was a Japanese politician and general. He served as

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 ...

Commander of the

Japanese Korean Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army that formed a garrison force in Korea under Japanese rule. The Korean Army consisted of roughly 350,000 troops in 1914. History Japanese forces occupied large portions of the Empire of Korea d ...

during the

Mukden Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...

and the invasion of Manchuria. He briefly served as

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

in 1937.

Early life

Hayashi was born on 23 February 1876, in Kodatsuno,

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefectu ...

, the first son of secretary of Tonami District Office Hayashi Shishirō and his wife Bessho Saha. The family was a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

-class family formerly in service to

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

. The second oldest of his brothers Hayashi Ryōzō became an Imperial Army

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

, and the youngest brother Shirakawa Yūkichi became Vice Mayor of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Hayashi dropped out of school in July 1894 to enlist in the Imperial Japanese Army at the start 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 p ...

. After the end of the war, he attended the

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 ...

, and on graduation in June 1897 was assigned to the IJA 7th Infantry Regiment. in 1903, he graduated from the Army Staff College. With the start of 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 ...

, Hayashi participated in the

Siege of Port Arthur The siege of Port Arthur ( ja, 旅順攻囲戦, ''Ryojun Kōisen''; russian: link=no, Оборона Порт-Артура, ''Oborona Port-Artura'', August 1, 1904 – January 2, 1905) was the List of battles of the Russo-Japanese War, longes ...

Military career

Hayashi's first major command from 1918 to 1920 was as commanding officer of the IJA 57th Infantry Regiment, followed by a time in 1921 attached to the Technical Research Headquarters and as an acting Military Investigator. From 1921 to 1923 he was the head of the Preparatory Course at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, followed by a time attached to the Inspectorate General of Military Training. From 1923 to 1924 he was the Japanese Army Representative to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...

, followed by another stint attached to the Inspectorate General of Military Training from 1924 to 1925. In 1925, Hayashi became the commanding Officer of the IJA 2nd Infantry Brigade. In 1926 he was made Commandant of the Tokyo Bay Fortress. In 1927, he became the Commandant of the Army War College, followed in 1928 as Deputy Inspector-General of Military Training. Finally in 1929 he became the General Officer Commanding the Imperial Guards Division. In 1930, Lieutenant-General Senjūrō Hayashi, was made Commander in Chief of the

. On the day after the

on 19 September, he ordered the IJA 20th Division to split its force, forming the 39th Mixed Brigade. Acting without authorization by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

or central government in Tokyo, Hayashi ordered the 39th Mixed Brigade to cross the

Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border betwe ...

that same day into

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

. The Cabinet was forced to concede the point to the military afterwards and the movement of the 39th Mixed Brigade from Korea was authorized on 22 September. Following his command in Korea, Hayashi was made

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory o ...

of Military Training and a member of 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 US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution an ...

from 1932 to 1934. In 1932, he was awarded with the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...

(1st class) and in 1934, he was awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(1st class).

Political career

From 1934 to 1935 Hayashi was Army Minister, and again member of the Supreme War Council from 1935 until his retirement the next year. As Army Minister, Hayashi was a supporter of Major General Tetsuzan Nagata, who was Chief of Military Bureau and the leader of the '' Tōseiha'' faction within the Imperial Japanese Army. The ''Tōseiha'' scored a victory in July 1935 when General Jinzaburō Masaki, one of the leaders of the '' Kōdōha'' faction was removed as Inspector General of Military Training. But Nagata was assassinated the next month(the

Aizawa Incident The , also known as the was an attempted coup d'état that took place in the Empire of Japan in November 1934. It was one of a sequence of similar conspiracies for a "Shōwa Restoration" led by radical elements with the Imperial Japanese Army. B ...

). The struggle between the ''Tōseiha'' and ''Kōdōha'' factions continued below the surface of the government; and the war in North China carried on apace until February 1936. Hayashi also promoted

Fumimaro Konoe Prince was a Japanese politician and prime minister. During his tenure, he presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the breakdown in relations with the United States, which ultimately culminated in Japan's entry into World W ...

's doctrines, as a "right-winger" amongst the

militarist Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

s, who approved of the "fiction" of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, and the Emperor's role with an "adviser group", against "left-winger" radical militarists, led by

Kingoro Hashimoto was a soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army and politician. He was famous for having twice tried to stage a coup against the civilian government in the 1930s. Early career Hashimoto was born in Okayama City, and a graduate of the 23rd class o ...

, wanted a Military Shogunate. Hayashi also happen to the president of Greater Japan Muslim League (大日本回教協会, Dai Nihon Kaikyō Kyōkai). Hayashi served as

for a brief four-month period in 1937. Later from 1940 to 1941, he was a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. Hayashi suffered from an

intracranial hemorrhage Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), also known as intracranial bleed, is bleeding within the skull. Subtypes are intracerebral bleeds (intraventricular bleeds and intraparenchymal bleeds), subarachnoid bleeds, epidural bleeds, and subdural bleeds. ...

in January 1943 and died at his home of 4 February without regaining consciousness. He was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Golden Kite The was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan". It was officially abolished 1947 by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) during th ...

(4th class) and the

Order of the Paulownia Flowers The is an order presented by the Japanese government. Established in 1888 during the Meiji Restoration as the highest award in the Order of the Rising Sun; however, since 2003 it has been an Order in its own right. The only grade of the order ...

. His grave is at the Tama Reien Cemetery in

Fuchū, Tokyo 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in central Tokyo. The city hosts large scale manufacturing facilities for Toshiba, NE ...

.
Find-a-Grave Website

Honours

''From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia'' *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1932) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (1934) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (1943; posthumous)

References

External links

Senjuro Hayashi
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Senjuro 1876 births 1943 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan Prime Ministers of Japan Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War People from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Japanese generals Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Army Government ministers of Japan Foreign ministers of Japan Imperial Rule Assistance Association politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite