Itsukushima (厳島) was the lead ship in the Matsushima class of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Like her sister ships, (Matsushima and Hashidate) the name Itsukushima comes from one of the traditional Three Views of Japan, in this case, the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima prefecture on the Seto Inland Sea, home to a famous Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten.