Marshal-Admiral Baron was a Japanese

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 ...

during the First Sino-Japanese and

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 ...

s as well as one of the first prominent staff officers and naval strategists of the early

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 ...

. He was an excellent tactician, but unlike many military men, he did not seek honor. He would defer credit to his colleagues, refrain from boasting, and openly share his failures with others. His character garnered him much respect. He remained a lifelong friend of his classmate from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Katō Tomosaburō.

Biography

Born in Kōchi city,

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

(present day

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

), Shimamura entered the 7th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy following the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. Graduating at the top of his class of 30 cadets in 1880, he served as

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 ...

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 ...

, as

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 ...

on the

ironclad warship An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship protected by steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The firs ...

, and as a sub-lieutenant and

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 ...

on the corvette . Selected for staff work, Shimamura served as a junior officer for several years during the mid-1880s. Studying abroad in Great Britain, he served as a foreign naval observer with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from 1888 to 1891. After his return to Japan, he was assigned as chief gunnery officer on the . He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1894. 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 ...

, Shimamura was assigned as a staff officer of the Standing Fleet from August 1894 to April 1895 and involved in planning the column formations of the battle. He was later wounded while on board the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

during the Battle of the Yalu on September 17, 1894.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 352. After serving in various staff positions after the war, (including naval attaché to Italy in 1894) Shimamura was promoted to captain in 1899 and commanded the cruiser and marines during the Battle of Tientsin during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. From 1902 to 1903, he was captain of the

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 ...

. 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 ...

on June 6, 1904, shortly before the

, Shimamura was made

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 1st Fleet. In command of the 2nd Fleet's Second Battle Division, Shimamura was aboard his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

, the cruiser during the

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 ...

on May 26, 1905. After the war, he was assigned command of the Training Fleet and became Commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy from 1906 to 1908. He became Commandant of the Naval War College (Japan) from 1908 to 1909. He was subsequently Commander in Chief of the 2nd Fleet from 1909 to 1911, Commander in Chief of the Sasebo Naval District from 1911 to 1914, and Chief 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 ...

during World War I from 1914 to 1920. Shimamura was initially opposed to the deployment of the Imperial Japanese Navy to the Mediterranean under 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 ...

, as he felt that this would weaken Japan's defenses against the "true threat" of the United States.Rising Sun in the Mediterranean Promoted to full

on August 28, 1915, Shimamura was ennobled as a ''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 1916. Following his death in 1923, Shimamura was posthumously promoted to the rank of Marshal Admiral. His grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

Notes

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shimamura, Hayao 1858 births 1923 deaths People from Kōchi Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy marshal admirals Japanese military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion 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 People of the Meiji era Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun