[2] All three ships were designed by British naval architect Sir Edward Reed,[1] The contract for Kongō was awarded to Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Hull, England on 24 September 1875 for the price of £120,750, exclusive of armament.

[6] During her sea trials on 7 December 1877, the ship reached a maximum speed of 13.73 knots (25.43 km/h; 15.80 mph) from 2,450 ihp (1,830 kW), enough to earn the builder a bonus of £300.

[5] The ship was reboilered at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in 1889; the new boilers proved to be less powerful during sea trials, with Kongō reaching a maximum speed of 12.46 knots (23.08 km/h; 14.34 mph) from 2,028 ihp (1,512 kW).

[5] Japanese sources universally give the date for Kongō's keel-laying as 24 September 1875—the same as that for the awarding of the contract—but historian Hans Langerer describes this as improbable, arguing that no shipyard would order enough material to begin construction without cash in hand.

Kongō was launched on 17 April 1877; the wife of a secretary in the Japanese Legation cut the retaining rope with a hammer and chisel.

On 10 July a formal ceremony was held in Yokohama for the receipt of the ship that was attended by the Meiji Emperor and many senior government officials.

Together with her sister ship Hiei, Kongō sailed from Shinagawa, Tokyo on 13 August 1889 on a training cruise to the Mediterranean with cadets from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, returning on 2 February 1890.

On the return voyage, the two corvettes made port at Piraeus where they were visited by King George I of Greece and his son, Crown Prince Constantine.

Making stops at Alexandria, Port Said, Aden, Colombo, Singapore and Hong Kong, the sister ships arrived at Shinagawa on 10 May where Kongō resumed her training duties.

Though playing no part in the affair, she remained there to protect Japanese interests until relieved by the cruiser Naniwa[16] and reached home on 22 April.

Kongō's tenure there was brief as she was recalled home on 5 July due to rising tensions ahead of the First Sino-Japanese War.

The captain of the ship was approached by the leaders of the rebellion in an attempt to buy arms from Japan, but ultimately no deal was made.