admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
in the early
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
.
Biography
Fujii was born as the eldest 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 ...
'' of the
Okayama Domain
The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Bizen Province in modern-day Okayama Prefecture.">DF_18_of_80">"Ikeda"_at_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._14_
Okayama
is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is .
The city is ...
. He attended the 7th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, graduating 7th out of 30 cadets. One of his classmates was the future Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Kato Tomosaburo. He was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in November 1883, and promoted to lieutenant in December 1886. He served as a junior officer on several vessels of the early Japanese Navy, including the corvette , frigate , ironclad warship , corvette , cruisers and . From April to July 1894, he was a
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 Italy.
At the start 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 ...
, Fujii was serving with 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 ...
; however, he was assigned to combat duty on the captured Chinese gunboat Soko, the gunboat and the corvette Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 125. on which he was promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed
executive officer
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
from February 1895.
After the war, Fujii was sent 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 ...
to supervise the construction of the cruiser , and was promoted to commander on 1 December 1897. He returned to Japan as executive officer of the new cruiser in August 1898 and was reassigned briefly as executive officer to the , before receiving his first command, the gunboat on 1 October 1898. He became captain of the cruiser from June 1899 and was promoted to captain in September of the same year, and was then reassigned to . However, from May to December 1900, he served on the staff of the
Governor-General of Taiwan
The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945.
The Jap ...
, followed by a brief period in early 1902 as military attaché to Berlin. He returned to the Navy General Staff from February 1901 to October 1903.
On 15 October 1903, Fujii returned to sea as captain of the cruiser . He participated in combat missions during the first year of 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 ...
, including the pursuit of the Russian Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron during the
Hitachi Maru Incident
The was a maritime incident which occurred during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, in which three Japanese transports were sunk in a Russian commerce raiding sortie by a Vladivostok-based armored cruiser squadron of the Imperial Russian N ...
and the
Battle off Ulsan
The naval Battle off Ulsan (Japanese: 蔚山沖海戦 ''Urusan'oki kaisen''; Russian: Бой в Корейском проливе, ''Boi v Koreiskom prolive''), also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea or Battle of the Korean Strait, took pl ...
. He became chief of staff of the
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II.
History
Established on 27 October 1903, ...
in January 1905 and was promoted to
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
on 2 November 1905.
After the war, Fujii served briefly as chief of staff 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 coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its headquarters, a ...
and the
IJN 1st Fleet
The was the main battleship fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
History
First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 1st Fleet was created during the Russo-Japanese War when the Imperial General Headquarters divided the Readiness Fleet into ...
and director of the
Sasebo Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
History
The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...
. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 December 1909 and became Vice-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. In 1913, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Sasebo Naval District, and in 1915, was commander in chief of the IJN 1st Fleet and the Yokosuka Naval District. He was promoted to full admiral on 1 December 1916, becoming a naval councilor. He went into the reserves in 1920.