Baron was an admiral in the early

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 ...

Early life

Misu was born in

Hikone 280px, Hikone City Hall is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 111,958 in 49066 households and a population density of 570 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hikone i ...

as the eldest son in a ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

'' class family. His father, Misu Kumajirō, was a retainer of the

Ii clan is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province at the reign of Ii Naotora. A famed 16th-century clan member, Ii Naomas ...

, and was assigned command of the defenses of

Edo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

against the incursions of foreign vessels. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

, in August 1872, Misu entered the fledgling

; however, the navy was dominated former Satsuma samurai who were highly antagonistic to people from

. Furthermore, his classmate,

Dewa Shigetō Baron was a Japanese admiral in the early days of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Dewa was born as the son of a ''samurai'' of the Aizu domain (present day Fukushima prefecture). As a youth, he enlisted in the '' Byakkotai,'' a reserve u ...

, was from

Aizu-Wakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Aizuwakamatsu is located in the wes ...

, whose former

Matsudaira The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of ...

lords were the sworn enemies of the Hikone

. Misu survived partly through his father's connections with

Yoshida Shōin , commonly named , was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the late years of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many '' ishin shishi'' who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration. Early lif ...

, and through the support and patronage of

Ijuin Gorō Marshal Admiral Baron was a Meiji-period career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Life and career Born in what is now part of Kagoshima city, as the son of a ''samurai'' retainer of Satsuma domain, he fought as a Satsuma ''samurai'' and ...

Naval career

In 1874, Misu was assigned to the training ship ''Tsukuba'' for studies in navigation. During the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and be ...

of 1877, ''Tsukuba'' was sent to Kyūshū and its crew was assigned shore duty as

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 ...

. However, Misu was ordered to remain aboard the ship for logistics duties. In August 1878, Misu was commissioned as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

. He was promoted to second lieutenant two years later, and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

after another five years. The slowness of his promotion can also be attributed to clan factionalism within the navy. He served initially on the battleship ''Settsu'' and cruiser ''Asama'', and in 1885 was assigned to the new cruiser ''Naniwa'' on its voyage to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. After serving as senior gunnery officer on the ''Naniwa'', Misu was appointed its captain in 1887. Afterwards, he was subsequently captain of ''Asama'', ''Ryūjō'', and then served as commander of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its headquarters, a ...

. In September 1893, he was reassigned to serve in the

Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. 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 adminis ...

as head of the Naval Personnel Bureau. He was in charge of payroll, awards and promotions, burial of fallen sailors, compensation to families, etc., and served in this desk job throughout the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

. In 1897, Misu returned to the sea as captain of the ''Suma''. He went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to supervise the construction of the new cruiser ''Izumo'', and brought the new battleship ''Asahi'' back to Japan. In 1901, 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 rega ...

and recalled as head of the Naval Personnel Bureau in the Navy General Staff. However, his duties were greatly enlarged by the buildup of the Japanese navy prior to the outbreak of 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 ...

of 1904-1905. During the personnel reorganization within the navy prior to the war, Naval Minister

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and twice Prime Minister of Japan from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1923 to 1924. Biography Early life Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as the sixth s ...

was convinced that victory could not be obtained unless Admiral Hidaka Sonojo was replaced by

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

. As head of the navy Personnel Bureau, Misu was in a strong position to encourage Yamamoto towards this action. He also recommended

Kataoka Shichirō Baron was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Early career Born to a ''samurai'' family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima prefecture), Kataoka entered the 3rd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 18 ...

and

Shibayama Yahachi Baron was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Born in Kagoshima, Satsuma domain, (present day Kagoshima prefecture), Shibayama participated as a Satsuma ''samurai'' in the Anglo-Satsuma War in his youth. Although a close f ...

as possible successors should something happen to Tōgō in battle. This was quite controversial, as Admiral

Kamimura Hikonojō Baron was an early Japanese admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, commanding the IJN 2nd Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle off Ulsan and Tsushima. Biography Born to a ''samurai'' family in the Satsuma Domain (p ...

in command of the

IJN 2nd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II. History Established on 27 October 1903, ...

would normally have been appointed successor. Misu reported that Kamimura was of aggressive, even reckless disposition, which made him ideal for leading with aggressive tactics for the Second Fleet, but that this same disposition was a detriment to his ability to replace Tōgō. In 1905, Misu was promoted to vice admiral, and placed under Tōgō's direct control. Given command of the ''Nisshin'', he was in the

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

at 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 ...

, and was wounded in the left eye. Making the most of this injury, Misu was compared with the famous one-eyed warrior

Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all ...

. Following the conclusion of the war, he was ennobled with the title of baron under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ...

'' peerage system. In 1906, he commanded the

Ryojun Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Kwantung Leased Territory before and during Second Sino-Japanese War. Located in at Ryojun ), (present-day Lüshunkou, China, The Ryojun Guard District was responsible for contro ...

From 1909-1911, he was placed in charge of reconstruction of the

Maizuru Naval District was one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō. History The strategic importance of the location of Maizur ...

. The operational area of Maizuru encompassed his home town of Hikone, which has no access to the sea. He went on the reserve list in 1913 as full admiral and died in 1921.

References

Books

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misu, Sotaro 1855 births 1921 deaths People from Shiga Prefecture People of Meiji-period Japan Kazoku Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War