Isamu Chō
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was an officer in the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
known for his support of
ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...
politics and involvement in a number of attempted
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
s in pre-World War II Japan.


Biography

Chō was a native of
Fukuoka prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...
. He graduated from 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 1916 and from the
Army Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For exa ...
in 1928. After he received his commission, Chō was assigned to his first duty outside Japan with the politicized
Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...
based in eastern China. He returned to play a very active role in internal politics within the Japanese army, and was an active or indirect participant in the March Incident and the
Imperial Colors Incident The , also known as the , was an abortive coup d'état attempt in Japan on 21 October 1931, launched by the ''Sakurakai'' secret society within the Imperial Japanese Army, aided by civilian ultranationalist groups. Background and History Having ...
(with other leaders:
Kingoro Hashimoto was a soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army and politician. He was famous for having twice tried to stage a coup against the civilian government in the 1930s. Early career Hashimoto was born in Okayama City, and a graduate of the 23rd class o ...
,
Jirō Minami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and Governor-General of Korea between 1936 and 1942. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Life and military career Born to an ex-''samurai'' family in Hiji, Ōita Prefe ...
,
Sadao Araki Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. As one of the principal nationalist right-wing political theorists in the Empire of Japan, he was regarded as the leader of the radical faction within the polit ...
for the military, and nationalists
Ikki Kita was a Japanese author, intellectual and political philosopher who was active in early Shōwa period Japan. Drawing from an eclectic range of influences, Kita was a self-described socialist who has also been described as the "ideological father ...
,
Shūmei Ōkawa was a Japanese nationalist and Pan-Asianist writer, known for his publications on Japanese history, philosophy of religion, Indian philosophy, and colonialism. Background Ōkawa was born in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan in 1886. He graduated from ...
, Mitsuru Toyama, Kanichiro Kamei and Kozaburo Tachibana). He was a founder of the radical "
Sakurakai was an ultranationalist secret society established by young officers within the Imperial Japanese Army in September 1930, with the goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état if necessary. The ...
" secret society, whose aim was to overthrow the democratic government in favor of a
state socialist State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition f ...
regime which would stamp out corruption. Chō was known to be quick to anger and often struck his subordinates. At the start of 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 Th ...
, Chō was commander of the IJA 74th Infantry Regiment of the
Shanghai Expeditionary Force The was a corps-level ad hoc Japanese army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Shanghai Expeditionary Army was first raised on February 25, 1932 as a reinforcement for Japanese forces involved during the First Battle of Shanghai. It was disso ...
, attached to
Japanese Central China Area Army Field armies of Japan, C Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1938 Nanjing Massacre perpetrators ...
, and based in
Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
. At the
Battle of Nanjing The Battle of Nanking (or Nanjing) was fought in early December 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of Nanking (Nanjing), the capital of the Rep ...
, he was aide-de-camp to
Prince Asaka General was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. Son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of Em ...
and is thought to have been complicit in ordering the massacre of prisoners of war, but it is disputed whether he obeyed an order from the prince, or whether he acted on his own. Chō was subsequently involved in a number of border incidents between Manchukuo and the Soviet Union as Chief of Staff of the
IJA 26th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . The ''26th Division'' was raised 30 September 1937 out of the three independent infantry regiments from the original 11th Independent Mixed Brigade and reserve ...
from 1939 to 1940. In 1940 he was transferred briefly to the
Taiwan Army of Japan The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army recruited from, and stationed on, the island of Taiwan as a garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in ...
Headquarters, and then became
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
of the Indochina Expeditionary Army from 1940 to 1941. Chō was Vice Chief of Staff of Unit 82 within the Military Affairs Bureau, in the
Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of Defence (Est ...
in 1941, and participated in the strategic and tactical planning for the Japanese invasion of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. From 1941 to 1942 he accompanied the Southern Army to
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
to oversee implementation of Japanese strategy, and served as a liaison officer between the Southern Army and the 14th Army in 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 ...
. From 1942 until 1944 Chō was commander of the ''10th Infantry Group (Dai 10 Hohei-Dan(第10歩兵団))'' of the
IJA 10th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the . The ''10th Divisio''n was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War, 1 ...
, a
garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
force based in
Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
. He served in the Kwangtung Army Headquarters, and later as commander of the 1st Mobile Brigade. In late 1944, Chō was recalled from Manchuria to the Home Islands, then to Okinawa. Shortly before the battle in March 1945, he was promoted to
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
.


Okinawa

He was Chief of Staff of the 32nd Army during the
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...
. He masterminded the elaborate underground fortifications around
Shuri Castle was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroye ...
, but favored a highly aggressive response to the American invasion rather than a passive defense. He persuaded General
Mitsuru Ushijima was a Japanese general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. He was the commanding general of the 32nd Army, which fought in the Battle of Okinawa during the final stages of the war. Ushijima's troops were defeated, ...
to launch the disastrous 5 May 1945 counteroffensive. By the middle of June, the 32nd Army was effectively reduced to occupying two strongpoints, one beneath Kunishi Ridge and the other, the command headquarters inside Hill 89. Ushijima and Cho had decided to commit
Seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...
(ritual suicide) and on the night of their planned departure held a banquet in the cave housing the command post with a large meal prepared by Ushijima's cook, Tetsuo Nakamutam, which was complemented with plenty of sake and Cho's remaining stock of captured Black & White Scotch whisky. Later in the early hours of 22 June the staff in the command post lined up to pay their respects to Ushijima who was attired in his full dress uniform and Cho who wore a white kimono. Cho volunteered to go first and lead the way, ‘ as the way may be dark,” but Ushijima insisted on going first. The men made their way onto an outside ledge overlooking the ocean, on which a white cloth had been laid over a quilt. Handed a knife by an aide Ushijima shouted and made a deep vertical cut in his bared abdomen before Captain Sakaguchi (who was regarded as a master swordsman) decapitated him with his sword. Cho followed Ushijima and the bodies of both men were buried by three orderlies in shallow graves. Their bodies were then buried under U.S. military auspices on 27 June 1945 near the cave where they died in the last hours of fighting on Okinawa. "The bodies of the two Japanese generals were lowered into graves almost above their cave headquarters which was sealed during the American flag service."Dopking, Al, "Jap Officers Buried By U. S. Forces", ''Florence Morning News'', Florence, South Carolina, Thursday 28 June 1945, Volume XXII, Number 455, page 1. On the back of Cho's kimono was a poem that he had composed:
“With bravery I served my nation.
With loyalty I dedicate my life.”


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Isamu 1895 births 1945 suicides Military personnel from Fukuoka Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Japanese generals Nanjing Massacre perpetrators Battle of Okinawa Seppuku from Meiji period to present Japanese military personnel who committed suicide Suicides by sharp instrument in Japan Japanese military personnel killed in World War II