down by Thames Iron Works at their Blackwall, London shipyard on 29 March 1897. She was launched on 1 November 1898 and completed on 26 January 1900. After her arrival in Japan, she was slightly damaged when she went ashore outside of Yokohama during a typhoon in September 1902. Russo-Japanese War At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Shikishima, commanded by Captain Izō Teragaki, was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 when Vice-Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur. Tōgō had expected his surprise night attack on the Russians by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was and expected to find them badly disorganised and weakened, but the Russians had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack. The Japanese ships were spotted by the cruiser which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences. Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the Russian ships with his secondary guns. Splitting his fire proved to be ineffective as the Japanese and six-inch guns inflicted very little significant damage on the Russian ships who concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect. Although a large number of ships on both sides were hit, Russian casualties numbered only 17 while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged. During the battle, Shikishima was hit by a single six-inch shell which wounded 17 crewmen. Shikishima participated in the action of 13 April when Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Pacific Squadron, including Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov's flagship, the battleship . When Makarov spotted the five battleships of the 1st Division, he turned back for Port Arthur and Petropavlovsk struck a naval mine laid by the Japanese the previous night. The Russian battleship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazines exploded; Makarov was one of the 677 killed. Emboldened by his success, Tōgō resumed long-range bombardment missions, which prompted the Russians to lay more minefields. On 14 May, Rear Admiral Nashiba Tokioki put to sea with the battleships Hatsuse (flag), Shikishima, and , the protected cruiser , and the dispatch boat to relieve the Japanese blockading force off Port Arthur. On