In the organizational structure of the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1886, the Japanese Empire was divided into five operational districts, with the Hokkaidō-Ōshu area forming Naval District 5, with its nominal headquarters in Muroran, Hokkaidō. However, the area was given a low priority in funding, and remained largely a paper organization under overall command of the Yokosuka Naval District.
On 12 June 1895, the nominal headquarters of Naval District 5 was transferred from Muroran to the more sheltered port of Ōminato with Mutsu Bay, although facilities and infrastructure were minimal.
After the Russo-Japanese War, when the strategic importance of control of the Tsugaru Straits came into focus, and with Japan's acquisition of Karafuto Prefecture, more investment was made in securing Japan's northern frontiers. Ōminato was one of eleven designated third echelon naval ports, or yokobu (要港部) located in various locations around Japan. In December 1905 it was made independent of Yokosuka. Although Muroran, Asahikawa and Wakkanai bases reported to Ōminato, it was not raised to full Naval District (鎮守府) headquarters status, but continued as Ōminato yokobu. A wireless station was completed in 1913.
On 9 October 1913, the Inazuma-classdestroyerInazuma suffered from an explosion of her No. 3 boiler while at Ōminato. The incident highlighted the need for better facilities at Ōminato, and a ship repair facility and naval hospital were completed by 1923.
On 19 July 1931, the ship repair facilities at Ōminato caught fire and were largely destroyed, and had to be rebuilt a year later. The Ōminato Naval Air Station was opened in November 1933. In September 1936, after the IJN 4th Fleet Incident (in which the fleet was caught in a typhoon, with loss of several ships and damage to many more), Ōminato received the destroyers Hatsuyuki and Yugiri for emergency repairs.
On 20 November 1941, Ōminato was finally raised to the status of a Guard District (警備府, Keibifu)[1] In concept, the Guard District was similar to the United States NavySea Frontiers concept. Each Guard District maintained a small garrison force of ships and Naval Land Forces which reported directly to the Guard District commander, and hosted detachments of the numbered fleets on a temporary assignment basis.
Ōminato was bombed several times in the closing days of the war: 14 July, 15 and 28 July, followed by a large attack from August 8–10, 1945, which destroyed several ships. American forces landed from the USS Panamint (AGC-13) to accept the surrender of the base from the Imperial Japanese Navy on 9 September 1945.
Rear-Admiral Shigetada Hideshima (7 April 1908 – 4 March 1909)
Rear-Admiral Tsunematsu Kondo (4 March 1909 – 1 December 1910)
Vice-Admiral Yasujiro Nagata (1 December 1910 – 22 December 1911)
Rear-Admiral Teiichiro Shitsuda (1 April 1913 – 27 May 1914)
Rear-Admiral Yushichi Kanno (27 May 1914 – 17 July 1915)
Vice-Admiral Kenzo Kobayashi (17 July 1915 – 6 November 1916)
Rear-Admiral Meiji Tojo (6 November 1916 – 18 October 1918)
Rear-Admiral Kanichi Taketomi (18 October 1918 – 2 December 1919)
Rear-Admiral Teiji Sakamoto (15 March 1922 – 6 November 1923)
Rear-Admiral Kichisuke Komori (6 November 123 – 20 August 1926)
Rear-Admiral Katsuji Masaki (10 December 1928 – 1 December 1931)
Rear-Admiral Tokujiro Yokoyama (1 December 1931 – 15 November 1933)
Rear-Admiral Takeo Sakura (15 November 1933 – 15 November 1935)
Vice-Admiral Jiro Matsunaga (15 November 1935 – 1 April 1937)
Rear-Admiral Namizo Sato (1 April 1937 – 15 December 1938)
Rear-Admiral Tokuji Mori (15 December 1938 – 28 November 1940)
Rear-Admiral Keishi Ishii (28 November 1940 – 10 February 1942)
Vice-Admiral Takeo Kaizuka (10 February 1940 – 1 July 1943)
Rear-Admiral Zensuke Kanome (1 July 1943 – 30 November 1945)
References
Prados, John (1995). Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-460-02474-4.
Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-893-X.
