Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

was a Japanese

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

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 ...

. He was the head of the

Japanese First Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on three occasions. History The Japanese 1st Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from 1 September 1894 – 28 May 1895 under the command of ...

during 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 his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, the

Battle of Liaoyang The (russian: Сражение при Ляояне) was the first major List of battles of the Russo-Japanese War, land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, on the outskirts of the city of Liaoyang in present-day Liaoning Province, China. The city ...

, 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 ...

and the

Battle of Mukden The , one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden ...

Early life

Born as the son of a

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 h ...

in the

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

domain in southern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

in what is now

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

, Kuroki fought for the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast ...

against the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

forces in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. He led a platoon of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

of the 1st Battalion at the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

and later at the

Battle of Utsunomiya Castle The was a battle between pro-imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan in May 1868. It occurred as the troops of the Tokugawa shogunate were retreating north towards Nikkō and Aizu. Background In early spring 1868 ...

and was appointed a lieutenant in February 1869.

Imperial Japanese Army

In July 1871, Kuroki was commissioned a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 1st Battalion, now part of the newly established Imperial Japanese Army. Advancements followed in rapid succession. He was appointed to the 1st Grenadier Battalion in August 1872 and promoted to major. In February 1875, aged only 31, he was appointed commander of the 12th Hiroshima Infantry Regiment and 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 colonel. ...

. During 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 ...

of 1877, Kuroki commanded a regiment against his own clan. He was promoted to colonel in November 1878 and appointed commander of the 2nd Grenadiers. He was promoted to major-general in May 1885 and 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 November 1893. He commanded the

IJA 6th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . Actions The 6th Division was formed in Kumamoto City on 12 May 1888, as one of the new divisions to be created after the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese ...

in the

First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between Qing dynasty, China and Empire of Japan, Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land ...

, during which time he took part in the

Battle of Weihaiwei The Battle of Weihaiwei (Japanese: was a battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place between 20 January and 12 February 1895, in Weihai, Shandong Province, China, between the forces of Japan and Qing China. In early January 1895, the ...

Russo-Japanese War

Japanese General Kuroki and his Chief of Staff Shigeta Fujii

Promoted to the rank of

in November 1903, Kuroki was appointed commander of the

upon the outbreak of the

the following year. After landing his forces at

Chemulpo Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

near

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in mid-February, Kuroki advanced north routing a smaller Russian force at the Battle of the Yalu River on 30 April-1 May 1904. Commanding the Japanese left flank at the

, he repulsed a disorganized Russian attack from 25 August-3 September. Japanese General Kuroki Tamemoto and British Officier Sir Ian Hamilton

Foreign Officers and Correspondents after the Battle of Shaho

During the

, Kuroki's forces again successfully defended against the Russian offensive under General Aleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin from 5 October-17 October and later commanded the Japanese right flank at the

from 21 February-10 March 1905. During the war, Kuroki was obliged to devote attention to a large coterie of Western observers. Press coverage of the war was affected by restrictions on the movement of reporters and strict censorship. In all military conflicts which followed, close attention to more managed reporting was considered essential.Walker, Dale L.
"Jack London's War."
World of Jack London website. Commander-in-chief Tamemoto Kuroki on the battlefield in the Russo-Japanese War

Commander-in-chief Tamemoto Kuroki on the battlefield in the Russo-Japanese War

The

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 ...

of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

to the Japanese First Army, General Sir Ian Hamilton, would directly apply lessons learned in Kuroki's retinue. In the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign he appointed Captain William Maxwell, a British journalist who had reported on the Russo-Japanese War for the London ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' to be Chief Field Censor. These experiences also provided a model that the U.S. military attaché, Captain

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

would adopt a decade later in Europe when he persuaded American journalist Frederick Palmer to take on the task of press accreditation for the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Palmer, like Pershing, had experienced the Russo-Japanese War through the restrictions Kuroki had imposed.

Later years

Despite his success and previous military record, Kuroki was one of two senior field commanders denied promotion to

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 ...

, thought to be largely because of his Satsuma origins at a time when the government was dominated by Chōshū rivals, although this may have been due to the internal politics within the Japanese Imperial Army of the time. Retiring from military service in 1909, he received the title of ''danshaku'' (

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 ...

) and later ''hakushaku'' (

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

) under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' peerage system. From 1917 onwards he served as a until his death from pneumonia in 1923.

Honours

*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (30 May 1905) *Hon. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG) (20 February 1906) *Baron (1 April 1906) *Order of the Golden Kite, 1st Class (1 April 1906) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (1 April 1906) *Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (1906) *

Order of the Plum Blossom The Order of the Plum Blossom (also called as Order of the Ehwa) was the Order of chivalry of the Korean Empire. It was the third highest order of Korean Empire. History Order of the Plum Blossom was the part of the establishment of orders in 1 ...

(28 December 1906) *Count (1909) Two towns in North America were named in his honor:

Kuroki, Saskatchewan Kuroki is a hamlet in the Rural Municipality of Sasman No. 336, Saskatchewan, Canada. Listed as a designated place by Statistics Canada, the hamlet had a population of 50 in the Canada 2016 Census. The community is named after the Japanese gen ...

and Kuroki, North Dakota.

Notes

References

* Connaughton, Richard Michael. (1988)
''The War of the Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear: A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5.''
London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

. (cloth); (paper) -- reprinted by Cassell Military, London, 2004. (paper) * Davis, Richard Harding ''et al.'' (1905)
''The Russo-Japanese war; a photographic and descriptive review of the great conflict in the Far East, gathered from the reports, records, cable despatches, photographs, etc., etc., of Collier's war correspondents''
New York: P. F. Collier & Son
OCLC: 21581015
* Dupuy, Trevor N. ''et al.'' (1992)
''Encyclopedia of Military Biography.''
London: I. B. Tauris & Co.
OCLC 59974268
* Harries, Meirion ''et al.'' (1992)
''Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army.''
New York:

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. * Humphreys, Leonard A. (1995)
''The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920s.''
Stanford:

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

. * Kepplinger, Hans Mathias, Hans-Bernd Brosius and Joachim Friedrich Staab
"Instrumental Actualization: A Theory of Mediated Conflicts,"
''European Journal of Communication,'' Vol. 6, No. 3, 263-290 (1991) * Kowner, Rotem. (2006)
''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War.''
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
OCLC 58985767
* Roth, Mitchel P. and James Stuart Olson. (1997)
''Historical Dictionary of War Journalism.''
Westport, Connecticut:

Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

. *

Towle, Philip Philip Towle is a British academic who is Emeritus Reader of International Relations at the University of Cambridge. He was formerly director of the Centre for International Studies at the University of Cambridge and served on the United Kingdom' ...

. (1998)
"Aspects of the Russo-Japanese War: British Observers of the Russo-Japanese War,"
Paper No. IS/1998/351. STICERD, LSE. * Sisemore, James D. (2003). Sisemore, James D. (2003).
"The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned."

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

External links

Russo-Japanese War Research Society

at

National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroki, Tamemoto Japanese generals People from Satsuma Domain 1844 births 1923 deaths Kazoku People of the Boshin War Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War People of Meiji-period Japan Shimazu retainers Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Recipients of the Order of the Plum Blossom