was an 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 ...

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

Rokuzō Sugiyama was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

as the son of a bureaucrat in the

Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce The was a cabinet-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan from 1881-1925. It was briefly recreated as the during World War II History The original Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce was created on April 7, 1881, initially under ...

, Sugimoto was a graduated of the 38th 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 stu ...

in July 1910, ranked second in his class of 147 cadets. As a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, he served on the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s and , and as a sub-lieutenant on the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

. After graduation from Gunnery and Torpedo School in early 1914, he was assigned to the destroyers and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. From June 1918, he served as a foreign naval observer in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and was member of the Japanese delegation at the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

negotiations in 1920. After his return to Japan in early 1921, Sugiyama received his first command, that of the destroyer in November 1921, followed by in November 1922. After graduation from the Naval Staff College in December 1922, he was promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, and was captain of the destroyer in 1924. Sugiyama was promoted to commander in December 1926, and captain in December 1930, serving in various staff positions within 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 ...

, and as an instructor at the Naval Staff College from 1930-1933. He returned to sea as captain of the cruiser in June 1933, followed by the in November 1933, in February 1934, and battleship in September 1935. From November 1936, Sugiyama was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

IJN 3rd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which was created, and subsequently disbanded on six separate occasions and revived on five separate occasions. =History= Russo-Japanese War First established on 28 December 1903, the 3rd Fl ...

, and was thus in a senior command position of Japanese naval forces in China during the early stages 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 ...

. He was appointed to make a formal apology to the United States over the USS ''Panay'' incident in 1937.Prados, John., Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II, , page 50. Sugiyama rose to vice admiral on November 15, 1940. On July 5, 1941, Sugiyama was appointed Commander-in-chief of the IJN 3rd Fleet. Following the start of 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 ...

, on January 3, 1942, Sugiyama accepted the post of commander in chief of the IJN 3rd Expeditionary Fleet. However, in December 1942, he returned to a shore position with the Naval Shipbuilding Command, of which he became Commandant from April 15, 1943 to November 4, 1944. He was subsequently commander of the

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

until the end of the war.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugiyama, Rokuzō 1890 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Tokyo Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Japanese admirals of World War II