The IJN Yamashiro (山城 Mountain castle) was the second of two Fuso-class battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched on November 3rd 1915 and commissioned on March 31st 1917, she initially patrolled off the coast of China, playing no part in World War I. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Yamashiro was modernized between 1930 and 1935, with improvements to her armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Nevertheless, with only 14-inch guns, she was outclassed by other Japanese battleships at the beginning of World War II, and played auxiliary roles for most of the war.
By 1944, though, she was forced into front-line duty, serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura's Southern Force at the Battle of the South China Sea. Both Yamashiro and Fuso were sunk.