The Matsushima class was a highly unorthodox design among cruisers of the 1890s, as each ship had a primary armament of a single massive 320 millimetres (13 in) Canet gun, resulting in a monitor-like appearance.

Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First Sino–Japanese War, the Matsushima-class cruisers were based on the principles of Jeune Ecole, as promoted by French military advisor and naval architect Louis-Émile Bertin.

[1] The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a large battleship navy to counter the heavier vessels of the Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet; instead, Japan adopted the radical theory of using smaller, faster warships, with light armor and small caliber long-range guns, coupled with a massive single main weapon.

[2] There were originally plans to build a fourth vessel in this class, and its cancellation due to concerns over the design was one of the factors that led to Bertin's resignation and return to France.

[5] Built by the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards in France; launched on 22 January 1890; completed on 5 April 1892.

During the Russo-Japanese War the three ships of the Matsushima class, by then hopelessly obsolete, were assigned to the 5th squadron of the reserve IJN 3rd Fleet, together with the equally outdated ironclad battleship Chin'en, under the command of Admiral Shichiro Kataoka.