The ship was laid down as hull number 364[2] on 12 July 1918 at the Tsurumi shipyard of Asano Shipbuilding Company[3][1] for the benefit of the Kokusai Kisan Kaisha (玉井商船株式會社).

[6] She was launched on 5 February 1919, completed on 19 March 1919, and given the name Buyo Maru (武洋丸)[5][3] with the identification number 24999.

Buyo Maru was carrying 1,126 soldiers and 269 Indian prisoners of war (POWs) from the 16th Punjab Regiment.

Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood later asserted that the survivors were Japanese soldiers who had turned machine-gun and rifle fire on the Wahoo after it surfaced, and that such resistance was common in submarine warfare.

[10] According to the submarine's executive officer, the fire was intended to force the Japanese soldiers to abandon the lifeboats and that none of them were deliberately targeted.