was a general 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 ...

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 ...

. He was regarded as a leader of the radical political faction within the Japanese military.

Biography

Born in

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

in 1876, Masaki graduated from the 9th 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 1897 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the IJA 46th Infantry Regiment in June 1898. He was assigned to Tsushima Guard Battalion from May 1899 until November 1900, when he was promoted to lieutenant in the IJA 46th Infantry Regiment. He was sent to the front during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

in February 1904, and served in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

until December 1905. During this period, he was promoted to captain in June 1904; however, he found the war a highly traumatizing experience, and after his return to Japan, Masaki wrote that he had considered resigning from the Army and entering the Buddhist priesthood. Instead, Masaki entered the 19th class of the Army Staff College and graduated with honors at the top of his class in December 1905. An

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

officer, he was promoted to the rank of major in 1909 before being sent abroad as a

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Oppo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

from 1911 to 1914. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in November 1914. After his return to Japan, Masaki was appointed as a staff officer in the Inspectorate General of Military Training where he served from 1916 to 1920, becoming a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in 1918. Appointed chief of Military Administration Bureau of the War Ministry in 1920, he was given command of the 1st Imperial Guards Regiment the following year. Upon his promotion 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 ...

in 1922, Masaki served as a Brigade commander until becoming director of curriculum at the Japanese Army Academy, eventually becoming commandant by 1925. Promoted to

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 1927, Masaki was placed in command of the

IJA 8th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. It was formed 1 October 1898 in Hirosaki, Aomori, as one of the six new reserve divisions created after the First Sino-Japanese War and was annihilated in the Philippines during the ...

and posted at

Hirosaki, Aomori is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

for two years before being transferred to IJA 1st Division in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

until 1931. Serving as vice chief of the

Imperial Japanese Army General Staff The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army. Role The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...

, Masaki won promotion to full

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

in 1933 and appointed Inspector General of Military Education between 1934 and 1936. He retired from active military service in 1936.Ammenthorp, ''The Generals of World War II'' Masaki was active in the internal political factions within the Japanese Army. He was an early member of the radical

Imperial Way Faction 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 expansionistic ideals ...

led 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 poli ...

. With Heisuke Yanagawa and Hideyoshi Obata, the group merged with the rival '' Tōseiha'' faction under Kazushige Ugaki to dominate the Japanese army throughout the 1930s until

. A supporter of the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Masaki continued his involvement with the Imperial Way Faction until his forced retirement though political maneuvers by General Tetsuzan Nagata. Dissatisfaction with Masaki's forced retirement resulted in the assassination of Nagata the following year which, in turn, led to the February 26 Incident of 1936. He returned to his native Saga Prefecture to serve on the Prefectural Board of Education in 1941.

References

Books

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masaki, Jinzaburo 1876 births 1956 deaths People from Saga Prefecture Japanese generals Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of World War II