was a Japanese Vice Admiral of the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

and the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. He was known for being the commander of the Seventh Division of the

Third Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...

during the

Battle of the Yellow Sea The Battle of the Yellow Sea ( ja, 黄海海戦, Kōkai kaisen; russian: Бой в Жёлтом море) was a major naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 A ...

and the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...

Biography

Hikohachi was born on April 15, 1855, at the

Kagoshima Castle , also known as Tsurumaru Castle, was a Japanese castle located in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture. History Kagoshima Castle was constructed in 1601 by Matsudaira Iehisa, head of the Shimazu clan and the first ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma Domai ...

within the

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Durin ...

. His father was Aritsune Yamada who was a feudal retainer of the

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, ...

while his mother, Suma, was the younger sister of Toshimichi Ōkubo and his brothers were and . Under the advice of his uncle Toshimichi Ōkubo, he moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and enrolled in the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stu ...

in 1871. During his education, he took part in the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and beca ...

as part of the crew of the '' Asama''. He graduated in July 1878 as part of its 5th Class and made an ensign in January 1881. Beginning in October 1884, he became a squad leader of the '' Kongō'' and became a member of the 2nd Naval Division of the

Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo. History Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to adminis ...

, being given command of the '' Naniwa'', the ''

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

'' and the ''

Itsukushima is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as , which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of Hayashi Gahō's Three Views of Japan specified in ...

'' and by December 1891, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In June 1892, he served as a member of the 3rd Section of the Naval General Staff Department and served as a staff officer of the

Kure Naval District was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Seto Inland Sea, Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama prefecture, Wakayam ...

. During the

, Yamada was the deputy commander of the ''

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

''. In December 1895, he assumed command of the '' Amagi'' and after serving as a commander of the '' Tenryū'' and commander of the

Kaiheidan ''Kaiheidan'' (海兵団, translation: Naval Corps) were units in the Imperial Japanese Navy that were primarily responsible for the training and education of enlisted and non-commissioned officer personnel. In particular, they trained the new r ...

and in June 1897, he was promoted to captain and became the commander of the Kaiheidan. In May 1898, he became the captain of the ''

Suma Suma may refer to: Places * Suma, Azerbaijan, a village * Suma, East Azerbaijan, a village in Iran * Sowmaeh, Ardabil, also known as Şūmā, a village in Iran * Suma-ku, Kobe, one of nine wards of Kobe City in Japan ** Suma Station, a railway ...

'', served as chairman of the '' Iwate'' during a business trip to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and was transferred to the

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

in November 1903 until he was ordered to participate in the

. In June 1904, he was promoted to Rear Admiral and became Commander of the

and participated in the

and given command of the 7th Division during the

. In December 1905, he was transferred to the command of the 1st Fleet and after serving as the commander of the Sasebo Torpedo Command and the Kure Torpedo Command> He was then promoted to Vice Admiral in August 1908 and was appointed Commander of the 1st Fleet. Since then, he has served as commander-in-chief of the

Takeshiki Guard District The was a navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy located in the former (now part of present-day Tsushima, Nagasaki), on Tsushima Island, during the Russo-Japanese War. The Takeshiki Guard District was responsible for the control of the strateg ...

and served as the commander-in-chief of the

Ryojun Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Kwantung Leased Territory before and during Second Sino-Japanese War. Located in at Ryojun ), (present-day Lüshunkou, China, The Ryojun Guard District was responsible for contro ...

. He served as the commander-in-chief of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...

and a member of the Naval Officers' Council. In March 1915, he was transferred to the reserves.

Court Ranks

*Junior Seventh Rank (December 25, 1883) *Senior Seventh Rank (November 27, 1886) *Junior Sixth Rank (March 23, 1892) *Senior Fifth Rank (April 20, 1903) *Junior Fourth Rank (May 11, 1908) *Senior Fourth Rank (May 21, 1910) *Junior Third Rank (May 30, 1913) *Senior Third Rank (March 20, 1915)

Awards

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

, 5th Class (November 24, 1894) *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, 5th Class (September 27, 1895)"Official Gazette" No. 3676 "Appointment and Appointment" September 28, 1895. *

Order of the Golden Kite The was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan". It was officially abolished 1947 by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) during th ...

, 4th Class (September 27, 1895) *Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th Class (May 9, 1899) *Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class (May 30, 1905) *Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class (April 1, 1906)"Official Gazette" Extra "Appointment and Appointment" December 30, 1906. *Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class (April 1, 1906) *1904–05 Russo-Japanese War Medal (April 1, 1906) *Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st Class (May 24, 1912) *Tairei Commemorative Badge (November 10, 1915)

Foreign Awards

*: Commemorative Medal of the Emperor of Korea's Southwest Tour (April 14, 1910)"Official Gazette" No. 8044 "Appointment and Appointment" April 19, 1910.

References

Bibliography