Yoshida Masujirō

Yoshida Masujirō (吉田増次郎, July 29, 1867 – March 14, 1942) was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. [1]

Yoshida Masujirō
Admiral Yoshida Masujirō
Native name	吉田増次郎
Born	July 29, 1867 Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Died	March 14, 1942 (aged 74)
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1890–1923
Rank	Vice Admiral
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War World War I

Biography

Yoshida was born in Shizuoka Prefecture and was a graduate of the 17th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1890. His classmates included Saneyuki Akiyama. He served as a sub-lieutenant on the corvette Yamato and cruiser Itsukushima during the First Sino-Japanese War and was appointed a division commander on the ironclad gunboat Chinpen at the end of the war. Promoted to lieutenant in April 1896, he was assigned to the cruiser Yoshino.

However, the following year, he was assigned to the naval intelligence section of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, and as an intelligence officer was sent the guise of a naval attaché to Manila in 1898 at the time of the Battle of Manila Bay and departing immediately before the land Battle of Manila during the Spanish–American War. He then was assigned to China from 1898 to 1900, during the middle of the Boxer Rebellion. [2]

Yoshida received his first command, that of the Chinpen, in June 1900. On October 1, 1901 he was promoted to lieutenant commander, and returned as an intelligence officer in China from 1902 to 1903. From 1903 through the end of the Russo-Japanese War he served as an intelligence officer in Seoul. [3]

In February 1906, Yoshida was assigned as executive officer on the battleship Suwo. He was promoted to commander in 1906, and assigned as executive officer to the cruiser Matsushima, followed by Azuma in 1907. He was promoted to captain in January 1911. From January 1914 to February 1915, he served as an intelligence officer in China, which included the period of Japanese naval operations in China during the Siege of Tsingtao in World War I. From February to December 1916, he was captain of the cruiser Katori.

Yoshida was promoted to rear admiral on December 1, 1916 and was assigned as Commander of the Interim Southern Islands Defense Unit. Afterwards, he served as chief of the 3rd Section (Intelligence) of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. He was promoted to vice admiral on December 1, 1920. He went on the reserve list on March 23, 1923 and retired on June 28, 1932.[1] He died in 1942.

Decorations

• 1918 – Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class [4]

References

1. Fukagawa, Hideki (2000). 日本海軍将官辞典. 芙蓉書房出版. ISBN 482950272X.
2. Hata, Ikuhiko (2005). 日本陸海軍総合事典 (2nd ed.). 東京大学出版会. ISBN 4130301357.
3. Kowner, Rotem (2007). Rethinking the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5: Volume 1: Centennial Perspectives. University of Haifa. p. 89. ISBN 9789004213432.
4. 『官報』第1850号「叙任及辞令」October 2, 1918

External links

• Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN: Yoshida, Masujiro". Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved 2020-03-03.