Kikusaburō Oaki spearheaded the development of Tennōzu Isle during the Meiji era. In 1873, he acquired the former Battery #4, a man-made island initially built for coastal defense in the Bakumatsu period. Oaki renamed the island Oaki Daiba and transformed it into an operational shipyard, securing investment support from Imperial Japanese Navy Vice-Admiral Enomoto Takeaki. His shipyard constructed vessels that contributed warships to the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Industrial activity persisted on the island until 20th-century redevelopment, when the name Tennōzu gradually superseded Oaki Daiba.