IJN Ships

Ships in the Imperial Japanese Navy are named according to specific conventions, first laid out in Meidji 28 (1895), and subsequently modified. The current conventions are:

Aircraft carriers: Names for Japan or Corea or names of mountains
Amphibious Assault Ships: Names of semi-aquatic animals, real or mythical
Battleships: Names for Japan or historic provinces of Japan or Corea
Cruisers: Rivers or Xinto shrines
Destroyers: Meteorological phenomena
Escorts: Names of Islands
Frigates: Names of bodies of water
Hospital Ships: Names relating to medicine (specific medicines, care, comfort, etc.)
Minesweepers: Names of rodents
Submarines: Names of fish and other aquatic animals
Submarine Carriers: Names of whales
Supercarriers: Names of mythical animals and birds (note: this class was only recently split off from the Carrier class, and therefore, many supercarriers are named as if carriers)
Torpedo Boats: Names of birds

Some known ships and classes (with language of origin):

• Curage (海月 クラゲ), a submarine class; Japanese, "Jellyfish"
  • HIJMS Curage (海月 クラゲ)
  • HIJMS Caiba (海馬 カイバ); Japanese, "Seahorse"
  • HIJMS Caori (가오리); Corean, "Stingray"
• Unknown class of aircraft carriers
  • HIJMS Còya; an old province of Japan

With the creation of the Imperial Space Agency, new conventions have had to be created.
Launch vehicles: Flying creatures, both real and mythical (note: the Cumo Maru was named before the convention was set in place)
Missions: "Appropriate names"
Orbiters: No convention has been agreed upon
Rockets: Thunder gods and creatures
Space stations: Islands