was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

A native of

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

in northern Japan, Sakurada attended military preparatory schools in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

and Tokyo, and graduated from the 25th 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 ...

in 1913. After graduation, he served as a junior officer with the IJA 29th Infantry Regiment. He graduated from the 35th class of the Army Staff College in November 1921. He subsequently served on the staff of the

IJA 10th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the . The ''10th Divisio''n was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War, 1 ...

. From August 1925 to August 1928 he served as a staff officer in the

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

, and later as battalion commander of the IJA 34th Infantry Brigade and instructor at the Army Artillery School. Before the start of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, Sakurada assigned to the staff of the

IJA 5th Division The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . The 5th Division was formed in Hiroshima in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. Its personnel we ...

in March 1935. He participated in the

Battle of Xuzhou The Battle of Xuzhou was a military conflict between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China forces in May 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History In 1937 the North China Area Army had chased Song ...

and other campaigns in southern China, becoming chief-of-staff of the division from November 1937. In August 1939, he was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and transferred to take command of the Guards 1st Brigade. He subsequently commanded the Guards Mixed Brigade from November 1939.Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II In September 1940, Sakurada was assigned to command the Infantry Group of the IJA 22nd Army for the

Invasion of French Indochina The was a short undeclared military confrontation between Empire of Japan, Japan and Vichy France, France in northern French Indochina. Fighting lasted from 22 to 26 September 1940; the same time as the Battle of South Guangxi in the Second ...

. When the unit was disbanded in February 1941, he resumed his post as commander of the Guards Mixed Brigade to July 1941. He then was made commandant if the Morioka Army Reserve Officer School from July 1941, and the Maebashi Army Reserve Officer School from August 1941. However, with the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, he did not enter the reserves himself, but was promoted to

in December 1942 and was assigned command of the Army Naval Transport Headquarters based on

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

in the Japanese-occupied Philippines. He was killed in action on 10 September 1943, when a transport ship carrying him through the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

was sunk by Allied forces.

References

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurada, Takeshi 1891 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Miyagi Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese generals Japanese military personnel killed in World War II