Vice Admiral Baron , 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Samejima was the grandson of Iwakura Tomomi, and adopted by Admiral

Samejima Kazunori Baron was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Samejima was born to a samurai family of Satsuma Domain (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture) and served as a Satsuma samurai in the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration. He entered ...

a native of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, l ...

and noted figure in the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, Tomoshige Samejima graduated 51st of 179 cadets in the 37th class of the

Imperial Japanese Navy 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. Student ...

in 1909. He served his

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 Af ...

duty 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 ...

''Soya'' and

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, 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 1 ...

s ''Sagami'', and ''Katori'' and as a sub-lieutenant on ''Aso'', and ''Hashidate''. After graduating from

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and exclude ...

and

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

classes, he was assigned to the battleships ''Kashima'' and ''Kawachi'' followed by the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

''Kaba''. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1915. He subsequently served on the cruiser ''Azuma'' and battleship ''Kongō'', and after a two-year tour as an instructor at the naval gunnery school from 1918–1920, he was reassigned to the battleship ''Mutsu''. In 1921, he served as aide-de-camp to

Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito was the second (and last) head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an '' ōke'' cadet branch of the Japanese imperial family. Early life Born on September 19, 1867, as seventeenth (and posthumous) son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie, head of the Fushimi- ...

and 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 ran ...

. From 1921-1923, he attended the Navy Staff College, and on graduation, served two years on the light cruiser ''Yura''. From 1925-1927, he traveled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, where he studied at his own expense. On his return to Japan, he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and assigned as aide-de-camp to Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito. Samejima returned to sea as

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 ''Haguro'' from November 1929 - November 1930. His first command was in 1931 as captain of the transport Seito. KandaSurrender

In 1931, with the First Shanghai Incident, Samejima served on the staff of the Japanese 1st Expeditionary Fleet and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was given command of the cruisers ''Kitakami'' from 1932 to 1934, ''Mogami'' from 1934 to 1935,. ''Haguro'' from 1935–1936 and the battleship ''Nagato'' from 1936 to 1937. As

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 rega ...

from December 1937, Samejima commanded Carrier Division 4 from 1937–1938, Cruiser Division 13 from August–September 1938, and Carrier Division 2 from September 1938 to October 1939. From November 1939 to October 1942, Samejima served as

Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan In Japan, the is a special military official whose primary duties are to report military affairs to the Emperor and act as a close attendant ( chamberlain). From 1896 through to 1945, a small number of army and naval aides-de-camp were supplied to ...

, and was in this position at the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. He was promoted to vice admiral in October 1941. From October 1942, Samejima returned to sea as commander of the IJN 4th Fleet, which was responsible for defending the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

against counter-attacks by the Allied forces. From April 1943 to the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

, Samejima served as commander of the

IJN 8th Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) established during World War II. History The 8th Fleet was established on 14 July 1942 and was given an operational title of Outer South Seas Force, which reflected its mission of guarding conq ...

. He retired from active service in 1946 and died in 1966.

References

Notes

Books

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Web

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samejima, Tomoshige Japanese admirals of World War II People from Tokyo 1889 births 1966 deaths Kazoku