 The Izumo @-@ class cruisers ( 出雲型装甲巡洋艦 , Izumo @-@ gata sōkōjun 'yōkan ) were a pair of armored cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) in the late 1890s . As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships herself , the vessels were built in Britain . They were part of the " Six @-@ Six Fleet " expansion program that began after the defeat of China during the First Sino @-@ Japanese War of 1894 – 95 . The sister ships participated in three of the four main naval battles of the Russo @-@ Japanese War of 1904 – 05 — the Battle of Port Arthur , the Battle off Ulsan and the Battle of Tsushima — but played a much more minor role in World War I. 
