Baron was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

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

, who served as Navy Minister in the early 1930s.

Biography

Abo was born in

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

as Sawano Yasusaburō, where his father was the commandant of the military academy where he went to school. His father died when he was still young, but the deputy commandant, Abo Kiyoyasu, took notice of young Abo and adopted him into his household on the condition that he marry his daughter. As Kiyokazu Abo, he graduated from the 18th 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 ...

, ranked 11th out of 61 cadets. He served his

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

tour on 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 ...

s ''Hiei'', ''Jingei'', cruisers and ''Takao''. After commissioning to

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, he was assigned back to ''Takao'', followed by cruiser and 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-steam ...

during 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 ...

(1894–95). After the end of the war, he was assigned to the cruiser . Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1897, he continued to serve on ''Izumi'', becoming chief navigator in 1898. He then served on the cruisers and ,

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

and as chief gunnery officer on the cruiser . In 1903, he was promoted to lieutenant commander, and reassigned as chief gunnery officer to the cruiser , followed by the battleship , during which time he saw combat in 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 ...

at the naval

Battle of Port Arthur The of 8–9 February 1904 marked the commencement of the Russo-Japanese War. It began with a surprise night attack by a squadron of Imperial Japanese Navy, Japanese destroyers on the neutral country, neutral Imperial Russian Navy, Russian fl ...

Battle of the Yellow Sea The Battle of the Yellow Sea (; ) was a naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Lüshunkou (Port ...

, and the final decisive

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known in Japan as the , was the final naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait. A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the ...

. During the Russo-Japanese War, he became famous for coining nicknames for each of the ships in the Russian fleet, to make identification and transmission of orders to the Japanese gunnery crews more understandable. After the war, he was assigned as

naval attaché A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

to 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from November 1905 to February 1908. During his time overseas, he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. On his return, he instructed at the Naval Staff College, and in 1909 succeeded to the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

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 on the death of his foster father. In 1910, Abo received his first command: the cruiser . Promoted to captain in December 1912, he was again sent to England as naval attaché from March 1913 to April 1915. On his return, he assumed command of the battleship . In December 1916, Abo 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 ...

and became chief of the first section 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 ...

. In December 1920, 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 ...

and became Vice Chief of the Imperial Navy General Staff, where he assisted Admiral

Yamashita Gentarō Baron was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Early career Yamashita was the second son of a samurai in the service of the Yonezawa Domain and was born in the castle town of Yonezawa, Dewa Province (present day Yamagata p ...

in the implementation of the

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

. Abo was Japan's naval delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

from 1922–1923, He served as Director of Naval Shipbuilding Command in 1923, and as Vice Minister of the Navy in 1924. In April 1925, he was appointed commander in chief of the

Kure Naval District was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern K ...

. On his promotion to

on 1 April 1927, Abo became commander in chief of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...

. He subsequently served on the

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the United States, and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian Revolu ...

and as part of Japan's delegation to the

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Empire of Japan, Japan, French Third Republic, France, Kingdom of Italy, Italy, and the United Stat ...

Conference in 1929. From 3 October 1930 to 13 December 1931, Abo served as Naval Minister in the cabinets 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 ...

Wakatsuki Reijirō Baron was a Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan. Early life Wakatsuki Reijirō was born on 21 March 1866, in Matsue, Izumo Province (present day Shimane Prefecture), the second son of samurai foot soldier ('' ashigaru'') Okumura S ...

and

Hamaguchi Osachi Hamaguchi Osachi (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , 1 April 1870 – 26 August 1931) was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1929 to 1931. Nicknamed the due to his dignified demeanor and mane-like hair, Hamaguchi served as leadin ...

. Abo was a political moderate and a leading supporter of the

Treaty Faction The was an unofficial and informal political faction within the Imperial Japanese Navy in the 1920s–1930s of officers supporting the Washington Naval Treaty. Background The ''Washington Naval Treaty'', also known as the ''Five-Power Treaty'' ...

within the Imperial Japanese Navy, and hoped for a revival of the

Anglo-Japanese Alliance The was an alliance between the United Kingdom and the Empire of Japan which was effective from 1902 to 1923. The treaty creating the alliance was signed at Lansdowne House in London on 30 January 1902 by British foreign secretary Lord Lans ...

through diplomacy. During his term in office, the military was embroiled with the

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. Military chain of command In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders ...

controversy as to whether or not the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy were answerable to the elected

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

and Prime Minister, or were answerable only directly to the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. Abo went into the reserves in 1934, and retired in 1940.

References

Books

* * * *

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abo, Kiyokazu 1870 births 1948 deaths Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Military personnel from Saga Prefecture Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Kazoku Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of World War I Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal