The Cruiser Chitose was built for the Imperial Japanese Navy at Pier 70, in San Francisco, California.
On January 23, 1898, the Chitose’s launch was filmed by Thomas Edison. The ship was christened by May Budd, niece of California governor James Budd, with a bottle of California wine. Gladys Sullivan, niece of San Francisco mayor James D. Phelan, pressed the button that sent the ship down the slipway. To symbolize the peacekeeping role of the warship, 100 doves were released as the vessel was launched. Japanese Consul General Segawa explained in a speech at the following luncheon that the name “Chitose” meant “a thousand years of peace” in Japanese, and that he hoped that the ship would fulfill that wish.
Link to Library of Congress Video of Launch: Launch of Japanese man-of-war “Chitosa” [i.e., “Chitose”] – YouTube