was a Japanese engineer and
naval architect of the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
and a career officer in the
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 surrend ...
.
Biography
Sasō was born in
Kanazawa Domain (present day
Kanazawa, Ishikawa) as the fourth son of Horio Jirobei, 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 service of the
Maeda clan
was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Sugaw ...
, and was adopted at an early age by the Sasō family. In 1869, he entered the predecessor to the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students st ...
, and from 1871 to 1878 was sent to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
for further studies. After his return to Japan in January 1879, he was made deputy general manager of the
Shipbuilding Division within the
Ministry of the Navy. He subsequently travelled to Europe to visit shipyards, and was eventually promoted to commandant of the
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama.
History
In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...
and other posts within the Navy Ministry, rising to the position of
Vice Admiral. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of engineering in 1899.
Reference and further reading
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1852 births
1905 deaths
People from Ishikawa Prefecture
Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom
Japanese naval architects
Imperial Japanese Navy admirals
People of Meiji-period Japan
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