each side between the foremast and mainmast, and one each on the forecastle and poop. In addition, the ship had ten QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss guns and two quadruple 1-inch Nordenfelt guns as well as four torpedo tubes. The basic design of Akitsushima was too top-heavy, and the vessel had poor stability and sea-handling capability. Service life First Sino-Japanese War During the First Sino-Japanese War, Captain Kamimura Hikonojō was assigned command of the new cruiser Akitsushima and participated in the Battle of Pungdo even before the start of official hostilities against the Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet cruiser . Jiyuan escaped, but Akitsushima captured the gunboat Guanyi. Later as part of the flying squadron led by Admiral Tsuboi Kōzō at the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 17 September 1894, Akitsushima is credited with sinking the cruiser . During the battle, Akitsushima was hit with the loss of five killed (including one officer) and ten wounded. She subsequently participated in the Battle of Weihaiwei, where her role was primarily to provide fire support to assist the Imperial Japanese Army in capturing the landward fortifications. Akitsushima was among the Japanese fleet units that took part in the seizure of the Pescadores and the invasion of Taiwan in 1895, and saw action on 13 October 1895 at the bombardment of Cihou Fort at Kaohsiung. Interwar period On 21 March 1898, Akitsushima was re-designated as a 3rd class protected cruiser. During the Spanish–American War, Akitsushima (which was then based at Makung in the Pescadores Islands), was sent to Manila in the Philippines under the command of Captain Saitō Makoto to safeguard Japanese citizens and economic interests. Akitsushima, under the command of Captain Fujii Kōichi, was called upon for escort duty to protect transports ferrying Japanese troops and supplies during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Russo-Japanese War In an effort to improve her stability, two of her 120-mm guns were removed around 1900–1901. However, Akitsushima was still considered underpowered, poorly-armored, and outgunned by the start of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, and was largely assigned to rear line duties, as part of the 6th division of the Japanese Third Fleet. She was based in out of the Takeshiki Guard District in the Tsushima islands, and assigned to patrols of the Korea Strait between Tsushima and Port Arthur against the Imperial Russian Navy cruiser squadron based in Vladivostok. Akitsushima was sent to Shanghai on 18 February