ships initially consisted of two single Krupp cannon on pivot mounts in barbettes fore and aft of the superstructure. Each barbette was fitted with a fixed loading station in its rear and the guns had to return to this position to reload. The secondary armament was initially six Krupp cannon on pivot mounts in semi-circular sponsons on the main deck, three guns on each broadside. All of these guns were protected against the weather by gun shields. Defense against torpedo boats was provided by two quick-firing (QF) 6-pounder () Nordenfelt guns on the forward bridge, ten quadruple Nordenfelt guns positioned the length of the superstructure and four 10-barrel, Nordenfelt organ guns mounted in the fighting tops of the military masts. In addition, there were four above-water tubes in the hull for Schwartzkopff torpedoes, two on each broadside. Naniwas armament frequently changed over her career and the first such was the replacement of her slow-firing 15-centimeter guns with Armstrong's QF guns in 1896 after the First Sino-Japanese War. At the same time four of the 1-inch Nordenfelt guns were replaced by four 3-pounders. The fighting tops and the 10-barrel organ guns were removed in 1898 and the main guns were replaced by a pair of Armstrong 6-inch guns in 1900. At the same time the 6-pounders and the remaining Nordenfelt guns were exchanged for more 3-pounders, giving the ship a total of ten 3-pounders and a pair of lighter Yamauchi QF 2.5-pounder (47-millimeter) guns. The protection of the Esmeralda had been much criticized by the British Admiralty and White raised the height of the steel protective deck to a foot (30.5 centimeters) above the waterline. The sloped portion of the deck extended to a depth of below the waterline. Amidships, the highly-subdivided compartments formed by the sloped portion of the protective deck were filled with coal and the fore and aft areas were fitted with cofferdams to limit any flooding. The walls of the conning tower were three inches thick and the loading station was protected by two inches of steel armor. Construction and career Naniwa was ordered from Armstrong Mitchell on 22 March 1884 as Japan lacked the ability to build the Naniwa-class ships itself. The ship was laid down at the company's Low Walker shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne on 27 March as yard number 475 and launched on 18 March 1885. She was completed on 15 February 1886