was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

and commander of the Japanese Twenty-First Army in 1938 during the

Canton Operation The Canton Operation (; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Zhànyì) was part of a campaign by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world and importing needed arms and materials. Control ...

Biography

A native of

Kumamoto prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

, Furushō attended military preparatory schools as a youth, and graduated from the 14th 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 1902. The following year, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Imperial Guards. He was in combat during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

in 1904-1905 with the 4th Guards Infantry Regiment. After the war, Furushō returned to Army Staff College and graduated from the 21st class in 1909. After graduation, he was assigned a number of administrative positions within 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 (IJA). Role The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Af ...

, and did a tour of duty as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and another tour as aide-de-camp to Field Marshal

Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...

. After serving as an instructor at the Army War College from 1921 to 1923, Furushō became Chief of the 1st Section (Organization & Mobilization), 1st Bureau,

from 1923 to 1925. He was then given command of the 2nd Imperial Guards Regiment, continuing his long association with the Imperial Guard, from 1925 to 1927.Ammenthorp, ''The Generals of World War II'' After serving with the Ministry of War from 1927 to 1928, Furushō was promoted to major general and given command of the IJA 2nd Infantry Brigade. He returned to various administrative positions within the General Staff from 1929 to 1934. Promoted to

in 1933, Furushō took command of the IJA 11th Division in 1934. He subsequently served as Vice Minister of War from 1935 to 1936. In 1936, Furushō became Head of Army Aeronautical Department, but in 1937 was appointed Commander in Chief of the Taiwan Army District. With the start of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

in 1937, Furushō went to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as commander of the Japanese Fifth Army. In 1938, he became commander of the Japanese Twenty-First Army. He returned to Japan in 1938, was promoted to full

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and served as a member of the

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the United States, and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian Revolu ...

until his death in 1940. His grave is at

Tama Cemetery in Tokyo is the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. It is split between the cities of Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchu and Koganei, Tokyo, Koganei within the Tokyo Metropolis. First established in April 1923 as , it was redesignated Tama Cemetery in 1935. ...

, in

Fuchū, Tokyo file:FuchuCityHall2023091.jpg, 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in cent ...

References

Books

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furusho, Motoo 1882 births 1940 deaths Military personnel from Kumamoto Prefecture Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Burials at Tama Cemetery