Togo served aboard the Satsuma vessel Kasuga Maru during the Hakodate campaign, before the fleet had fully become a national institution. As third officer, he experienced the transition from a clan vessel flying imperial colours to membership in a genuinely national force. This service also took him from coastal gun lieutenant to officer at sea while the new institution was still taking shape. Hakodate was the institutional and personal origin story behind his later fame at Tsushima.
Notable Point · 41:13-43:39
Togo's apprenticeship aboard Kasuga Maru
Serving as Kasuga Maru's third officer placed Togo inside the transition from a Satsuma clan fleet to a national Japanese navy.