was a Japanese
field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
and one of the leaders of Japan's military throughout most of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. As Army Minister in 1937, Sugiyama was a driving force behind the launch of hostilities against China in retaliation for the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army.
Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuri ...
. After being named the Army’s Chief of Staff in 1940, he became a leading advocate for expansion into Southeast Asia and
preventive war
A preventive war is a war or a military action which is initiated in order to prevent a belligerent or a neutral party from acquiring a capability for attacking. The party which is being attacked has a latent threat capability or it has shown ...
against the United States. Upon the
outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific, Sugiyama served as the army’s
commander-in-chief until his removal by Prime Minister
Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...
in February 1944. Following Tojo's ouster in July 1944, he once again held the post of Army Minister in
Kuniaki Koiso's cabinet until its dissolution in April 1945. Ten days after Japan's surrender on 2 September 1945, he committed suicide.
Early life and career
Born to a former ''
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...
'' family from
Kokura (now part of
Kitakyushu City
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...
),
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, K ...
, Sugiyama graduated from the 12th class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...
in 1901. He served as a junior officer with 3rd Battalion of the 14th Regiment of the
IJA 12th Division
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the , and its military symbol was 12D. The 12th Division was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army after the First Sino ...
in 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 ...
, and was wounded in the face during the
Battle of Shaho
The Battle of Shaho ( ja, 沙河会戦 (''Saka no kaisen''), russian: Сражение на реке Шахе) was the second large-scale land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a front centered at the Shaho River along the Mukden– P ...
. Due to scars from that injury, he was unable to fully open his right eye.
After graduating from the 22nd class of the
Army Staff College in 1910, Sugiyama served in Section 2 (Intelligence) within the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. He was posted as
military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
in 1912, disguised as a civilian trading company employee, and disguised as an Imperial Japanese Navy lieutenant, joined in an inspection tour of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
base at
Subic Bay. Promoted to
major
Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
in 1913, he was posted again as military attaché to
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
in 1915, where he met in secret with Indian independence activists
Rash Behari Bose and
Subhas Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...
. In 1918, he was sent as a military observer to the
Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. At the end of the war, he served on the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
committee on military aviation.
On his return to Japan, Sugiyama was promoted to
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
, and commander of the 2nd Air Battalion in December 1918. Three years later in 1921, he was promoted to
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
. A strong proponent of
military aviation
Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war thea ...
, he ultimately rose to become the first head of the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in 1922.
Rise to power
Involvement in Army politics
In 1924, Sugiyama became a protege of Army Minister
Ugaki Kazushige
was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and cabinet minister before World War II, the 5th principal of Takushoku University, and twice Governor-General of Korea. Nicknamed Ugaki Issei, he served as Foreign Minister of Japan in th ...
. Subsequently, he was promoted to
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
in May 1925 and appointed Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs in 1928. Within the same timeframe, he also became a leading member of the Army's
Control Faction.
In 1931, he participated in the
March incident, a failed
coup-d'etat which attempted to make Ugaki Prime Minister. Later that year, as Under Secretary of the Army, he made an official announcement defending the actions of the military in the
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
On September 18, 1931, ...
.
With the rise of the rival ''
Kōdōha
The ''Kōdōha'' or was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army active in the 1920s and 1930s. The ''Kōdōha'' sought to establish a military government that promoted totalitarian, militaristic and aggressive expansionistic ideal ...
'' faction under
Sadao Araki to the post of Army Minister, Sugiyama was sidelined to the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in March 1933. However, the failed coup d'etat of the
February 26 incident in 1936 led to a purge of the ''Kōdōha'' from positions of authority and Sugiyama was promoted to full general in November 1936.
Army Minister
In February 1937, Sugiyama became Army Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister
Senjūrō Hayashi
was a Japanese politician and general. He served as Imperial Japanese Army Commander of the Japanese Korean Army during the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1937.
Early life
Hay ...
and remained in that position under the succeeding Prime Minister,
Fumimaro Konoe
Prince was a Japanese politician and prime minister. During his tenure, he presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the breakdown in relations with the United States, which ultimately culminated in Japan's entry into World W ...
.
During his tenure, tensions between Japanese forces and the Chinese grew more severe. When
hostilities broke out near the Marco Polo Bridge, Sugiyama pushed Konoe for retaliation against China, thereby giving rise to the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...
..
Promotion to Army leadership
On 3 June 1938, Sugiyama left his position as Army Minister to become a member of Japan's Supreme War Council. In December 1938, he briefly left the Council to assume command over the
North China Area Army
The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
History
The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to t ...
and the
Mongolia Garrison Army
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
History
The Japanese Mongolia Garrison Army was raised on December 27, 1937 as a garrison force in Japanese-dominated Inner Mongolia and adjacent areas of north China. From Ju ...
respectively before returning in September 1939.
By September 3, 1940, Hajime Sugiyama succeeded the elderly
Prince Kan'in Kotohito as Chief of the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff.
World War II
On the eve of the
Second World War's expansion into Asia and the Pacific, General Sugiyama was one of the leading Army officers lobbying for war with the West. On September 5, 1941,
Emperor Hirohito challenged his confidence in a quick victory over the Western powers by berating him for erroneously predicting in 1937 that
Japan's invasion of China would be completed within three months. Nonetheless, by 1 December 1941, the Emperor ultimately gave his imperial sanction for war.
Following the war’s outbreak, Sugiyama was responsible for directing the Army’s ensuing military operations. In a matter of months, the Empire of Japan conquered a broad swathe of territory in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific including Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, Burma, and the Philippines.
By the beginning of 1943, the tide of the conflict had turned against the Japanese after their forces were decisively defeated at the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal. In the same year, Sugiyama was awarded the honorary rank of
field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
.
As the war fronts collapsed on all sides, Sugiyama was relieved of his post as Chief of the General Staff on February 21, 1944, by General
Hideki Tōjō (who continued to serve concurrently as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
). Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to the
Inspector-general of Military Training, which was still one of the most prestigious positions in the Army.
After Tōjō's ouster in 1944, Sugiyama again became Army Minister in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso. In July 1945, he was asked to take command of the
First General Army ''Dai-ichi Sōgun''
, image =
, caption =
, dates = April 8, 1945 – November 30, 1945
, country = Empire of Japan
, allegiance = ...
, which directed defenses of eastern half Japanese mainland against the
anticipated Allied invasion.
Ten days after the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...
, after finishing preparations for the final dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army as dictated by the victorious
Allied Powers, Sugiyama committed suicide by shooting himself four times in the chest with his revolver while seated at his desk in his office. At home, his wife also killed herself.
[Chen, WW2 Database] His grave is at the
Tama Cemetery, in
Fuchū, Tokyo.
References
Notes
Books
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugiyama, Hajime
1880 births
1945 deaths
Military personnel from Fukuoka Prefecture
Japanese generals
Japanese military personnel of World War II
Marshals of Japan
Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Army
Japanese military personnel who committed suicide
People from Kitakyushu
Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War
Suicides by firearm in Japan
Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun
Japanese anti-communists
Imperial Japanese Army officers