The strategic importance of the location of
Maizuru and its potential for development into a military port for operations in the Sea of Japan towards
Korea,
Russia and even
China was recognized early by the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the administrative re-organization of the navy in 1889, Maizuru was designated as the headquarters of the
Fourth Naval District (,
dai-yon kaigunku), and its harbor was dredged, a
breakwater constructed and docking facilities for
warships established. With the
First Sino-Japanese War, the port was fortified with the addition of heavy
coastal artillery. However, the naval bases at
Sasebo and
Kure were geographically more convenient for the navy during the war, and received the bulk of the navy's attention and funding. Although naval repair facilities and shipyards
Maizuru Naval Arsenal were opened in 1903, the mountainous terrain around Maizuru port proved an impediment to expansion, and the area languished as somewhat of a backwater. This continued even through the
Russo-Japanese War, despite Maizuru's more convenient location to the center of that conflict. In the post-war period, with Korea in Japanese hands, and the threats from Russia and China very much diminished, there were discussions about closing the military port. Although Maizuru was one of the largest military shipyards in Japan (specializing in
destroyer construction), the
Washington Naval Treaty of 1923 also considerably reduced the demand for warship construction, and its facilities were largely
mothballed until 1936. With the
Pacific War, Maizuru was reactivated as a recruiting, training, and logistical support district. It was also a base for one of Japan's
Special Naval Landing Forces, and a Naval Air Station. Maizuru was also the location of the Imperial Japanese Navy Engineering Academy. The area today is occupied in part by facilities of the
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which has preserved a portion of the original red-brick gates and a couple of buildings as commemorative museums. ==List of commanders==