æt ðə tˈaɪm ʌvðɪ ɐtˈæk ˌɔn pˈɜːl hˈɑːɹbɚ, ˈæɹɪˌeɪk wʌz ɐsˈaɪnd tə dᵻstɹˈɔɪɚ dᵻvˈɪʒən twˈɛnti sˈɛvən ʌv dᵻstɹˈɔɪɚ skwˈɑːdɹən wˈʌn ʌvðɪ ˌaɪdʒˌeɪˈɛn fˈɜːst flˈiːt təɡˌɛðɚ wɪð hɜː sˈɪstɚ ʃˈɪps , , ænd , ænd wʌz bˈeɪst æt hˈæʃɚɹˌædʒɪmə ɪn dʒˌæpənˈiːz hˈoʊm wˈɔːɾɚz ˌɔn ˈæntaɪsˈʌbmɚɹˌiːn pɐtɹˈoʊl.
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ariake was assigned to Destroyer Division 27 of Destroyer Squadron 1 of the IJN 1st Fleet together with her sister ships , , and , and was based at Hashirajima in Japanese home waters on anti-submarine patrol.