Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
# Imperial Japanese Naval Academy

The Imperial Japanese Naval College (海軍兵学校, Kaigun Heigakkō, Short form: 海兵 Kaihei) was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students studied for three or four years, and upon graduation were ordered (warranted) as Midshipmen, commissioned to the rank of Ensign/Acting Sub-Lieutenant after a period of active duty and an overseas cruise. In 1943, a separate school for naval aviation was opened in Iwakuni, and in 1944, another naval aviation school was established in Maizuru. The Academy was closed in 1945, when the Imperial Japanese Navy was abolished. The Naval Academy Etajima opened in 1956 and the site now serves as the location for Officer Candidate School of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

