Baron was an admiral of the early modern Imperial Japanese Navy, known primarily for his role in the First Sino-Japanese War.

Biography

Hidaka was the second son of a samurai in the service of the Shimazu clan of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

, and was born in Kagoshima. In 1870, he enrolled in the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and as a cadet was part of the team which brought the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

from its shipyards in England back to Japan in 1871. Over the next 20 years, he rose steadily through the ranks, serving on the paddle steamer warship (1876),

(1876), (1878), (1879), (1880), and (1881). In 1882, he was assigned to the Shipbuilding Bureau of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, but continued to simultaneously serve on ''Fusō'' (1884) and (1884) and (1885). Hidaka returned to the Navy General Staff in 1886, and was sent to Europe in 1887–1888. He returned to sea as captain of the corvette , his first command, in 1890. He was captain of in 1891 and ''Fusō'' in 1892. After a year as commandant of the Naval Artillery School from 1893 to 1894, he was appointed captain of the cruiser during the First Sino-Japanese War, participating in the Battle of the Yalu. He was then assigned to command in 1895, a post he held simultaneously with that of commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, since Matsushima was under repairs for damages suffered during the war for most of this time. Hidaka was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 1896 and became commander in chief of the Readiness Fleet in 1898. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1900, and became commander of the Takeshiki Guard District. He returned to command the Readiness Fleet again from 1902 to 1903, and was then appointed commander of the Maizuru Naval District. With the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Hidaka was in line for promotion to command the Combined Fleet against the Imperial Russian Navy. However,

Minister of the Navy Minister of the Navy may refer to: * Minister of the Navy (France) * Minister of the Navy (Italy) The Italian Minister of the Navy ( it, Ministri della Marina del Regno) was a member in the Council Ministers until 1947, when the ministry merged ...

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe selected Tōgō Heihachirō instead. When questioned about his decision by

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

, Yamamoto replied that it was because “Togo was lucky”.Kaigun, page 82 Hidaka was ennobled with the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

(''danshaku'') under the '' kazoku'' peerage system in 1907, and was promoted to full admiral in 1908. He retired from active service in 1909, and from the reserves in 1918. He died in 1932.

In popular culture

In the semi-historical television adaption of Ryōtarō Shiba’s ''Saka no ue no kumo'' role of Hidaka was played by veteran actor Akira Nakao

References

Books

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hidaka, Sonojo 1848 births 1932 deaths People from Satsuma Domain Military personnel from Kagoshima Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Kazoku Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War People of Meiji-period Japan Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War