Count , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Kawamura's wife Haru was the aunt of Saigō Takamori.

Biography

A native of Satsuma, Kawamura studied navigation at Tokugawa bakufu naval school at Nagasaki, the Nagasaki Naval Training Center. In 1868, he joined his Satsuma clansmen, and fought on the imperial side in 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 as an army general. He was especially noted for his role in the Battle of Aizu-Wakamatsu. Under the new Meiji government, he became an officer in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy, and steadily rose through the ranks. He became first Director of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1870 and ''taifu'' (senior vice minister) of Navy in 1872. He was in command of Japanese naval forces during the Taiwan Expedition of 1874. During the Satsuma Rebellion, he was placed in command of all Imperial troops in September 1877 at the final Battle of Shiroyama near Kumamoto, when Saigō Takamori was killed (or committed ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

''). This battle, Saigō's last stand against the Meiji government, was the historical basis for the 2003 film '' The Last Samurai''. In 1878, Kawamura became ''sangi'' (councillor) and the second Navy Minister. He remained in that position until 1885 except when he was temporarily replaced by

Enomoto Takeaki Viscount was a Japanese samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the Mei ...

, and during that period he expanded the influence of people from Satsuma within the navy. In 1884, he was ennobled with the title of ''hakushaku'' (count) under the '' kazoku'' peerage system. Later serving as court councillor and

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, in 1901 he was given responsibility for the upbringing of the newborn Prince Michi (the future Emperor Hirohito) and his younger brother Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito). In 1904, Kawamura was posthumously appointed to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

, setting a precedent for such honors. His cause of death remains unknown, setting a mystery.

References

Books

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Notes

External links

Kawamura Sumiyoshi
at the Imperial Japanese Navy website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawamura, Sumiyoshi 1836 births 1904 deaths Imperial Japanese Navy admirals People from Satsuma Domain Kazoku People of the Boshin War People of Meiji-period Japan Shimazu retainers People of the Satsuma Rebellion