, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during

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 ...

. He commanded the Japanese submarine forces during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

Biography

Miwa was a native of

Aichi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

, and graduated 59th out of 148 cadets in the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1911. He served his midshipman duty on the training ship ''Aso'' 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 ...

''Mikasa'', and as a sub-lieutenant on the protected cruiser ''Chikuma'', coastal defense ship ''Iwami'' and armored cruiser ''Azuma''. In 1917, he attended the Navy Staff College, where he specialized in

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

, torpedo warfare and

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s, transferring to the submarine warfare section as a

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 1918. He stayed on to become an instructor at the Submarine Warfare School from 1920 to 1922, and served as acting commanding officer of ''Submarine No, 22'' (the future ) from May to December 1922. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1923. In 1924, Miwa was given his first true command, that of ''Submarine No. 45'' (the future ). He became commanding officer of the submarine in 1925. From 1925 to 1932, Miwa served in various staff positions on the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff and as an instructor at the Naval Staff College on submarine warfare issues. He was promoted to captain in 1932, and assigned command of the 30th Submarine Group. From 1935 to 1936, Miwa was captain of the light cruiser , and served as

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Mako Guard District from 1936 to 1938. He 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 November 1938. In 1939, he was assigned back to submarines as commander of the 3rd Submarine Squadron, and was in this position at the time of the

in December 1941. His submarines were part of the screening force around Pearl Harbor to prevent any

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

vessels from escaping during the air raids. Miwa returned to the Naval General Staff in April 1942 and 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 placed in charge of the Naval Shipbuilding Command. In July 1944, he became commander-in-chief of the 6th Fleet, in charge of all submarine operations for the Imperial Japanese Navy, and served in this capacity during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. With his forces taking increasing casualties due to the increasing numbers of American warships and aircraft with increasingly effective

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

equipment, Miwa (although initially opposed) became a strong proponent of the '' Kaiten'' suicide submarine program.Sheftal. ''Blossoms in the Wind''. page 438 He was relieved of this command and returned to the Navy General Staff in May 1945. Miwa went into retirement after the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

in September 1945. He died in 1959 at age 66.

Notes

References

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External links

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Pacific War On-Line Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miwa, Shigeyoshi 1892 births 1959 deaths Military personnel from Aichi Prefecture Japanese admirals of World War II Imperial Japanese Navy admirals