The were a class of thirty-two torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Kamikaze class of destroyers were the first destroyers to be mass-produced in Japan. The class is also sometimes referred to as the Asakaze class.Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945 This class of destroyer should not be confused with the later Kamikaze-class destroyers built in 1922, which participated in the Pacific War.

Background The Kamikaze-class destroyers were part of the 1904 Imperial Japanese Navy Emergency Expansion Program created by the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. Twenty-five vessels were ordered in 1904; an additional four vessels were ordered in 1905, and three more in 1906, bringing the total to thirty-two ships. The Japanese governmental shipyards were overwhelmed with the volume of construction, and for the first time civilian shipyards were also assigned to produce warships.Howarth, The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun

Design In terms of design, the Kamikaze-class ships were substantially identical to the previous , in terms of hull design and external appearance, retaining the flush deck design with a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle inherited from the , as well as the four-smokestack profile. However, with operational experience gained in the Russo-Japanese War, the Kamikaze class employed shorter smokestacks with spark and glow arrestors to give the ships a more stealthy capability for night combat operations.

Internally, design and production issues still existed with the Japanese copies of the Yarrow water-tube boilers in the coal-fired triple expansion steam engines, which could produce only ; however, with the final three vessels (Uranami, Isonami, Ayanami), many problems had been resolved, and the engines modified to be run on heavy fuel oil as well as coal.

Armament was the similar in layout to the previous , but with larger secondary guns; i.e. two QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval guns (on a bandstand on the forecastle and on the quarterdeck), four additional short barrel 12 pounder guns (two sited abreast the conning tower, and two sited between the funnels), and two single tubes for torpedoes.

Operational history Only two Kamikaze-class vessels were completed in time to see combat service in the Russo-Japanese War.

Considered too small, unsuitable for heavy seas, and obsolete by the time of completion, the Kamikaze-class destroyers were quickly removed from front-line combat service after the end of the war, and were de-rated to third-class destroyers on 28 August 1912. Asatsuyu was wrecked off Nanao Bay on 9 November 1913.

However, despite the re-classification, all remaining vessels saw service in World War I. Shirotae was lost in combat on 3 September 1914 off Qingdao (), while in combat against the German gunboat SMS Jaguar. World War I Naval Combat This was the first significant warship loss by Japan during World War I.

Eighteen of the remaining surviving vessels were converted into minesweepers on 1 December 1924, and the others struck. However, all of the converted vessels were retired and/or scrapped soon afterwards.

Ships + Construction data Name Kanji Builder Laid down Launched Completed Fate Name meaning Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 20 August 1904 15 July 1905 16 August 1905 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; decommissioned 1 April 1928; BU after 12 October 1928 Divine wind Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 20 August 1904 13 May 1905 18 August 1905 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; decommissioned 1 April 1928; BU after 12 October 1928 First frost (October) Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 20 August 1904 7 August 1905 23 September 1905 Decommissioned 1 December 1924; expended as a target 10 August 1926 Month of born plants (March) Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 10 September 1904 6 September 1905 19 October 1905 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; decommissioned 1 April 1928; BU after 12 October 1928 February Mitsubishi shipyards, Nagasaki, Japan 30 December 1904 28 October 1905 24 February 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; decommissioned 1 April 1928, expended as a target 1 August 1929 Morning wind Mitsubishi shipyards, Nagasaki, Japan 25 February 1905 12 February 1906 6 June 1906 Decommissioned 1 April 1928; tugboat and dispatch boat 1 August 1928; BU after 12 February 1930 White dew Mitsubishi shipyards, Nagasaki, Japan 26 May 1905 19 May 1906 6 August 1906 BU after 1 April 1928 White snow Mitsubishi shipyards, Nagasaki, Japan 25 September 1905 23 December 1906 16 February 1907 BU after 1 April 1924 Wind to pines in coast Kawasaki Dockyards, Kobe, Japan 16 February 1905 25 December 1905 14 May 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 Spring wind Kawasaki Dockyards, Kobe, Japan 3 June 1905 12 March 1906 11 July 1906 BU after 1 April 1924 East Asian rainy season Osaka Iron Works, Osaka, Japan 28 April 1905 2 April 1906 16 October 1906 Ran aground and wrecked at Nanao Bay 9 November 1913; struck 15 April 1914 Morning dew Osaka Iron Works, Osaka, Japan 25 September 1905 22 May 1906 25 March 1907 BU after 1 December 1924 Fresh breeze Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan 1 August 1905 10 January 1906 21 August 1906 Decommissioned 1 December 1924; tugboat and dispatch boat 18 November 1925; BU after 8 December 1930 Pursuer (an army of the front） Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan 20 January 1906 22 August 1906 25 December 1906 BU after 1 April 1924 An evening calm Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan 1 March 1905 17 November 1905 26 May 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 Evening (sunset) Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan 20 March 1905 26 March 1906 16 July 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 A shower Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan 1 June 1905 26 May 1906 12 September 1906 BU after 1 April 1928 A sickle moon Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan 1 August 1905 25 July 1906 1 November 1906 BU after 1 April 1924 A gale between grass (autumn typhoon) Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan 12 April 1905 30 August 1905 1 October 1905 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 A tide Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan 25 June 1905 30 August 1905 1 October 1905 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 Pine of New Year's Day Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 28 September 1905 31 March 1906 6 September 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 An echo Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 25 July 1905 30 July 1906 20 November 1906 Ran aground and wrecked at Jiaozhou Bay 31 August 1914; struck 29 October 1914 White cloth Kawasaki Dockyards, Kobe, Japan 11 November 1905 12 May 1906 1 March 1907 Decommissioned 1 December 1924; expended as a target 13 August 1928 Early spring (New Year) Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 20 May 1905 25 November 1905 28 February 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 Young leaves Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 11 September 1905 8 March 1906 17 May 1906 Minesweeper 1 December 1924; BU after 1 April 1928 The first snow of the year Kawasaki Dockyards, Kobe, Japan 22 March 1906 20 September 1906 6 March 1907 Decommissioned 1 December 1924; reclassified as a radio-controlled target ship January 1929 Month of Deutzia (April) Mitsubishi shipyards, Nagasaki, Japan 25 February 1906 5 November 1906 14 February 1907 Minesweeper 1 December 1924, renamed W-10 1 August 1928; BU after 1 June 1930 Month of the submerged rice field (June) Uraga Dock Company, Japan 28 October 1905 15 December 1906 31 July 1907 Minesweeper 1 December 1924, renamed W-11 1 August 1928; BU after 1 June 1930 Month of long night (September) Uraga Dock Company, Japan 2 March 1906 18 April 1907 20 September 1907 Minesweeper 1 December 1924, renamed W-12 1 August 1928; BU after 1 June 1930 Month of chrysanthemum (September) Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan 1 May 1907 8 December 1907 2 October 1908 Minesweeper 1 December 1924, renamed W-8 1 August 1928; tugboat and dispatch boat 1 June 1930; BU after 25 October 1935 Wave in an inlet Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan 15 January 1908 21 November 1908 2 April 1909 Minesweeper 1 December 1924, renamed W-7 1 August 1928; tugboat and dispatch boat 1 June 1930; floating pier at Kure Naval Arsenal 9 April 1935 Wave on a sea shore Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan 15 May 1908 20 March 1909 26 June 1909 Minesweeper 1 December 1924, renamed W-9 1 August 1928; tugboat and dispatch boat 1 June 1930; BU after 19 April 1935 Cross wave

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