(January 4, 1882 – January 8, 1949) was a Japanese general in World War II and Chief of the Army General Staff during the final years of the conflict. He was convicted of

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

Biography

Early life and career

Umezu was born in

Nakatsu, Ōita is a Cities of Japan, city on the northern border of Ōita Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 82,301 in 41222 households, and a population density of 96 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geogr ...

, Japan, where his family ran a bookstore since the 18th century. During his years at the Kumamoto Prefectural Seiseikou High School in

Kumamoto is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a populat ...

, he decided to pursue a military career. He graduated from the 15th class of the

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 ...

on November 30, 1903, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

the following February 12, 1904. Promoted to lieutenant on June 30, 1905, he entered the 23rd class of the Army Staff College, graduating first in 1911. Following his promotion to captain on March 25, 1912, he was sent to Europe for further studies in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. While in Denmark, he was also a military observer from Japan, during the course of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was promoted to major on June 1, 1918. From 1919 to 1921, he was appointed as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Umezu was promoted to lieutenant colonel on February 8, 1922 and to colonel on December 15, 1925. During the 1920s, he was a member of the ''

Tōseiha The ''Tōseiha'' or was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army active in the 1920s and 1930s. The ''Tōseiha'' was a grouping of generally conservative Officer (military), officers united primarily by their opposition to the radical ' ...

'', led by General Kazushige Ugaki along with Gen Sugiyama, Koiso Kuniaki, Tetsuzan Nagata and

Hideki Tōjō was a Japanese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. His leadership was marked by widespread state violence and mass killings perpetrated in the name of Japanese nationalis ...

. They represented a politically moderate line within the armed forces, in opposition to the radical ''

Kōdōha The ''Kōdōha'' or was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army active in the 1920s and 1930s. The ''Kōdōha'' sought to establish a military government that promoted totalitarian, militaristic and aggressive imperialist ideals, and ...

'' movement, guided by

Sadao Araki Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. As one of the principal nationalist right-wing political theorists in the Empire of Japan, he was regarded as the leader of the radical faction within the polit ...

. Umezu served as an instructor at the Army Staff College from 1923 to 1924, and was commander of the IJA 3rd Infantry Regiment from 1924 to 1926. Umezu was promoted to major general in August 1930 and commander of the IJA 1st Infantry Brigade. He worked at the General Staff from August 1933, and was sent as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

from November 1933. After his return to Japan in March 1934, he was appointed commander of the Japanese China Garrison Army and in November repelled a large-scale Chinese incursion into

Rehe Province Rehe, previously romanized as Jehol, was a former Chinese special administrative region and province centered on the city of Rehe, now known as Chengde. Administration Rehe was north of the Great Wall and east of Mongolia in southwestern M ...

. In June 1935 he signed the He–Umezu Agreement, which was an attempt to defuse tensions between the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and Japan, and which gave Japan control over ten provinces of

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. Umezu was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

in August. In August 1935, he became commander of the

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

-based IJA 2nd Division. He strongly opposed the February 26 incident attempted coup-de-etat in 1936. Umezu was appointed Vice Minister of War from March 1936 and working under Army Minister

Terauchi Hisaichi Count was a ''Gensui (Imperial Japanese Army), Gensui'' (or field marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group during World War II. Biography Early military career Terauchi was born in Tokyo Prefec ...

, purged many of the radical ''

kōdōha The ''Kōdōha'' or was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army active in the 1920s and 1930s. The ''Kōdōha'' sought to establish a military government that promoted totalitarian, militaristic and aggressive imperialist ideals, and ...

'' members from the Army ranks.

World War II

Umezu returned to China in May 1938 as commander-in-chief of the IJA 1st Army. By this time, the IJA 1st Army had completed its combat operations, and was serving as a garrison force in Japanese-occupied Northern China. From September 1939. he was commander-in-chief of the

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

, which was likewise acting as a garrison force in

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. He was promoted to full

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

on August 1, 1940. In July 1944, Umezu was appointed as the final Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff, and a member of the Supreme War Council, following the resignation of

Hideki Tojo was a Japanese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. His leadership was marked by widespread state violence and mass killings perpetrated in the name of Japanese nationalis ...

. Along with Army Minister Korechika Anami and the Chief of

Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). 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 a ...

, Soemu Toyoda, Umezu opposed surrender in August 1945 and believed that the military should fight on and that by forcing the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

to sustain heavy losses in an invasion, Japan could negotiate for peace under better terms. He was aware of the planned

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

by junior officers opposed to the surrender but did nothing to aid or to hinder it. He was personally ordered by Emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

to sign the instrument of surrender on behalf of the armed forces on September 2, 1945 and was thus the Army's senior representative during the surrender ceremonies on the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

, officially ending World War II. He entered the reserves on November 30. After the war, he was arrested by the SCAP authorities and tried as a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

at the

International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to Criminal procedure, try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their cri ...

in Tokyo. He was found guilty of Counts 1, 27, 29, 31 and 32 of waging a

war of aggression A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense, usually for territorial gain and subjugation, in contrast with the concept of a just war. Wars without international ...

and sentenced to

on November 12, 1948. Umezu died from rectal cancer in 1949 while he was still incarcerated. He converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

one day before his death, and his

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

were performed at his bedside by a Catholic priest. Although Umezu had followed the militaristic

State Shinto was Empire of Japan, Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for Kannushi, priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that ...

religion, his family favored Catholicism, and his daughter became a Catholic nun. JapaneseSurrender

Decorations

* 1906 –

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, 6th class * 1906 – JPN Kinshi-kunsho 5Class BAR

Order of the Golden Kite, 5th class * 1913 –

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

, 5th class『官報』第251号「叙任及辞令」June 2, 1913 * 1915 – JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 4Class BAR

, 4th class * 1922 – Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class * 1933 – Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class * 1936 – Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure * 1939 – Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun * 1940 – JPN Kinshi-kunsho 2Class BAR

Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class

References

* * * * * * Kase, Toshikazu (1950). ''Journey to the Missouri''. *

Notes

External links

USS Missouri
* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Umezu, Yoshijiro 1882 births 1949 deaths People from Nakatsu, Ōita Military personnel from Ōita Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese military attachés Japanese colonial governors and administrators Members of the Kwantung Army People of the Kwantung Leased Territory Japanese people convicted of war crimes Japanese people convicted of the international crime of aggression People convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East Japanese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by international courts and tribunals Japanese people who died in prison custody Japanese Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Shinto Deaths from colorectal cancer in Japan 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, 2nd class