was an vice admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Career

Born in 8 May 1869 in Higo Province (now

Uki Uki or UKI may refer to: *Uki Goñi, writer, journalist and musician *Uki, New South Wales, an Australian town *Uki, Kumamoto, a Japanese city *Uki Island in Solomon Islands * ''Uki'' (TV series), a pre-school animated television programme from Bel ...

, Kumamoto Prefecture), the eldest son of a Higo samurai. In 1891, he graduated from the 18th term of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and became an ensign in the navy. During the First Sino-Japanese War, he served under Captain Heihachirō Tōgō as a squadron officer on the protected cruiser . After serving as a navigation officer on the , he graduated from the Naval War College in 1901. In 1904, he became a major in the Navy and participated in the Russo-Japanese War as chief gunnery officer of the

Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...

flagship in the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...

. In 1912, he became a member of the Grand Mourning Ceremony Navy Affairs Committee and a naval drill judge. After serving as captain of the , he was appointed assistant captain of the on 23 August 1914. This was the day that Japan declared war against the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, and Yoshioka went to war in World War I. Initially, he was part of the 1st Southward Expeditionary Force led by Yamaya Tanin to search for the German fleet led by Maximilian von Spee, and engaged in the occupation of 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 ...

. Next, he was part of the US-led branch led by Keizaburo Moriyama to protect trade from South America to North America. However, 31 January 1915 off Mexico, the ship struck an uncharted rock at the entrance to the bay. In December

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

(1915), he became captain of the . She was commissioned by the Taishō Emperor at a fleet review held the following year.『拝謁名簿』 After serving as captain of the , he 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 ...

in 1917 and became the second director of the Naval Education Headquarters. In 1 December 1919, he became Chief of Staff of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

, the following year he became Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, in 1921 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and Director of the Naval Gunnery School and in 1923, served as a member of the Naval General Staff Council. He became a

reserve officer A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

in 1924. As a vice admiral, he was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite, 4th class. He was also known as the "God of Gunnery". He died in 1930. His commandment name was Seichuin-den Atsuo Tanchu Daishi and his grave is in

Ogawa Ogawa (written: lit. "small river" or in hiragana) is the 30th most common Japanese surname. Less common variants are (also "small river") or ("tail river"). Notable people with the surname include: *, American poet *, Japanese footballer * ...

, Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansaku, Yoshioka Imperial Japanese Navy officers 1869 births 1930 deaths Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War People of Meiji-period Japan People from Kumamoto Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite