Baron was an admiral of the early modern Imperial Japanese Navy, known primarily for his role in the First Sino-Japanese War.

Biography

Tsuboi Kōzō was born as Hara Kōzō, the second son of a doctor in what is now part of Hōfu, Yamaguchi, and was adopted into the Tsuboi family as a child. As a

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was base ...

''samurai'' he took part in the defense of the city during the bombardment of Shimonoseki by European warships from September 5 to 8, 1864. Witnessing firsthand the firepower and devastation caused by a relatively few Western warships, Tsuboi became convinced Japan must also obtain this weaponry to survive. He enlisted in the Chōshū domain navy later that year and served aboard the '' Kigai-maru'' while studying the English language and navigation at the Chōshū Naval School. Serving on five Chōshū domain ships between 1866 and 1868, Tsuboi assisted in transporting imperial soldiers on the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...

during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

of the Meiji Restoration against the Tokugawa shogunate, and was later officially commissioned a lieutenant in the newly established Imperial Japanese Navy in 1870, and assigned to the screw sloop . He became

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of the ironclad warship in 1871. That same year he received training on board the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the American Asiatic Squadron and was sponsored by Admiral John Rodgers to attend Columbia University from April 1872 until July 1874. Returning to Japan in 1874, Tsuboi was promoted to lieutenant commander. His first command was as captain of the '' Dai Ichi Teibō'' from August 3, 1874. From 1875 through 1879, he surprised warship construction at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal; however, he was injured in an accident in August 1878 which required two months hospitalization. On his return to active status in February 1879, he served as commander of various ships, including the paddle corvette , gunboat , corvette and corvette , and various shore posts until 1889 (including Deputy Director of the Imperial Japanese Navy Technical Department. He returned to sea as captain the cruiser from April 1889 to September 1890, serving simultaneously as chief-of-staff of the Readiness Fleet. 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 regarde ...

from September 1890, Tsuboi was 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 ...

to December 1892, commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy from 1892 to 1893, and commandant of the Naval Staff College from 1893 to 1894. In command of the Readiness Fleet during the First Sino-Japanese War, Tsuboi was at the Battle of Pungdo in command of the , and later won distinction at the Battle of the Yalu on September 17, 1894, where (as commander of the Flying Squadron), he displayed innovative tactics and aggressive maneuvers against the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. A national hero following the war, Tsuboi was ennobled with the title of ''danshaku'' (

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

) under the '' kazoku'' peerage system on August 20, 1895, and promoted to vice admiral the following year. In 1896 he was made Commander in Chief of the Readiness Fleet, and in 1897, Commander of the Yokosuka Naval District. He died of cancer in 1898. His grave is at the temple of Zuisho-ji, in Shirogane-dai, Tokyo.

References

Books

* * * * Volpicelli, Zenone. ''The China-Japan War'', London, 1896.

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuboi, Kozo 1843 births 1898 deaths People from Chōshū domain Mōri retainers People from Yamaguchi Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Columbia University alumni Samurai Kazoku People of the Boshin War Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War People of Meiji-period Japan Deaths from cancer in Japan