Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. The Meiji era (明治時代 - Meiji jidai) during the late 19th - early 20th century was a time of massive change in Japan. After centuries of isolation, the country moved rapidly to "modernize" all aspects of society. This of course included the military, as Japan had aspirations to become a world power, and they had already been the power wielded by countries with powerful Navies. The country however at the time did not have any modern shipbuilding industry, so like many smaller countries they had to purchase ships, often from other countries.

The Esmeralda was a cruiser in the Chilean Navy, built by Armstrong Whitworth in the United Kingdom and commissioned in October 1884. Considered the world's first true protected cruiser, this ground-breaking ship was the prototype design for a family of cruisers used by numerous navies around the world, commonly known as "Elswick cruisers". She had armored decks, and was far more "protected" than ships her size usually were. She served the Chilean Navy well during local conflicts in Central and South America.

Over in Asia, China and Japan had become involved in the First Sino-Japanese War, mainly over influence in Korea. Japan had a great need of modern naval ships, and approached Chile about purchasing the ship. At the time Chile was considering much needed upgrades to the ship, so they chose to sell it to Japan, using Ecuador as an intermediary to avoid breaking Neutrality in the War. The ship sailed under the flag of Ecuador until she reached Japan.

Soon after arrival at Yokosuka Naval District in Japan, on 5 February 1895, Esmeralda was renamed Warship Izumi (和泉艦 - Izumi-kan). By the time of her arrival, the main naval battles of the First Sino-Japanese War had already taken place, and she was placed into service patrolling the sea lanes around the Korean Peninsula and northern China. After the war, the Izumi was reclassified as a 3rd class protected cruiser on 31 March 1898. In 1899-1900 her 6-in guns were replaced by QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IVs, and her 8-inch guns with QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun. During this overhaul, her boilers were also replaced with Niclausse water-tube boilers.

Following this, the Izumi saw service during the Boxer Rebellion supporting troop landings, and then later during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, though by that point she was too outdated to be suitable for front line use. In 1907 She was struck from the Naval register, and later scrapped in 1912.

This lovely whalebone model was most likely made before the time of the Boxer rebellion of 1899-1901, when the ship was a "New" member of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship is quite lovely, and measures about 4 inches in length. In spite of this, the work is VERY detailed. It is made from multiple pieces. held together by glue or wire, and even has small metal portholes on the sides. The paintwork is exquisite, showing silver "waves" on the bottom of the ship.

The ship is also labeled with very small Japanese kanji in gold paint. The portside bow of the ship is marked 和泉艦 - Izumi-kan, the name of the ship, and the stern on the same side is marked 大日本國 - Dai Nihon Koku, an early form of "Empire of Japan". The starboard side of the ship is marked with 艦軍國帝, an early form of "Imperial Japanese Navy".

The ship is attached to a lovely whalebone stand, which is itself attached to a modern felt-padded wooden base, which has a brass glazed glass cover to keep the dust off. The base measures about 5 3/4" x 3 1/4", and measures 4 1/4"H with the cover on.

A fantastic display piece from the early days of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Ready to display!