Yasukuni Maru

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Yasukuni Maru was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). Built in Nagasaki by Mitsubishi, she was launched in February 1930 and entered service later that year. Named after Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, she and her sister Terukuni Maru served NYK’s Europe route, traveling from Japan to London via the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. The ships were designed for tropical travel and air conditioning, but domestic engine rules led to using Mitsubishi-Sulzer diesel engines, which reduced speed to about 15 knots.

She measured about 11,933 GRT, was roughly 160.5 meters long and 20 meters wide. She had a single funnel, two masts, and double screws. Yasukuni Maru could carry 121 first‑class, 68 second‑class, and 60 third‑class passengers, with a crew of 177.

Maiden voyage
Yasukuni Maru left Yokohama on 22 September 1930 for London, calling at ports such as Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Suez, Marseilles and Gibraltar. She returned to Yokohama on 18 October 1930 and then entered regular service on the same route.

Notable events before and during the war
- 1933: Rescued five crewmen from a sinking Chinese junk near Hong Kong.
- 1934: Responded to a distress call from the IJN cruiser Asama at Port Said and helped several ill sailors.
- 1935: A 34 kg silver ingot was reported stolen from her treasury in London.
- 1936: Carried the Japanese Olympic team home from Germany after the Berlin Games.
- 1937: Became the first Europe–Japan liner with a two-way ship-to-shore wireless telephone for passengers.
- 1938: Transported an art mission from Kobe to Naples for a tour in Germany and Italy.
- 1939: Evacuated Japanese civilians, diplomats and some German nationals as war approached. Returned to Yokohama and was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from late 1939 to early 1940 as an auxiliary transport.

Requisition and conversion
From late 1940, she was again taken by the IJN and used as an auxiliary submarine tender. She was taken to Kure Naval Arsenal, stripped of luxury fittings, repainted gunmetal gray, and armed with six 6-inch guns and machine guns, with searchlights added. In early 1941 she joined the IJN’s 6th Fleet as part of the 1st Submarine Division and operated mainly from Takao (Taiwan) and later Kwajalein.

World War II service and loss
- 1942: While at Kwajalein, she was hit by a bomb during US air attacks but was repaired.
- 1943: Took part in Operation C, delivering reinforcements to New Guinea, and later escorted troop convoys to Balikpapan and Wewak. She helped evacuate troops from Wewak to Palau and returned to Japan at the end of 1943.
- 1944: On 31 January, while part of a convoy bound for Truk, she was struck by two torpedoes from the US submarine Trigger. She rapidly took on water and sank within five minutes about 17 miles northwest of Truk. Around 300 crewmen and 888 technicians were lost. The escort destroyer Shiratsuyu picked up 43 survivors. She was removed from the navy list on 10 March 1944.