Asahi , meaning " rising sun " , a poetic name for Japan from a stanza of waka poetry , was laid down on 1 August 1898 in Clydebank , Scotland , by the Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. and completed by John Brown & Company , which purchased the firm before Asahi was completed . She was launched on 13 March 1899 and completed on 31 July 1900 . Her completion was delayed by about three months when her bottom plating required repairs after running aground off Southsea following sea trials . The ship departed England , after repairs in Portsmouth , on the day of her completion , and arrived at Yokosuka , Japan , on 23 October 1900 . Asahi became flagship of the Standing Fleet on 22 May 1901 and was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet when the Combined Fleet was re @-@ formed on 28 December 1903 .