was an officer in the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
known for his support of
ultranationalist
Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...
politics and involvement in a number of attempted
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
s in pre-World War II Japan.
Biography
Chō was a native of
Fukuoka prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...
. He graduated from 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 1916 and from the
Army Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For exa ...
in 1928.
After he received his
commission, Chō was assigned to his first duty outside Japan with the politicized
Kwantung Army
''Kantō-gun''
, image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo
, dates = April ...
based in eastern China. He returned to play a very active role in internal politics within the Japanese army, and was an active or indirect participant in the
March Incident and the
Imperial Colors Incident (with other leaders:
Kingoro Hashimoto,
Jirō Minami
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and Governor-General of Korea between 1936 and 1942. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Life and military career
Born to an ex-''samurai'' family in Hiji, Ōita Prefe ...
,
Sadao Araki
Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. As one of the principal nationalist right-wing political theorists in the Empire of Japan, he was regarded as the leader of the radical faction within the polit ...
for the military, and nationalists
Ikki Kita
was a Japanese author, intellectual and political philosopher who was active in early Shōwa period Japan. Drawing from an eclectic range of influences, Kita was a self-described socialist who has also been described as the "ideological father ...
,
Shūmei Ōkawa
was a Japanese nationalist and Pan-Asianist writer, known for his publications on Japanese history, philosophy of religion, Indian philosophy, and colonialism.
Background
Ōkawa was born in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan in 1886. He graduated fro ...
,
Mitsuru Toyama, Kanichiro Kamei and
Kozaburo Tachibana). He was a founder of the radical "
Sakurakai
was an ultranationalist secret society established by young officers within the Imperial Japanese Army in September 1930, with the goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état if necessary. The ...
" secret society, whose aim was to overthrow the democratic government in favor of a
state socialist regime which would stamp out corruption. Chō was known to be quick to anger and often struck his subordinates.
At the start 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 ...
, Chō was commander of the IJA 74th Infantry Regiment of the
Shanghai Expeditionary Force, attached to
Japanese Central China Area Army
The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
History
On November 7, 1937 Japanese Central China Area Army (CCAA) was organized as a reinforcement expeditionary army by combining the Shanghai Expedit ...
, and based in
Manchukuo. At the
Battle of Nanjing, he was
aide-de-camp to
Prince Asaka
General was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. Son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of E ...
and is thought to have been complicit in ordering the
massacre of prisoners of war, but it is disputed whether he obeyed an order from the prince, or whether he acted on his own.
Chō was subsequently involved in a number of border incidents between Manchukuo and the Soviet Union as Chief of Staff of the
IJA 26th Division
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . The ''26th Division'' was raised 30 September 1937 out of the three independent infantry regiments from the original 11th Independent Mixed Brigade and reserve ...
from 1939 to 1940. In 1940 he was transferred briefly to the
Taiwan Army of Japan
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army recruited from, and stationed on, the island of Taiwan as a garrison force.
History
Following the First Sino-Japanese War, the Treaty of Shimonoseki transferred control of Taiwan from Qing dynasty C ...
Headquarters, and then became
Chief of Staff of the Indochina Expeditionary Army from 1940 to 1941.
Chō was Vice Chief of Staff of Unit 82 within the Military Affairs Bureau, in the
Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to:
* Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912)
* Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946)
* Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919)
* Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999)
* Ministry of War (Estoni ...
in 1941, and participated in the strategic and tactical planning for the Japanese invasion of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. From 1941 to 1942 he accompanied the
Southern Army to
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
to oversee implementation of Japanese strategy, and served as a liaison officer between the Southern Army and the
14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to:
* 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army
* 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army
* Italian Fourteenth Army
* Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
From 1942 until 1944 Chō was commander of the ''10th Infantry Group (Dai 10 Hohei-Dan(第10歩兵団))'' of the
IJA 10th Division, a
garrison force based in
Manchukuo. He served in the Kwangtung Army Headquarters, and later as commander of the 1st Mobile Brigade. In late 1944, Chō was recalled from Manchuria to the Home Islands, then to Okinawa. Shortly before the battle in March 1945, he was promoted to
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...
.
Okinawa
He was Chief of Staff of the
32nd Army during the
Battle of Okinawa. He masterminded the elaborate underground fortifications around
Shuri Castle
was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed ...
, but favored a highly aggressive response to the American invasion rather than a passive defense. He persuaded General
Mitsuru Ushijima
was a Japanese general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. He was the commanding general of the 32nd Army, which fought in the Battle of Okinawa during the final stages of the war. Ushijima's troops were defeated, ...
to launch the disastrous 5 May 1945 counteroffensive.
By the middle of June, the 32nd Army was effectively reduced to occupying two strongpoints, one beneath Kunishi Ridge and the other, the command headquarters inside Hill 89.
Ushijima and Cho had decided to commit
Seppuku (ritual suicide) and on the night of their planned departure held a banquet in the cave housing the command post with a large meal prepared by Ushijima's cook, Tetsuo Nakamutam, which was complemented with plenty of sake and Cho's remaining stock of captured Black & White Scotch whisky.
[
Later in the early hours of 22 June the staff in the command post lined up to pay their respects to Ushijima who was attired in his full dress uniform and Cho who wore a white kimono. Cho volunteered to go first and lead the way, ‘ as the way may be dark,” but Ushijima insisted on going first. The men made their way onto an outside ledge overlooking the ocean, on which a white cloth had been laid over a quilt. Handed a knife by an aide Ushijima shouted and made a deep vertical cut in his bared abdomen before Captain Sakaguchi (who was regarded as a master swordsman) decapitated him with his sword. Cho followed Ushijima and the bodies of both men were buried by three orderlies in shallow graves.][ Their bodies were then buried under U.S. military auspices on 27 June 1945 near the cave where they died in the last hours of fighting on Okinawa. "The bodies of the two Japanese generals were lowered into graves almost above their cave headquarters which was sealed during the American flag service."][Dopking, Al, "Jap Officers Buried By U. S. Forces", ''Florence Morning News'', Florence, South Carolina, Thursday 28 June 1945, Volume XXII, Number 455, page 1.]
On the back of Cho's kimono was a poem that he had composed:
“With bravery I served my nation.
With loyalty I dedicate my life.”
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Isamu
1895 births
1945 suicides
Military personnel from Fukuoka Prefecture
Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II
Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II
Japanese generals
Nanjing Massacre perpetrators
Battle of Okinawa
Seppuku from Meiji period to present
Japanese military personnel who committed suicide
Suicides by sharp instrument in Japan
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II