When Commodore Perry arrived in 1853 to deliver a letter, Japan had no means to keep the postman away. The nation was sent into chaos resulting in the overthrowing of the Shogunate, abolition of the feudal system and social class structure, and the establishment of a new order- all this because Japan lacked the coastal defense capabilities to keep out unwanted visitors.
After the Meiji Restoration the Imperial Japanese Army worked to ensure such an intrusion could never happen again and began a decades-long program of building modern coastal defense fortresses around the nation. At the end of the 19th century work began on fortifying Sasebo Bay and protecting its treasure, the Sasebo navy base.
It’s impossible to overstress Sasebo’s strategic value. During the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War Sasebo was the logistics hub for the attacking Japanese naval forces. When Togo won his great victory in 1905 at Tsushima, defeating a larger Russian fleet with no losses, he sortied from Sasebo. When MacArthur went to Inchon in 1950, he left from Sasebo and with its unparalleled munitions storage and fuel capacity it continues to serve the fleets of two naval forces to this day.
A broad, deep bay contained by a narrow-mouthed dogleg entrance surrounded by forested hilly peninsulas, Sasebo Bay is a natural safe haven from stormy weather and with Sasebo Fort’s batteries of the finest German and British-made howitzers and cannons ringing the hills Sasebo Bay was converted into a hardened bulwark against naval assault. An invader would have to brave the heavily-mined waters while under constant direct and indirect gunfire to get in, only to find itself faced with a military port teaming with warships.
Active during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, Sasebo Fort’s batteries never fired a shot in anger and the fort was disestablished in 1936, as the army’s manpower was needed in China and the naval threat to Japan became minimal. The guns were dismantled one by one until the last was removed in 1942.
The guns and mines are gone, but their support infrastructure of bunkers, gun pits and observation posts remain, ruins of another era slowly disappearing into the forest waiting to be rediscovered. For those willing to go the full distance, there’s also a rather rewarding view of one of Sasebo’s most popular sights.
Getting to the forts in Sasebo’s Tawaragaura-cho is easy but trying; there’s not many roads to get lost on once you’re behind the Navy’s Akasaki fuel terminal, but it’s a narrow country road in varying states of repair that as we got closer to the battery ruins became more covered in foliage and had a few hairpin turns so tight that my wife had to stop, reverse and re-angle our little Nissan March to make them. It runs through a combination of forests and farmer’s fields in an otherwise unpopulated stretch of peninsula. On paper it’s close to Sasebo, but in practice it took more than half an hour to get from Sasebo Station to our first stop, Kokubi Battery.
Kokubi Battery
The city has been posting large, dual language signs at all of its heritage sites for the past few years that are helpful as they give a good amount of background supported by images and old maps. This is good because these entrance signs both act as obvious gate marker and the only source of information you’re going to find out here. Without these signs it can be easy to miss the walking path up to this battery.
Following the trail our guide pointed out the abundance of small grey pebbles on the path, explaining that these were common at facilities like this as they made noise when stepped on which made sneaking up on the battery from the road difficult. Given the sloped, tree covered hill-faces around it there’s no other way to come at Kokubi but the road.
After a few minutes we came upon a pair of out-of-place red brick gate posts in the green forest. No gates, no fence, just the posts. Either we were about to enter a ghostly middle school or we’d arrived at the battery. Crossing the threshold our guide said they’re unusual in that the brick style is Flemish- the bricks are laid long, short, long as opposed to the British bond style of alternating rows of long and short.
Not as badly overgrown as the other batteries we’d see, Kokubi is relatively uncovered and its row of empty barracks dug into the hillside was identical to the ones I’d seen throughout the country. The design of Meiji batteries were highly standardized, each piece whether barracks or gun pit is practically identical so once you’ve seen one you know what the rest look like.
An abandoned ruin now, a century ago this battery was state of the art with modern guns and comparable to any in the world; its Krupp cannons were capable of dueling warships at long range while also defending the minefield at the harbor entrance. Battery designs were standardized, while placing was geographically unique, each piece of a fort was identical to the hundreds of other batteries built during this time frame. If pressed for time Kokubi Battery and Marudeyama Observation Post are the only required visit, Marudeyama battery is interesting as a completely overgrown ruin but Kokubi is bigger and easier to see with less foliage. Though the best preserved, best maintained and most explorable is Ishiharadake in Saiki City which is to the south of Sasebo City.
Hidden under an impenetrable tree canopy, the battery is being reclaimed by the forest and feels like a set from an adventure. It’s easy to see why cosplayers love coming out here to shoot and get in touch with their inner Indiana Jones or Lara Croft but it also means it’s a beautiful lost place but also no signs, no handrails or safety measures of any kind.
Kokubi has an upper and lower level and you begin on the upper with the barracks row and the remains of an abandoned car.
After seeing the barracks, gun pit and observation post remains you can do what I did, which is take your chances on the slick, steep mud covered stairs to the lower part… or back track to the beginning of the barracks and take the lower path, enjoying the toilet remains along the way but miss out on the thrill of possibly ruining your good pants and bodily injury. (Honestly, if there’s no potential for injury what’s the point? My best near-death scar is thanks to the safety features added to Ishiharidake.)
On the lower side are more gun pits and another munitions storage room. The stairs leading to the depressed rooms are steep and layered in mud, so I used a length of conveniently located bamboo to steady myself down and appreciate an empty room just like all the other less dangerous ones I’d already seen. (What can I say, I’m a completionist)
Marudeyama Observation Post
We continued on after Kokubi Battery up the road to the top of the hill, the Marudeyama Observation Post. There’s no dedicated parking so we pulled off the road near a farm house and part of the Marudeyama Battery and walked the rest of the way.
If pressed for time his battery can be skipped and only the observation post seen. One part is covered in tall grass and garbage and the other is a smaller version of Kokubi but almost completely overgrown, which as a photographer I found to have its own charm for that reason.
The steel-hatted observation post at the summit of Marudeyama is the main event for visiting Sasebo Fort as it’s from here we had the fort’s unique view of the 99 islands it once protected. Standing inside and watching the green hills and little islands protruding from the flat blue waters, all things considered this wouldn’t have been a bad place to stand duty compared to the batteries.
This place is also special in that its one of only two observation posts in Japan to still have its armored trench cover. Given that this was built around the time that Japan’s firs steel mill went into operation at Yawata the steel could be foreign or domestic. Despite lacking the dangers of the batteries and even having hand rails installed, visitors to Marudeyama do need to watch out for tetanus from the rusting observation post and runaway goats. Its fine, the goats are friendly.
There’s more Sasebo Fort sites to see, other related batteries and ruin traces with signage, but for those pressed for a quick afternoon trip these are the best spots to visit.
Marudeyama Observation Post
(No street address) 33.119713, 129.663698
Google Maps: 丸出山観測所跡
Kokubi Battery is by the road up the hill heading towards Marudeyama if you take the road toward the light house at Tawaragaura’s southern tip and follow the signs up to Marudeyama.