vessels built there before World War II. Among those built there after the war are the Mashu Maru I, a ferry connecting Hakodate and Aomori; the sailing ship Nippon Maru II; and Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers.

The dockyard led the country’s shipbuilding industry from the 1950s through the 1980s, when Japan was said to have been the world’s top shipbuilding nation, and the area was reportedly bustling with workers engaged in shipbuilding.

In 2003, however, the historic dock was closed due to changes in shipbuilding demand and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., which owned the dock, had undergone a business reorganization, among other factors. In 2021, the dock was donated to the city of Yokosuka.

According to the city, there are only two large brick-built dry docks in Japan, and only the one in Uraga can be seen with no seawater at all times. There are said to be very few similar docks in the world.

Ships are built or repaired at dry docks. Water gates close before the water is drained, and the ships are set afloat again when the dock is refilled with seawater.

Uraga Dock is about 180 meters long, 25 meters wide and 10 meters deep. Many bricks are still found on the sides of the dock, and the blocks where ships were placed are lined up on the floor. More than 2 million bricks are said to have been used in its construction.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has designated the dock as a facility of industrial heritage for modernization, as it recounts the history of the shipbuilding industry. Recently, it has been called the Uraga Brick Dock.

The city of Yokosuka hopes to convey the pride and history of the area around the dock and its prosperous shipbuilding history while capitalizing on its potential as a new tourist resource.

The dock is only open to the public during events or for guided tours.

“The Japanese Ideology Chapter 7” was performed as part of the “Sense Island / Land 2024” art festival, which was held from October to December 2024 in various places around Yokosuka, including on the uninhabited island Sarushima.

Koajiro Forest .... Located Southwest of Yokosuka

https://www.city.miura.kanagawa.jp/material/files/group/24/shinyotai.pdf

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Listening to the chirps of many small birds and the sounds of Japanese pygmy woodpeckers pecking at trees, we passed through the Koajiro Forest in Miura City, where we came across three caves on the cliffs facing the shores of Koajiro Bay. 

Today, Koajiro Bay is a quiet crab paradise, but at the end of the Asia-Pacific War, it was used as a base for the "Shinyo" special attack boats in preparation for the American invasion of the mainland. 

Around Koajiro Bay alone, more than a dozen tunnels (underground bunkers) of various sizes were dug, and their existence can still be seen today. The bunkers facing the bay are relatively easy to explore, but the tide can rise up to the entrance, and there are puddles inside, so if you are going to explore, you will need boots, a flashlight, gloves, and a hat.

Holding a flashlight in one hand, I cautiously enter the pitch black cave. There are many things that remind me of the time, such as the remains of a pulley on the ceiling for storing boats, the remains of rails on the floor for transporting boats, and the remains of a door at the entrance to the cave. There are also many centipedes, which will suddenly fall on your head if you are not careful.

Deployed here in Koajiro, the 27th Shinyo Unit was a unit of 184 people, including 25 Shinyo boats and 50 crew members (kamikaze pilots), and repeatedly conducted training in Sagami Bay. On July 29, 1945, with defeat imminent, three Shinyo boats (with six crew members) were sent out on a "special mission" (kamikaze). However, the next day, they were attacked by American aircraft off the coast of Sagami and all of them were killed in action.

In Aburatsubo Bay, located next to the small peninsula where Aburatsubo Marine Park is located, the base of the special attack submarine Kairyu was located.  Currently, many yachts and cruisers are moored there, but at that time, 60 Kairyu were deployed in combat. 

The 56th Shinyo Unit (183 people including 25 Shinyo boats and 53 crew members) was stationed in Ena Bay in Matsuwa, Minamishimoura Town, and the unit headquarters was set up in Fukusenji Temple. The crew members and base staff were apparently lodged in private homes. There are about 10 underground trenches remaining around Ena Bay. 

Why not take a moment to reminisce about the war 60 years ago while looking out at the sparkling Koajiro Bay and Ena Bay? 

Note: "kamikaze" is an attack method used by the Japanese military at the end of the Pacific War. It involves young soldiers personally piloting aircraft to ram enemy ships.