Ijuin Goro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Baron Ijuin Goro | |
|---|---|
| 29 September 1852 – 13 January 1921 | |
 Japanese Admiral Baron Goro Ijiun |
|
| Place of birth | Kagoshima, Satsuma domain Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Years of service | 1871-–1917 |
| Rank | Fleet Admiral |
| Commands | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Battles/wars | Boshin War Taiwan Expedition of 1874 Satsuma Rebellion First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War |
Goro Ijuin (伊集院五郎 Ijuin Goro?) (29 September 1852–13 January 1921) was a Meiji-period career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Born in Kagoshima, the son of a samurai of the Satsuma domain, he fought as Satsuma samurai and foot soldier in major actions of the Boshin War (1868) against the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of the new Meiji government, he entered the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy (1871), and as cadet served on navy vessels in the Taiwan Expedition (1874), the Kanghwa Island Incident off Korea (1875), and the Satsuma Rebellion (1877).
Sent to England for study in 1877, he completed courses at Royal Naval College, Greenwich and returned to work on the Navy General Staff (1886-99). Made a captain in 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War he served as a staff officer at the Imperial Japanese Navy headquarters. He became a close confidant of navy chief Admiral Yamamoto Gonnohyoe, and was an important planner and specialist in naval technology. Promoted to rear admiral in 1899, he worked for the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902) behind the scenes. He also developed the "Ijuin Fuse," used in heavy naval artillery shells during Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). He was vice-chief of Naval Command during the Russo-Japanese War, successively assumed commander-in-chief of the Second Fleet and the First Fleet, and then became chief of the Naval General Staff Office (1909-14).
He was elevated to the total of danshaku (baron) in 1907, became an admiral in 1910 and fleet admiral in 1917, despite never having actually commanded a ship.
His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.
[edit] References
- Dupuy, Trevor N. Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd (1992). ISBN: 1850435693
- Pleshakov, Constantine. The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima. Basic Books; Reprint edition (2003). ISBN: 0465057926
- Schencking, J. Charles. Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press (2005). ISBN: 0804749779
- Warner, Denis and Peggy, The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War', 1904-1905. New York, 1974.
