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 ...

was a general in the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

, and

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

under the second

Saionji Kinmochi Kazoku, Prince was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1906 to 1908, and from 1911 to 1912. As the last surviving member of the ''genrō'', the group of senior statesmen who had directed pol ...

administration from 1911 to 1912.

Early life

Ishimoto was born to 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 ...

-''class family in

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

, Harima Province (present-day

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

). Soon after his birth, his family's house in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

was destroyed in the Ansei earthquake of 1854, and in the subsequent

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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, his father lost his employment and privileged status. Despite his family's desperate financial situation, he was sent to the ''Daigaku Nankō'' (the predecessor of

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

) for a military education, and was enlisted as a cadet in the fledgling

Military career

In February 1875, Ishimoto was accepted into the 1st class of the new

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 ...

, and enrolled in the

military engineering Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

program. He was able to put his education to immediate use in the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

. Afterwards, from 1879–1882, he was sent as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he was able to complete his education in engineering and

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

at the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

. He returned to Japan for a year, and was sent overseas again from 1883 to 1887 as military attaché to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. On his return to Japan, his rise through the ranks was rapid. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1895, and major general in 1897, and became an instructor in military engineering, first at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and then at the Army Staff College, and afterwards he worked as a section head in the Japanese Army Corps of Engineers. His knowledge and ability caught the eye of General Terauchi Masatake, who made him a chief of staff during 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 ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

in 1904. After the war, Ishimoto was elevated to the title of ''danshaku'' (

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 ...

) 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 1911, Ishimoto was appointed Army Minister under the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

.Wendel, Axis History Factbook At the time, there was a major controversy between the Army's demand for an expansion by two additional

infantry division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

s, and the cabinet's insistence that there was not enough money in the budget to pay for the expansion. He died while in office, at the relatively young age of 59, with the issue unresolved. His grave is located at the temple of Tenno-ji, located in Taitō, Tokyo. Ishimoto's wife was the daughter of General Adachi Shotarō. They had several children; their second and fifth sons also rose to the rank of general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and were killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

Books

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishimoto, Shinroku 1854 births 1912 deaths People from Himeji, Hyōgo Japanese generals People of the Meiji era Kazoku Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Army