Nagara (?? ???? Nagara keijun'yokan) was the lead ship of her class of light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named after the Nagara River in the Chubu region of Japan.

The Nagara was the first vessel completed in the Nagara-class; and like other vessels of her class; she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla; and it was in that role that she participated in the invasions of the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On 7 August 1944; in route from Kagoshima to Sasebo; Nagara was spotted by USS Croaker (SS-246) on her first war patrol. Croaker closed to 1;300 yards and fired a salvo of four stern torpedoes; hitting Nagara starboard aft with one. Nagara sank by the stern off the Amakusa islands at 32?9'N 129?3'E. The captain and 348 crewmen went down with the ship; but 235 crewmen were rescued.