was a general 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 ...
during 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 ...
. He played an active role in the
Soviet-Japanese Border Wars of the late 1930s.
Biography
Born in
Osaka prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...
, Ueda attended the predecessor of
Hitotsubashi University
is a national university located in Tokyo, Japan. It has campuses in Kunitachi, Kodaira, and Chiyoda. One of the top 9 Designated National University in Japan, Hitotsubashi is a relatively small institution specialized solely in social sciences ...
and subsequently graduated from the 10th class
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 1898, and the 21st class of 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 1908. Although his specialization was infantry, he was assigned to the 9th Cavalry Brigade under the
IJA 18th Division
The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the . The 18th Division was one of two infantry divisions newly raised by the Imperial Japanese Army immediately after the Russo-Japanese War (1904– ...
, and was later transferred to the
IJA 16th Division. He remained in cavalry for the remainder of his career. Serving as a staff officer in the
Siberian Expeditionary Army
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
from 1918 to 1919, Ueda 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 of ...
in July 1919.
Assigned command of the IJA 1st Cavalry Regiment in 1923, Ueda 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 a ...
in 1924 and was assigned as commanding officer of the IJA 3rd Cavalry Brigade.
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 ...
in 1928, Ueda became
commander-in-chief of the
Japanese China Garrison Army
The was formed 1 June 1901 as the , as part of Japan's contribution to the international coalition in China during the Boxer Rebellion. It took the name China Garrison Army from 14 April 1912 and onward, though was typically referred to as t ...
from March 1929 to the end of December 1930. As commander of the
IJA 9th Division
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the or 1515 or 1573.Madez, ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'', p. 35. The ''9th Division'' was one of six infantry divisions newly raise ...
from 1930 to 1932, his division was sent into combat during the
First Shanghai incident; however, it failed to break the Chinese defenses and Ueda was withdrawn in disgrace and replaced by General
Yoshinori Shirakawa
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army.
Biography Early life and education
Shirakawa was born as the third son of an ex-''samurai'' of Matsuyama Domain in Iyo, Ehime, Shikoku. He attended Matsuyama Middle School, but was forced to leave w ...
's
IJA 11th Division
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the , and its military symbol was 11D. The 11th Division was one of six infantry divisions newly raised by the Imperial Japanese Army after the First Sin ...
. Ueda was subsequently involved in much of the fighting against Chinese forces during the
Japanese occupation of Manchuria
The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until th ...
. He was promoted to the honorific title of Junior Fourth
Court Rank.
Ueda lost a leg in the 29 April 1932 terror attack by
Korean independence activist Yoon Bong-Gil
Yun Bong-gil (21 June 1908 – 19 December 1932) was a Korean independence activist who set off a bomb that killed several Japanese dignitaries in Shanghai's Hongkew Park (now Lu Xun Park) in 1932. He was posthumously awarded the Republic of Kor ...
which killed his superior, General Yoshinori Shirakawa in Shanghai's
Hongkou Park.
Despite his injury, Ueda remained on active service and returned to Japan to staff postings with the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff
The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army.
Role
The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...
, rising to the post of Vice Chief from 1933 to 1934. In 1934, Ueda became the commander-in-chief of the
Chosen Army
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army that formed a garrison force in Korea under Japanese rule. The Korean Army consisted of roughly 350,000 troops in 1914.
History
Japanese forces occupied large portions of the Empire of Korea dur ...
in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. Promoted to full general on November 28, 1934, Ueda returned to
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 ...
as commander-in-chief of the
Kwantung Army
''Kantō-gun''
, image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo
, dates = April ...
from 1936 to 1939. As commander, Ueda supported measures to suppress the illicit narcotics trade in Manchukuo and northern China.
In 1939, he also held the post of ambassador of Japan to Manchukuo and was a member of the
Supreme War Council
The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution and w ...
.
A strong believer in the “Strike North” or ''
Hokushin-ron
was a pre-World War II political doctrine of the Empire of Japan which stated that Manchuria and Siberia were Japan's sphere of interest and that the potential value to Japan for economic and territorial expansion in those areas was greater tha ...
'' policy that Japan's main enemy was
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and that Japan's destiny laid in conquest of the natural resources of the sparsely populated north Asian mainland, Ueda supported the unauthorized aggressive actions initiated by staff and field officers on the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
border with Manchukuo and
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
which led to the
Soviet–Japanese border conflicts
The Soviet–Japanese border conflicts, also known as the Soviet-Japanese Border War or the First Soviet-Japanese War,was a series of minor and major conflicts fought between the Soviet Union (led by Joseph Stalin), Mongolia (led by Khorloog ...
with heavy fighting and high casualties against Soviet forces around
Nomonhan
Nomonhan is a small village in Inner Mongolia, China, south of the city of Manzhouli and near the China–Mongolia border.
In the summer of 1939, it was the location of the Nomonhan Incident, as it is known in Japan, or the Battle of Khalkhin G ...
between May and August 1939.
[Neena, ''Nomonhan, the Second Russo-Japanese War''] Despite the disastrous results of the battles against
Soviet forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...
, Ueda remained adamant in his support of the ''hokushin-ron'' policy and refused to discourage his officers from taking similar actions. He was recalled back to Japan in late-1939 and forced into retirement.
Retiring from public life, Ueda lived quietly through
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In the postwar era, he served as honorary chairman of various veterans associations and died in 1962.
Decorations
* 1931 –
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
* 1934 –
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun
* 1934 –
Order of the Golden Kite, 3rd class
References
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External links
*
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Japanese Imperial Army site
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ueda, Kenkichi
1875 births
1962 deaths
Military personnel from Osaka Prefecture
Hitotsubashi University alumni
Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II
Japanese generals
Japanese amputees
Members of the Kwantung Army
Japanese colonial governors and administrators
People of the Kwantung Leased Territory
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite