I’m posting this as a record of the photo and location.
Photographs
Sign
The New Sign
After World War I, as Japan pushed forward with its military expansion plans, it spent approximately five years—beginning in May of Shōwa 4—constructing the Toyo Battery at this strategically important location at the northern tip of Tsushima, with the aim of blockading the Tsushima Strait. The battery was completed in March of Shōwa 9.
Regarding the origin of the guns at this battery, one theory holds that they were turret-mounted 40.6-centimeter 45-caliber cannons—one turret containing two guns—from the battleship Akagi, which was to be converted into an aircraft carrier following the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in Taisho 11. Another theory suggests they came from the battleships Tosa or Nagato.
With a barrel length of 18.5 meters and a barrel weight of 108 metric tons, these guns had a practical range of 30 kilometers and served as a defensive stronghold here to blockade the Tsushima Strait.
The Old sign
Because this battery was located at a strategically important strait, it was constructed by the former Imperial Japanese Army; construction began in May of Showa 4 and was completed in March of Showa 9. The 40-cm cannon, with a barrel length of 18.50 meters and weighing 103 metric tons, is said to have been identical to the main guns of the battleship Nagato. The concrete walls of the turret are 3.0 meters thick, and the gun’s operating mechanism is said to have utilized hydraulic pressure, reflecting the advanced technology of the time. Although it never saw combat and has come to be known as the “phantom battery,” the barracks, pedestal, and basement still retain traces of its past.
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