Kirishima (霧島, namesake: Mount Kirishima) was the third Kongō-class battlecruiser and the second to be built in Japan, ordered from the private Mitsubishi Shipyard in Nagasaki and launched in December 1913. During the closing years of the First World War, she patrolled the Chinese and Korean coasts. Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kirishima served primarily as a troop transport and support vessel. At the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, she served as an escort for the carrier strike force, participating in major battles including Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean Raid, and the Battle of Midway. In 1942, she played a crucial role in the Guadalcanal campaign, where she participated in the sinking of USS Atlanta and the crippling of USS Portland, before making her final stand during the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea. In that encounter, she battled USS South Dakota, which suffered heavy damage, but in exchange, she was struck multiple times by 16-inch shells from USS Washington, crippling her steering and causing extensive fires and flooding. Despite attempted rescue by the cruiser Nagara, a decision was made to scuttle her at 03:25 on 15 November 1942. Her wreck was discovered in 1992, upside-down at the depth of 1,200 metres.

Kirishima was introduced during Update "Storm Warning" as a reward for the 2024 Winter Tales event. Among her sister ships already in the game, she features the highest number of secondary guns, with a total of fourteen 15 cm/50 Type 41, in exchange for having the worst anti-air complement. Her four twin 5-inch/40 Type 89 and ten twin 25 mm/60 Type 96 still provide a workable defence but are less intimidating than those of her sisters. Her mobility and armour are almost identical to those of Haruna, making her an equally capable battlecruiser, and much like them, she excels in Enduring Confrontation mode.