The Kashii was a Japanese light cruiser whose keel was laid in 1939, launched in October 1940, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in July 1941. The ship was 130 m long, 15.9 m wide, and her full displacement was 6,200 tons. The cruiser Kashii's maximum speed was only 18 knots. The main armament was 4 140 mm guns in two turrets, two cannons each, and the additional armament was, among others: two 127 mm guns and two twin 533 mm torpedo tubes.
Kashii was the third and final Katori-class cruiser. Originally, at the time of ordering, these types of units were planned as training ships, but during the Pacific War, they were adapted as light cruisers and performed various auxiliary functions in the Japanese fleet. The career of cruiser Kashii during World War II began in December 1941, when she shielded convoys heading towards Indochina. In March 1942, he took part in Operation T, i.e. the landing of Japanese troops in northern Sumatra. In the summer of 1942, Kashii was on patrol duty in the eastern Indian Ocean, making cruises around the Andaman Islands, among others. In early 1943, he returned to the waters surrounding Indochina and southern China, where he again escorted convoys for much of that year. In March and April 1944, Kashii - like its twin Kashima later - underwent a thorough modernization, which significantly increased its potential for ZOP (Fighting Submarines) activities. After these changes, he returned to convoy service. The cruiser Kashii was sunk on January 19, 1945 by American on-board planes.