Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa" in 1898

Summary

Shows the launching of the Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser Chitose at the Union Iron Works shipyard, San Francisco, on Saturday, January 22, 1898. The camera view is east, across a small inlet of Central Basin, to slipway no. 1. Four additional slipways lay beyond to the west. The camera viewpoint is today called pier 68, part of Southwest Marine's facilities. The launch took place at 10:25 a.m. before a crowd of 200 distinguished guests and over 1,000 members of the public, as well as many shipworkers. Numerous workers can be seen dangling from the framework of the assembley shed [Frame: 1030], and a large crowd watches from a grandstand at the rear. Men and boys watch from small boats in the foreground and two boys jump into the water fully clothed near the end of the film [Frame: 1570]. Miss May Budd, niece of California governor James Budd, christened the ship with a bottle of California wine. Miss Gladys Sullivan, niece of San Francisco mayor James Phelan, pressed the button that sent the ship down the slipway. Following a Japanese custom symbolizing the peace-keeping role of a warship, 100 doves were released at the same moment. Bands played and Japanese fireworks were set off as the Chitose slid into the Bay. United States Army and Navy officials, state and city officials, and the consular corps attended the launching. Japanese Consul General Segawa explained in a speech at the following luncheon that Chitose meant "a thousand years of peace" in Japanese, and hoped that the ship would fulfill that wish.

Contributor Names

White, James H. (James Henry), production.

Blechynden, Frederick, camera.

Thomas A. Edison, Inc.

Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1898.