Baron was an admiral of the early modern

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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

, known primarily for his role in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

Biography

Hidaka was the second son of a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

in the service of the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contr ...

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

, and was born in

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

. In 1870, he enrolled in the 2nd 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 ...

and as a cadet was part of the team which brought the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

from its shipyards in England back to Japan in 1871. Over the next 20 years, he rose steadily through the ranks, serving on the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

warship (1876),

(1876), (1878), (1879), (1880), and (1881). In 1882, he was assigned to the Shipbuilding Bureau of the

Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo. History Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to a ...

, but continued to simultaneously serve on ''Fusō'' (1884) and (1884) and (1885). Hidaka returned to the Navy General Staff in 1886, and was sent to Europe in 1887–1888. He returned to sea as captain of the corvette , his first command, in 1890. He was captain of in 1891 and ''Fusō'' in 1892. After a year as commandant of the Naval Artillery School from 1893 to 1894, he was appointed captain of the cruiser during the

, participating in the

Battle of the Yalu The Battle of the Yalu River ( zh, t=黃海海戰, s=黄海海战, p=Huáng Hǎi Hǎizhàn; ; ) 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 lan ...

. He was then assigned to command in 1895, a post he held simultaneously with that of commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, since Matsushima was under repairs for damages suffered during the war for most of this time. Hidaka was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in 1896 and became commander in chief of the

Readiness Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the main combat fleet of the Japanese Navy and formed the core of a wartime Combined Fleet organization. It was created from the Standing Small-Fleet in 1889. It was split into the 1st Fle ...

in 1898. He was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

in 1900, and became commander of the Takeshiki Guard District. He returned to command the Readiness Fleet again from 1902 to 1903, and was then appointed commander of 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 Maizur ...

. With the start of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, Hidaka was in line for promotion to command the

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

against the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

. However, Minister of the Navy

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 ...

selected

Tōgō Heihachirō , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. As Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he successfully confine ...

instead. When questioned about his decision by

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

, Yamamoto replied that it was because “Togo was lucky”.Kaigun, page 82 Hidaka was ennobled with the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(''danshaku'') under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage system in 1907, and was promoted to full admiral in 1908. He retired from active service in 1909, and from the reserves in 1918. He died in 1932. Hidaka's grandson Moriyasu followed him into the Navy, graduating with the Naval Academy's 66th Class in 1938, ranking 76th of 219 cadets. He became a fighter pilot and operated from various aircraft carriers throughout the Pacific War, eventually achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Later, he joined the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and retired from that branch as a Colonel. He died on 15 July 2010.

In popular culture

In the semi-historical television adaption of

Ryōtarō Shiba , also known as , was a Japanese author. He is best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the r ...

’s ''Saka no ue no kumo'' role of Hidaka was played by veteran actor

Akira Nakao was a Japanese actor, television personality, and artist from Kisarazu, Chiba. He was represented by the Furutachi Project agency. Biography Nakao attended Chiba Prefectural Kisarazu High School from 1958, and entered Musashino Art University ...

References

Books

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hidaka, Sonojo 1848 births 1932 deaths People from Satsuma Domain Military personnel from Kagoshima Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Kazoku Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War People of the Meiji era Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War