Tokiwa (常盤) was the second and last Asama-class armored cruiser (Sōkō jun'yōkan) built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s.

After repairs were completed, the ship was badly damaged by American aircraft and her crew was forced to beach her lest she sink shortly before the end of the war.

The 1896 Naval Expansion Plan was made after the First Sino-Japanese War and included four armored cruisers in addition to four more battleships, all of which had to be ordered from British shipyards as Japan lacked the capability to build them itself.

[1] Unlike most of their contemporaries which were designed for commerce raiding or to defend colonies and trade routes, Tokiwa and her half-sisters were intended as fleet scouts and to be employed in the battleline.

She carried up to 1,390 long tons (1,410 t) of coal[6] and could steam for 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[4] The main armament for all of the "Six-Six Fleet" armored cruisers was four eight-inch guns in twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the superstructure.

[15] Although many ships on both sides were hit, Russian casualties numbered some 150, while the Japanese suffered roughly 90 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged.

On 10 March, Tokiwa and the protected cruiser Chitose attempted to capture the disabled destroyer Steregushchiy, but were driven off by heavy fire from the shore defenses, although they managed to rescue the wounded crewmen.

[17] Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Russian Pacific Squadron on 13 April, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov's flagship, the battleship Petropavlovsk.

The two units narrowly missed each other on the 24th in heavy fog and the Japanese proceeded to Vladivostok where they laid several minefields before arriving back at Wonsan on the 30th.

[20] The division failed to intercept the Russian squadron as it attacked several transports south of Okinoshima Island on 15 June due to heavy rain and fog.

The arrival of the Russians off Tokyo Bay on the 24th caused the Naval General Staff to order Kamimura to sail for Cape Toi Misaki, Kyūshū, fearing that Jessen would circumnavigate Japan to reach Port Arthur.

The General Staff finally ordered him back to Tsushima Island on the 30th; later that day he received word that Jessen's ships had passed through the Tsugaru Strait early that morning and reached Vladivostok on 1 August.

36 miles (58 km) north of the island he encountered Kamimura's squadron, which consisted of four modern armored cruisers, Iwate, Izumo, Azuma, and Tokiwa.

Jessen turned southeast in an attempt to open the range, but this blinded the Russian gunners with the rising sun and prevented any of their broadside guns from bearing on the Japanese.

They fought a running battle with the Russians for the next hour and a half; scoring enough hits on them to force their speed down to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[24] About 10:00, Kamimura's gunnery officer erroneously informed him that Izumo had expended three-quarters of her ammunition and he turned back after a five-minute rapid-fire barrage.

On 13 April, the 2nd Division, including the armored cruisers Izumo and Kasuga, sailed to escort minelayers as they laid 715 mines off Vladivostok.

[27] As the Russian 2nd and 3rd Pacific Squadrons approached Japan on 27 May, having sailed from the Baltic Sea, they were spotted by patrolling Japanese ships early that morning, but visibility was limited and radio reception poor.

[28] Tokiwa was third in line of six when Tōgō opened fire on the 2nd Pacific Squadron at 14:10 and, like most of the ships in the division, engaged the battleship Oslyabya which was forced to fall out of formation at 14:50 and sank 20 minutes later.

By this time the Russian formation was in disorder and Knyaz Suvorov suddenly appeared out of the mist at 15:35 at a range of about 2,000 meters (6,600 ft).

[33] Captain Imai Kanemasa assumed command of the ship on 14 June,[11] as Tōgō was reorganizing the fleet for future operations.

The ship's stern suffered substantial damage in an accidental explosion in Saiki Bay on 1 August 1927 when fuzed mines were being disarmed.

[11] From November 1937 to 1938, the ship was retrofitted with eight Kampon boilers that reduced her maximum speed to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and her remaining torpedo tubes were removed.

[40] On 9 and 10 December 1941, Tokiwa and the other minelayers of the 19th Division escorted two troop transports that carried the occupation forces for Makin and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.

She was damaged in an air raid by American aircraft from the carrier USS Enterprise on 1 February 1942 and forced to return to Sasebo for repairs.

[11] On 1 May 1943, the ship was reassigned to the Ōminato Guard District and departed Truk on 26 May in a convoy to Yokosuka that was unsuccessfully attacked by USS Salmon (SS-182) on 3 June.

Ironically, Tokiwa was herself mined on 14 April 1945, approximately 78 miles (126 km) off Hesaki, Kyūshū suffering moderate damage.

[11] At some point during the war, her armament was augmented with approximately ten 25 mm Type 96 AA guns in single mounts and 80 depth charges.

[42] While at Ōminato in Mutsu Bay in northern Japan at 41°12′N 141°36′E / 41.20°N 141.60°E / 41.20; 141.60, Tokiwa was severely damaged by a direct bomb hit and four near misses in an air attack on 9 August 1945 by United States Navy aircraft from Task Force 38, and was beached by her crew.