was a Japanese military theorist and 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 surrend ...

Biography

Early career

Born in the Tsuruoka domain,

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

(present day Tsuruoka city,

Yamagata prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the nor ...

), Satō graduated from the 14th class of the

Imperial Japanese Naval 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. Students st ...

in 1887, ranked 5th of 45 cadets. He served as midshipman on the corvette , cruiser and corvette . On being commissioned an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, he was assigned to the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

, becoming chief navigator by 1890. After his promotion 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 1892, he served as chief navigator aboard the

First Sino-Japanese War

At the time of the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ...

, Sato was still assigned to ''Akagi''. He took command of the vessel when its captain was killed during the

Battle of the Yalu The Battle of the Yalu River (; ja, 黄海海戦, translit=Kōkai-kaisen; ) was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War, and took place on 17 September 1894, the day after the Japanese victory at the land Battle of Pyongy ...

on 17 September 1894. Satō himself was wounded in the battle.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 343-344. Afterwards, he served as chief navigator on ''Naniwa''. On the conclusion of the war, Satō's talents and heroism were awarded with an assignment to the staff of Admiral

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and twice Prime Minister of Japan from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1923 to 1924. Biography Early life Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as the sixth son ...

within the Navy Ministry's Naval Affairs Department. Satō was sent to study naval strategy in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1899–1901 and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from 1901 - 1902. Upon his return to Japan, he published ''On the Defense of the Empire'' while an instructor at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

, which advocated the Navy as the main force of national security and military strength. He was also appointed executive officer of the cruiser ''Miyako''. After his promotion to commander in 1902, he was executive officer on and .

Russo-Japanese War

During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, Satō served as a staff officer of the

IJN 2nd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II. History Established on 27 October 1903, ...

under Vice Admiral

Kamimura Hikonojō Baron was an early Japanese admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, commanding the IJN 2nd Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle off Ulsan and Tsushima. Biography Born to a ''samurai'' family in the Satsuma Domain (pr ...

, partly to protect him from political retaliation by 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 ...

, who were incensed by his thesis that the navy was of more importance. While aboard the 2nd Fleet flagship ''Izumo'', Sato took part in the

Battle off Ulsan The naval Battle off Ulsan (Japanese: 蔚山沖海戦 ''Urusan'oki kaisen''; Russian: Бой в Корейском проливе, ''Boi v Koreiskom prolive''), also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea or Battle of the Korean Strait, took pl ...

and the Battle of Tsushima. Following the war, Satō was executive officer on the battleship , and was then given his first command: the gunboat ; however, he returned within a year to the Naval War College as an advanced student, and later served as an instructor from 1906 to 1908.

Naval theorist

After winning promotion to captain in 1907, Satō published several revised editions and expanded on his initial 1903 thesis including ''History of Naval Defense'' (1907), ''History of the Empire's Defense'' (1908), and the ''Revised History of the Empire's Defense'' (1912). Satō has been called "the Mahan of Japan", as his writings emphasized that the key to Japan's safety was denial of power projection by hypothetical enemies (such as the

), into waters adjacent to the

Japanese home islands The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East Chin ...

. Satō's works, along with documents of the Navy Ministry regarding policy, would form the basis of the Japanese naval expansion into the Netherlands East Indies, using elements from naval plans developed by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Admiral Alfred T. Mahan and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Vice Admiral

Philip Howard Colomb Vice-Admiral Philip Howard Colomb, RN (29 May 1831 – 13 October 1899). Born in Knockbrex, near Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, he was a Royal Navy officer, historian, critic and inventor. He was the son of General ...

. He also began urging the Japanese government to maintain at least a 70% capital ship level over the United States, Japan's hypothetical rival. Satō was promoted to rear admiral in 1912, while at the Navy War College, as well as serving at sea between 1908 until 1914 as captain of the and . The following year after Japan's entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Satō was appointed Vice Chief of the Navy General Staff in 1915, and promoted to vice admiral the next year while serving as president of the Navy War College. Leaving the Navy War College in 1920, Satō commanded the

Maizuru Naval District was one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō. History The strategic importance of the location of Maizu ...

before being placed on the inactive list in 1922. In November 1928, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1st class). Named to the House of Peers in 1934, Satō was a major opponent to Japan's participation in the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...

(and thus a member of the

Fleet Faction The was an unofficial and informal political faction within the Imperial Japanese Navy in the 1920s and 1930s of officers opposed to the conditions imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty. Background The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the ...

following World War I until his death in 1942.)

References

Books

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Tetsutaro 1866 births 1942 deaths Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Japanese military personnel of World War I People from Yamagata Prefecture Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Military theorists