Construction of the large-sized Minekaze-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1917–1920, as an accompaniment to the medium-sized Momi class with which they shared many common design characteristics.

[1] Equipped with powerful engines, these vessels were capable of high speeds and were intended as escorts for the projected Amagi-class battlecruisers, which were ultimately never built.

Although none had been completed by the end of World War I, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to continue the project as many older destroyers were in need of replacement.

[4] Coming between the foreign-designed vessels of the earlier part of the century and the innovative Fubuki and Kagerō 'Special Type' destroyers of the 1930s, the Minekaze class was a significant transitional design for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which had carefully studied (but not taken over or given Japanese names to) the five German destroyers received as war reparations after World War I.

The Minekaze class incorporated a number of distinctive design innovations including a lengthened forecastle with a break forming a well deck immediately forward of the bridge.

The Minekaze class had a main battery of four Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval guns in single open mounts, exposed to the weather except for a small shield.

The remaining twelve Minekaze ships were modified to be used primarily as convoy escorts, with the removal of the amidship guns and the two aft torpedo mounts.

Sawakaze was also returned to combat status, with a Type 22 radar and an experimental 5.9 inch anti-submarine rocket launcher in place of the forward gun.

The final three vessels in the Minekaze series incorporated a number of improvements gained through operational experience, and form a separate sub-class.

[7] Commissioned during the 1920s, the Minekaze-class ships were the mainstay of the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer squadrons throughout the 1930s until gradually replaced by more advanced types.