Vice Admiral Baron , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Biography

Samejima was the grandson of

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernity. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iwa ...

, and adopted by Admiral Samejima Kazunori a native of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

and noted figure in the Meiji restoration, Tomoshige Samejima graduated 51st of 179 cadets in the 37th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1909. He served his

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

duty on the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

''Soya'' and

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s ''Sagami'', and ''Katori'' and as a sub-lieutenant on ''Aso'', and ''Hashidate''. After graduating from naval artillery and torpedo classes, he was assigned to the battleships ''Kashima'' and ''Kawachi'' followed by the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

''Kaba''. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1915. He subsequently served on the cruiser ''Azuma'' and battleship ''Kongō'', and after a two-year tour as an instructor at the naval gunnery school from 1918–1920, he was reassigned to the battleship ''Mutsu''. In 1921, he served as aide-de-camp to Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito and was promoted to lieutenant commander. From 1921-1923, he attended the Navy Staff College, and on graduation, served two years on the light cruiser ''Yura''. From 1925-1927, he traveled to England, where he studied at his own expense. On his return to Japan, he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and assigned as aide-de-camp to Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito. Samejima returned to sea as

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 ...

of the ''Haguro'' from November 1929 - November 1930. His first command was in 1931 as captain of the transport Seito. KandaSurrender

In 1931, with the First Shanghai Incident, Samejima served on the staff of the Japanese 1st Expeditionary Fleet and was promoted to

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 ...

. He was given command of the cruisers ''Kitakami'' from 1932 to 1934, ''Mogami'' from 1934 to 1935,. ''Haguro'' from 1935–1936 and the battleship ''Nagato'' from 1936 to 1937. As

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 ...

from December 1937, Samejima commanded

Carrier Division 4 Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

from 1937–1938, Cruiser Division 13 from August–September 1938, and Carrier Division 2 from September 1938 to October 1939. From November 1939 to October 1942, Samejima served as

Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan In Japan, the is a special military official whose primary duties are to report military affairs to the Emperor and act as a close attendant ( chamberlain). From 1896 through to 1945, a small number of army and naval aides-de-camp were supplied t ...

, and was in this position at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was promoted to vice admiral in October 1941. From October 1942, Samejima returned to sea as commander of the IJN 4th Fleet, which was responsible for defending the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the "South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following Wo ...

against counter-attacks by the Allied forces. From April 1943 to the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, Samejima served as commander of the

IJN 8th Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) established during World War II. History The 8th Fleet was established on 14 July 1942 and was given an operational title of Outer South Seas Force, which reflected its mission of guarding conqu ...

. He retired from active service in 1946 and died in 1966.

References

Notes

Books

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Web

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samejima, Tomoshige Japanese admirals of World War II People from Tokyo 1889 births 1966 deaths Kazoku