Naval Arsenal - kaigunkosho

A general term for the factories in the former Japanese Navy that were responsible for the design, manufacture, repair, inspection, supply, and purchase of ships and weapons, and the organization that oversaw them. Its predecessor was the Yokosuka Ironworks, established by the Edo Shogunate in 1866 (Keio 2). In addition, it developed based on the Ishikawajima Shipyard, which was seized by the Meiji Government in 1871 (Meiji 4), and in 1905 (Meiji 38), naval arsenals in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture were organized. The naval arsenals, which were directly under the military, worked together with the army arsenals to achieve self-reliance and self-sufficiency in weapons production throughout the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. However, while the army was successful to some extent, the navy was not fully achieved this even after both wars, and it was not until after World War I that it achieved what might be called "independence of military equipment." Nevertheless, with regard to ships, after the battlecruiser Kongo, ordered from Britain in 1911, all warships thereafter were domestically produced. As the core of the shipbuilding industry, the Naval Arsenal also played a leading role in the development of heavy industry in Japan.

[Kokatsu Atsushi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

旧日本海軍で艦船や兵器の設計、製造、修理、検査、補給、購買を担当した工場と、これを統括した機関の総称。前身は1866年（慶応2）に江戸幕府が創設した横須賀製鉄所で、これに加えて1871年（明治4）に明治政府が接収した石川島造船所を基礎として発展し、1905年（明治38）に神奈川県横須賀と広島県呉(くれ)の海軍工廠が機構整備された。軍直轄の海軍工廠は以後、陸軍工廠とともに日清(にっしん)、日露戦争を通じて兵器生産の自立化と自足化を目ざした。しかし、陸軍はある程度成功したものの、海軍では両戦役を経たあとも十分には達成されず、いわば「軍器の独立」をみたのは第一次世界大戦後においてであった。それでも艦船については、1911年にイギリスに発注した巡洋戦艦「金剛(こんごう)」を最後に、以後すべて国産の軍艦で占めるようになった。海軍工廠は造船工業の中核として、日本重工業発展の先導者の役割も演ずることになった。

［纐纈　厚］

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