Ironclads were also used from the inception of the Imperial Japanese Navy . The Kōtetsu ( Japanese : 甲鉄 , literally " Ironclad " , later renamed Azuma 東 , " East " ) had a decisive role in the Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay in May 1869 , which marked the end of the Boshin War , and the complete establishment of the Meiji Restoration . The IJN continued to develop its strength and commissioned a number of warships from British and European shipyards , first ironclads and later armored cruisers . These ships engaged the Chinese Beiyang fleet which was superior on paper at least at the Battle of the Yalu River . Thanks to superior short @-@ range firepower , the Japanese fleet came off better , sinking or severely damaging eight ships and receiving serious damage to only four . The naval war was concluded the next year at the Battle of Weihaiwei , where the strongest remaining Chinese ships were surrendered to the Japanese .