was a Japanese admiral 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 surrender ...

, court official and Shinto priest. After retiring from active service, he served as Chief Priest of

Meiji Shrine , is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto. History A ...

and the

Grand Chamberlain A chamberlain (Medieval Latin: ''cambellanus'' or ''cambrerius'', with charge of treasury ''camerarius'') is a senior royal official in charge of managing a royal household. Historically, the chamberlain superintends the arrangement of domestic ...

Emperor Shōwa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Fujita was born in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

, where his father, a former

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 ...

from Tsugaru Domain, served as a school principal. He attended the 29th class of 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 ...

in 1901, graduating 15th of 115 cadets. One of his classmates was the future

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of S ...

Mitsumasa Yonai was a Japanese general and politician. He served as admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Minister of the Navy, and Prime Minister of Japan in 1940. Early life and career Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, the firs ...

. Fujita graduated from the Naval Staff College in 1908, and in December 1911 was assigned to serve on the battleship . In February 1915, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Fujita was sent as a

naval attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

to England, and was promoted to commander while still assigned to the Japanese embassy in London in 1916. After his return to Japan in October 1917, he became

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 ...

on the battleship for a one-month period in December 1917. Subsequently he held a number of shore assignments to the end of 1920. Fujita attained the rank of captain in December 1920, and received his first command, that of the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

. After a number of shore assignments from 1921 to 1924, he was appointed captain of the battleship on December 1, 1924. He was promoted to rear admiral in December 1925 and became Director of the Personnel Department of the Navy Ministry in December 1926. In November 1929, he attained the rank of vice admiral, and took command 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 ...

. In June 1930, he was Director of Naval Shipbuilding Command. Fujita became Navy Vice-Minister in June 1932, and Commander in Chief of

Kure Naval District was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and norther ...

in May 1934. In April 1936, he was made a full admiral. He became a naval councilor in December 1936. Fujita was considered for the post of

Minister of the Navy Minister of the Navy may refer to: * Minister of the Navy (France) * Minister of the Navy (Italy) * Minister of the Navy (Japan) * Minister of the Navy (Netherlands) * Minister of the Navy (Spain) * Minister of the Navy (Turkey) * Minister of ...

in 1939, but after deliberation and consultation with Admiral Sankichi Takahashi, he stepped aside in favor of Mitsumasa Yonai and went into the reserves in April 1939. After his retirement, Fujita served as Chief Priest of

until the end of August 1944. He was then appointed

from August 29, 1944 to May 3, 1946, accompanying the emperor to his meetings with the head of the American occupation forces, General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

. However, due to Fujita’s military background, MacArthur ordered his dismissal in 1946.“More Officers Resigning in Japan,”
''New York Times'' (1946-01-18). Fujita died in Anjō, Aichi on July 23, 1970.

Naval career

''From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia'' *Graduated as a Midshipman (14 December 1901) *Ensign (23 January 1903) *Sub-Lieutenant (13 July 1904) *Lieutenant (5 August 1905) *Lieutenant-Commander (1 December 1911) *Commander (1 December 1916) *Captain (1 December 1920) *Rear-Admiral (1 December 1925) *Vice-Admiral (30 November 1929) *Admiral (1 April 1936) *Retired and went into the reserves (5 April 1939)

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujita, Hisanori 1880 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Aichi Prefecture Japanese military personnel of World War I Kannushi Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Japanese people of World War II