Japanese Cruiser Asama Country: Japan Type: Cruiser Service: 1899 - 1945 Laid down: 1 November 1896 Launched: 22 March 1898 Completed: 18 March 1899 Fate: Scrapped 1947

The two Asama class armored cruisers were the first pair of six cruisers ordered from overseas shipyards after the First Sino-Japanese War for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Construction of the Asama-class ships began as a private venture by the British shipbuilder Armstrong Whitworth of Elswick. The IJN had a specification which required only slight modifications to the initial design. At the time of their completion, the Asama-class cruisers were considered the fastest, most heavily armed and most heavily armored cruisers in the world.

The Asama was the lead ship of an early class of armored cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Asama provided support for Japanese forces in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The Asama participated in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. During World War I, the Asama was part of the Japanese fleet involved in the capture of German colonies in the South Pacific, as part of the Japanese contribution to the Allied side under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Postwar, the Asama was used primarily for training. After Japan entered World War II, the Asama was deemed to be in too poor condition for retrofitting and modernization, and consequently it was demilitarized with the removal of its main guns and auxiliary batteries and permanently moored at Kure. On 1 July 1942, the hulk was designated as an auxiliary training vessel. Towed to Shimonoseki in 1944, it was designated a self-propelled barracks vessel. The hulk of the Asama survived the Pacific War, and was decommissioned on 30 November 1945. It was scrapped under the American occupation of Japan in 1947.