she carried 12-inch guns and displaced 12,300 tons.  But her speed was only 17 knots at the most.  She had been built in England as had the Asahi and Shikishima, which were launched in 1900 and 1901.  They also carried 12-inch guns and had a speed of 18.5 knots.  Their tonnage was 15,000.  Admiral Togo’s former flagship, the Mikasa, was also of the predreadnought type, having been built in 1900, and carrying a main battery of 12-inch guns.  Her speed was 18.5 knots.

Of the former Russian ships the rechristened Iwami was of French build, protected with Krupp steel armor to the thickness of 7.5 inches.  Her displacement was 13,600 tons, and her speed 18 knots.  Like the other ships of this class in the Japanese navy, she carried a main battery of 12-inch guns.  The Hizen was an American product, having been built by Cramps in 1902.  Her displacement was 12,700 tons, made a speed of 18.5 knots, was also protected with Krupp steel and carried four 10-inch guns.  She was a real veteran, for she had undergone repairs necessitated by having been torpedoed off Port Arthur and had been refloated after being sunk in later action there.  The Sagami and the Suwo had been built in 1901 and 1902.  They displaced 13,500 tons, had a speed of 18.5 knots, and carried as their heaviest armament 10-inch guns.

In addition to these eight ships Japan had also nine protected cruisers, all of the same type and all veterans of the war with Russia.  They were of such strength and endurance that the Japanese admiralty rated them capable of taking places in the first line of battle.  These were the Nisshin and Kasuga, purchased from Italy and built in 1904, displacing 7,700 tons, and making a speed of 22 knots; the Aso, French built and captured from the Russians, and of the same design and measurements as the other two; and the protected cruisers Yakumo, Asama, Idzumo, Tokiwa, Aguma, and Iwate, built before the war with Russia, slightly heavier than their sister ships but not as fast.  None of this type has been added to the Japanese navy since 1907.  Japan has, instead, given attention to scouting cruisers, with the result that she possessed three excellent vessels of this class, the Yahagi, Chikuma, and Hirato, with the good speed of 26 knots and displacing 5,000 tons.  They were built in 1912.  And not so efficient were the other ships of similar design, the Soya, built in America, Tone and Tsugaru.

The veteran Japanese navy was supplemented with 52 destroyers and 15 submarines, all built since the war with Russia, and a number of heavier vessels.  Among the latter were the first-class battleships Kashima and Katori, completed in 1906, and displacing 16,400 tons.  Their heavy guns measured 12 inches, and they made a speed of 19.5 knots.  There were also the vessels Ikoma and Tsukuba, individual in type, with corresponding kinds in no other navy, and which might be called a cross between an armored cruiser and battle cruiser.  Though displacing no more than 13,766 tons, they carried four 12-inch guns, and made the comparatively low speed of 20.5 knots.  In 1909 and 1910 the Japanese added two more ships of this kind to their navy, the Ibuki and Kurama, slightly heavier and faster and with the same armament.